Cloudfish

Jasper le Clercq plays the violin in the Change Ensemble, and, among many other activities, also forms the duo Cloudfish with vocalist Hartog Eysman. Their only CD yet, But Is It Art? presents a collection of fourteen "songs" with inexhaustible violin positions and techniques that support the use of effects and loops, as well as all sorts of vocal changes. This is especially true of the first half, where the gems include A Light Inside, which begins with a whispered mystery and a paranoid text with touches on a violin and continues with urgent love singing and changeable strings. The song Patience Is A Liar, introduced by breaths and ending with inhaling, has a haunting atmosphere. In Na Quweh, Eysman will make do with the title "interlocutors" and the singing of the vocals will gradually turn into soothing, supplemented by bitter violins.
The song that gave the album its name is also a real masterpiece. The introductory dramatic recitation is underlined by accelerating long tones, then everything turns into a kind of cosmic sound with a morse code and everything culminates in a growl playing partly with the word “art”. Impressively lyrical is the song Forgive with a text about the forgiveness of those who do not know what they are doing. Kraaak with the creaking and squeaking of the violin and the chirping and howling vocals could be called almost noise. Just before the end, the ten-minute epitaph Exit Stage Left will attract attention. It is opened by a thrilling violin reminiscent of a blizzard, which turns into other atmospheric effects, and the larger repetitive part ends with a gradual dumdum. It is definitely an imaginative work that deserves a sequel.

If you use your voice in jazz and perhaps present yourself as a jazz singer, you may also declaim, hum, or convey a message. And even sing, yes! Hartog Eysman does it in a collaboration with violinist Jasper le Clercq on the CD 'But Is It Art?'
Jasper le Clercq and Hartog Eysman have united under the name Cloudfish. A name as mysterious as the contents of the CD But Is It Art?. And perhaps also as the title of the disc. The latter in any case implies a bit of putting things into perspective, because if performers wonder whether their musical product is actually art, you might want to step aside. Well, you’d better, because But Is It Art? is a constant reaching for hidden artistry that provides a clear answer in its performance: But Is It Art? is indeed art, because it amazes, excites, breaks new ground and raises questions. Which the listeners may answer for themselves. And isn't this the essence of true art?
Cloudfish claims to 'move on the borders of improvisation, indie and ambient jazz'. You could add lots of qualifications to those, knowing that it doesn't matter how you classify music. But Is It Art? is in fact a continuous walk through the fantasy of the two musicians, an exploration of what can move between the sounds of a voice and a violin.
That's quite a lot, because both Hartog Eysman and Jasper le Clercq don't care much for the imposed attitudes of voice and violin. The first performs antics with his voice, sings in a way as if he doesn’t need to impose it on the outside world, declaims lyrics that have a point and then sings them all over again. For example in the title piece But Is It Art? where the speaker is left in the woods: 'Smell the Flowers, Fasten your seatbelts, we're going in: three, two, one: Showtime! Is It Art’ is then the final question...
Or let the lyrics of I Am Not sink in: 'I am not a conspiracy, I am not a problem, breaking news, true or fake?'. And again and again Jasper le Clercq's violin, loops and electronic effects contribute to the elusive, deliberately created distance between the two performers who, in their restlessness, always steam up to more than satisfactory solutions at the end of each of the fourteen pieces.
The listener therefore has to make do with tongue-clack, dark mumbles, singing, accumulations of words, electronic, threatening background noises, violin eruptions and collisions with reality. Because But Is It Art? is not only mysterious, as mentioned above, but also the entrance to a kind of Alice in Wonderland, a dreamy maze where you keep getting lost because you don't know what's going to happen. But you love all of it.

Violinist Jasper le Clercq and Hartog Eysman, voice, have recently presented their debut album as Cloudfish. It contains wonderfully rich sounding compositions (Forgive, Ever aspiring) and experimental sound bites (Kraaak, Contact). Catchy violin pieces (Berlin, Liar) and disturbing mini-operas that live from the hypnotic voice of Eysman and are energized by the exciting grooves of Le Clercq (A light inside, Patience is a liar). 1 plus 1 is more than 3 here! The listener is treated to an exciting journey through fragmented world music, spoken word, indie jazz, experimental pop and the good taste, or the artistic life experience, of two born musicians. The joy of making music oozes out in the bulging text orgies (Na Quweh, But is it art?). At the same time, their music exudes a serene joie de vivre. Le Clercq and Eysman have long earned their spurs, but they continue to search creatively for the fulfillment of their ultimate music dream. Footprints touches me deeply with its overwhelming simplicity of a supremely sad violin melody next to the penetrating, lovingly sung lyrics about a Jewish girl awaiting deportation.

Cloudfish is a duo with vocals and violin based in the Netherlands. They do a mix of songs and improvisation, with a view to atmosphere and emotions, as the record company says. The duo consists of Hartog Eysman on vocals and Jasper le Clercq on violin, effects and loops. And we are served 14 improvised "stretches" that vary greatly in musical landscape and mood.

And they start with "Berlin", a nice and surprising song where violin and rhythms are the dominant, before we get "A Light Inside", where the vocals also come in, but not as another jazz vocalist, but with sounds that can be heard like wind in the beginning over a fine violin playing. And when the vocals come in, I feel like we're suddenly in a market in North Africa. There is a good background for the slightly melancholic vocals, and there is no doubt that we are a good distance away from Kultuurwerkplaats Oosterbeek in the Netherlands in the music that is presented. Typical North African percussion comes in as the violin dances around in a slightly free landscape.

"Patience Is A Liar", continues a bit in the same landscape, mostly due to the rhythmic in the song where you use the typical North African rhythms under contrasting violin and vocals.

And so it continues with exciting, relatively short songs, where the violin and vocals spin around each other in a fascinating way. The music seems simple and almost a little naive in some of the songs, but all the way this is beautiful and exciting.

The two musicians have almost developed a sixth sense in the interaction, which all the way reacts to each other's small plays. And where the songs and the "adventure" take them, it almost seems like a surprise to themselves.

The result is like a movie, made of sound. Textures and layers are created by Le Clercq's violin playing and effects. Sometimes it is minimalist, with small motifs that color the silence. Sometimes it's more dramatic, with rhythms and melodies that build up to a kind of climax. The original songs mixed with improvisation create a musical landscape that is always changing and that is very fascinating. It can be quiet and intimate, dramatic or jubilant.

The vocals of Hartog Eysman can at times be a bit reminiscent of Robert Wyatt combined with a voice one hears mesmerizingly in a North African market, taken home to the Netherlands and "retold" to good friends at "home". Other times he messes with residents over an almost Lourie Anderson violin playing. All the way, I feel it is Jasper le Clercq's violin playing that "lays the groundwork" for how the result should be. His relatively minimalist playing, beautifully paired with sober effects and loops, makes this a recording that is intimate, emotional and sensitive, while at the same time it is occasionally characterized by pure joy.

They already ask in the title the question of whether this is art. Maybe that's a way to get people to want to check out the music. But after listening to me through the record a few times, I have no doubt at all. This is art, at a high level, from two more extremely exciting musicians from the Netherlands.

An exciting and, not least, surprising recording from two clear and exciting voices from the Dutch, improvised music.

(Jan Granlie)

But Is It Art? Jasper Le Clercq & Hartog Eysman ask honestly. One is an effectful violinist, the other a singer-songwriter in the spectrum of jazz, soul, pop, triphop and soft rock, together CLOUDFISH. Le Clercq has fiddled with Herman van Veen, Bite The Gnatze and the Vogelkwartet and 'stringed up' Radiohead and Nirvana with Zapp4, Eysman has merged with guitar player Robert Siroen to form Eysir.
Here, 'Berlin' amazes with an über-violin loop that makes words superfluous to swing the violin. 'A Light Insight' also surprises with a pizzicato bass loop to a two-track twitching and wildly virtuoso violin, while Eysman’s haunting whispers turn into to urgent vocals. Obviously both have a lot of expressions in store, one panting and humming and with heart & soul-moving pathos and in 'Na Quweh' with melancholic crooning, the other pecking and twitching and with a bittersweet bow stroke.
The title track is a spoken word set to whizzing violins and with a wahwah response, and “Arrrt”, the Kunscht, comes under the wheels of Eysman's tongue. Over cascades of pizzicato and 'harmonium' he slips into jesus sandals at 'Forgive' and begs forgive them because they don't know what they do. 'Kraaak' croaks as a wind-up bird, the violin whistles, and picks again, at the same time clockwork and aspiring lark, when Eysman is kneeling down in the things of life. 'Contact' mixes beatbox-like murmurs with jet noise and alarming waves.
With 'I Am Not' Eysman confesses to a lack of fighting spirit in competition, and who calls whom a liar with the prancing 'Liar'? Pizzicato tingles forward and backward until the muse inspires a blissful melody, that violin and lips hum together. After a sharp, roaring, looping intro, 'Exit Stage Left' stages great theater, Eysman scats like a doo-wop bass when words fail, the violin says enough. But he's hoping for one last chance. Finally 'Footprints' creates a feeling of deportation, with a little girl on the beach, the suitcases packed, the bicycles stay behind, the train leaves tomorrow.

Rigo Dittmann, Bad Alchemy 113

The surreal name of this duo (singer Hartog Eysman and violinist Jasper le Clercq) is well chosen. Just like you can see a fish in a cloud, Cloudfish' music lets you discover all sorts of things. With simple electronics (effects pedals, a loop station) Le Clercq layers the sounds of his violin. Sometimes he builds bowed sounds up to a string ensemble ('Exit stage left'), at other times his pizzicati form a rhythmic foundation under the music. Eysman sings, but also uses other possibilities of his voice: spoken word ('I am not', for example), sounds and percussive contributions. In 'Patience is a liar' his gasping sounds provide the rhythmic basis. It reminds me of Laurie Anderson's unexpected hit 'O Superman'.
With all these elements Cloudfish builds pieces that gain flesh on the bones through improvisation. Thus creating intriguing soundscapes or wordless radio plays the listener can imagine their own stories and images to. The poetic lyrics in other tracks are always open to interpretation, so that each new listen can bring different insights. That makes the debut album ‘But Is It Art?’ into a rich experience that disproves the idea that a duo of voice and violin would be boring or barren.
(Herman te Loo)

Some partnerships are as unexpected as they are interesting. Like the singer-songwriter Hartog Eysman and the violinist Jasper Le Clercq. I got to know Eysman as a gifted songsmith, who has already released four albums under his first name Hartog. He crosses genres such as jazz, pop, soul, soft rock and more. In all that, conveying emotions is more important than traditional song structures, which also makes his music distinctive. I know Le Clercq through Zapp4, Zapp String Quartet, Vogelkwartet & Jaap Blonk and New Niks, but he does a lot more. Improvised and experimental music, but also playing for La Pat, Herman van Veen, Nits and Alex Roeka. Too many to mention. I think his heart lies, just like Hartog's, in coloring outside the lines.

They now do that together in Cloudfish, and have just released their debut album But Is It Art?. Hartog on vocals, spoken word and voice improvisation, while Le Clercq takes care of the violin, effects and loops. Asking the question is giving the answer. Frank Zappa once came up with the question (also album) "Does Humor Belong In Music?", to which a clear affirmative musical answer followed. Humor and love for music is certainly something you can taste in this collaboration. They set course for unknown waters, taking you through avant-garde, classical, Nordic folk, jazz, ambient, improvisation, spoken word, poetry, pop, electronic and other experiments; or crisscross. Sometimes clear-cut and often wonderfully out of control. They know how to continuously surprise you, both in the fathomable and the complex deep. But whatever they play in their 14 tracks of a good 57 minutes, it's all fascinating. At times simply beautiful and at other times beautifully complex. Although no comparison can be made, keep in mind an ever-changing cross-fertilization of Tuxedomoon, Fink, Jaap Blonk, Zappa, Peter Hammill, Nils Økland, Iva Bittová, Palinckx and the theater productions of Einstürzende Neubauten. In the title track Hartog barely gets the word "art" out of his mouth. This is probably because art is a subjective concept and an irrelevant question when artists are creating something for others. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science probably does not share this opinion, given their subsidy policy. Is it art? For me yes and actually fine art! They provide the answer to the question in a convincing way, although it is not important to me given the boundless listening pleasure these two deliver here. World class record that has something to offer for a wide audience!

Cloudfish is made up of violinist Jasper le Clercq and vocalist Hartog Eysman. The music they make is theatrical, whimsical, punishing, delightful, tortuous, and fun. Their album ‘But Is It Art?’ is made from a rich tapestry of melody, rhythm, and thoughtful vocals. In a short period, they manage to tap into something that leaves you pondering the album long after it's finished.
‘Forgive’ feels like a cover of a Jon and Vangelis number. Strong yet fragile, vocals drift over Le Clercq’s graceful soundscapes. At anymore you feel it could all collapse under the sudden weight of a melody. It doesn’t. Instead, we get one of the strongest tracks on the moment when the duo is at their most vulnerable. Sometimes this doesn’t work as well. ‘Patience is a Liar’ isn’t quite the event it should be. It is hard to put your finger on why it doesn’t work as well as some of the other tracks, but it doesn’t. Maybe after the one-two punch of ‘Berlin’ and ‘A Light Inside’, we are expecting something to follow their ilk, but it doesn’t quite come off, which is a shame as its one of the rare instances of the album not quite living up to the member’s hype.
A few times, Eysman’s vocals get in the way of le Clercq’s incredible soundscapes. This is no slight on Eysman. His stories of love, loss, and redemption are engaging, clever and moving, but there are times when you just want to hear and to try and work out, what Le Clercq is doing. His playing is virtuosic. Sometimes he just goes for it and renders you unable to move due to the emotional impact of the music. Other times he’s playful and being jocular, but there is always a point. At no point does he ever just play for the sake of it. And this is the point of ‘But is it, Art?’
Despite all its protests, ‘But Is It Art?’ is a delicate album, filled with tender melodies, thoughtful lyrics and a sense of longing that is hard to ignore. Even the scratchy instrumental ‘Kraaak,’ with all its awkward sounds and terse rhythms, quickly draws you into its world before displacing us again. The album asks a big question about art, what is art and what should be art. It tries to answer it, as I have tried to explain why the album works, but we both fail. Defining why art works is, to quote the film Dogma, “is the most exhausting activity one can engage in, next to soccer.” After experiencing art, you immediately know whether you like it or not. I can categorically say that I enjoyed this album. It touched me in a way I wasn’t expecting, but it might not be something I return to very often, if at all. (For very different reasons) Much like the film ‘Requiem for a Dream’. I’m glad I saw the film. It will stay with me forever, but I never need to see it again. The same is true here. I will carry what I have learned and gleaned from the album, but it won’t be getting regular airings. So, without going into much more detail than I already have. Is this art? Yes. Yes, it is. (NR)

Cloudfish is only seemingly a minimalistic set up. Vocal and violin with effects but how rich it gets you can only know by listening to it.

Two gentlemen: Jasper le Clercq who has played 25 years in the Zapp4 string quartet and also plays in theater productions like ‘Ausdauer’ and Hartog Eysman who has released four solo albums so far as an indie singer-songwriter.

So how would you classify Cloudfish?

It is a theatre play made on its own rules. With Hartog vocal lead and Jasper's instrumental mirror we are getting 14 songs which live on their own even without the context of the whole album. Quirky, poetic, funny and dramatic vocals with groovy and experimental violin which sometimes comes so close to emulating other instruments but first and foremost bringing its own original vibe.

The whole album has its own dynamics and never fails to achieve the spectacular temperature of nuances and moods.