Favored Nations presents:
HARDCORE AMBIENCE

The stunning debut from Dutch composers Co de Kloet and Menno Kalmann

The adventurous Dutch musical team of Co de Kloet and Menno Kalmann has been creating ethereal, atmospheric compositions together since becoming friends in high school. As a veteran producer for Dutch Public Radio NPS, de Kloet has worked with an amazing collection of the world's finest musicians: Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, Captain Beefheart, Laurie Anderson, and Steve Vai, among countless others. His production work developed into artistic friendship with Frank Zappa, who introduced him to Steve Vai, Zappa's guitarist for many years. In time, de Kloet and Vai developed a professional camaraderie that ultimately led to Vai's Favored Nations label to distribute Hardcore Ambience. Ironically, de Kloet's first business arrangement was exclusively distributing Vai's landmark album, Flex-able, throughout several European regions. As a musician, Co de Kloet is a masterful saxophonist and flutist, as well as an accomplished stylist of various horns and keyboards.

While de Kloet tends to serve as the duo's creative catalyst, Menno Kalmann's multi-instrumental diversity gives the group a limitless palette of colorful textures to paint across a broad sonic canvas with both sweeping strokes and precise detail. Handling an array of keyboards, banjo, saz (Turkish lute), and added sound manipulation, Kalmann shapes the ensemble's acoustic adventures. With de Kloet, he has spent the past four years honing the elaborate material of Hardcore Ambience into a seamless effort.

The intentionally oxymoronic title of Hardcore Ambience is not a coincidence, but a mission statement for the project's ingenious fusion of seemingly different elements: lush yet intimate atmospheres, carefully crafted compositions with completely improvised passages, and live studio performances alongside grand productions. To help capture the various emotional sensations, the pair recorded in a wide range of settings: from the intimacy of a living room to the grandness of a church or the pastoral setting of a wilderness. The different recording locations help capture the cinematic storytelling for each piece.

With the exception of the brief vocal track, "Soup on Sundays," the album is an instrumental collection of previously unexplored soundscapes, ranging from the World Music symphony of "Dry Paint" to the epic, "Freedom of Speech," which fuses Aboriginal sounds with free jazz soloing. Kalmann and de Kloet believe that the recording location greatly influences the performance delivered as well as the natural acoustic properties.

Favored Nations proudly releases Menno Kalmann and Co de Kloet's stunning debut, Hardcore Ambience, in Holland this summer. The collection will also be available internationally via the Favored Nations website (www.favorednations.com). From the opening track, "Rendez-Vouz," through the elaborate epic, "The Wolf & Peter," a splendid time is guaranteed for all.