Duality by Julien Tassin

With their first album, Duality, Belgium guitarists Julien Tassin and Patrick Steenaerts re-define the guitar duo formula without putting one or the other soloist in the spotlight. Instead, the musicians go for collective improvisation which sees them draw on classical music, jazz and experimental music.

Duality is a wonderfully melodic and lyrical release that has moments of atonality and improvisation. A duality that is the intrinsic character of this band. The guitars intertwine, and overlap to create an intriguing, exciting and filmic music.

Julien Tassin is a prolific Belgian guitarist and composer. In recent years he has released a string of albums, as soloist, in trio and with his rock band run SOFA. Recently, American trumpeter Jason Palmer expanded his trio into a quartet. As a colleague, he is an inexhaustible generator of ideas, carries you along in his inspiring adventures. No matter what, his approach to the guitar is raw, organic, expressive and emotional. A direct line runs from his heart to his strings. It ranges from loving caress to radically explosive. In his compositions and improvisations, he searches for essence and purity, pushing and pulling at the boundaries of his art.

Patrick Steenaerts is a Belgian guitarist. He studied at the Jazz Studio in Antwerp, after which he started working as a freelance guitarist, composer, producer, arranger and guitar teacher at PXL Music in Hasselt. There he prepares his students to conquer the world.

He is a permanent and trusted value at leading and successful top acts such as Yevgueni with frontman Klaas Delrue. With his own band Kameel he released two albums on the Poplar label, with bassist Hans Mullens and drummer Geert Roelofs. They were both well received by press and public.

His personal style comes out best in this trio setting, as a guitarist, but also as a composer. His style varies from lyrical and melodic to witty and contrary. He is constantly looking for new horizons and adventures. Every year Patrick is also a guest as a teacher for the summer course in Dworp, an organization of the Halewyn Foundation.

Julien Tassin is a storyteller. He’s the kind of musician who values the expressive power and potential of music. His music is not just mood music, but something that transports the listener. Not by technical acrobatics, but by performing compositions that create their own universes. It’s obvious he has soaked up a wide variety of influences but it all comes together in one rich identity.

julien-tassin.com