Jazz trio De Beren Gieren: ‘There is no format for what we do’

Eager for new adventures, De Beren Gieren recorded his seventh LP in Bergen, Norway. There too, the Ghent piano trio proved that with its playful, eclectic sound it remains a boisterous outsider in contemporary European jazz.

“Welcome to our Bear Den,” says drummer Simon Segers (39) when we enter the regular rehearsal site of De Beren Gieren at the back of the city garden of his Ghent Bridge terraced house. Long ago, the now beautifully renovated and insulated space was the laundry of a felt factory. There is a large water tank outside, which Segers wants to turn into a guest room one day.

But in the short term, all attention is focused on the somewhat atypical jazz company that he has run since 2009 with pianist Fulco Ottervanger (40) and bassist Lieven Van Pée (39), which has become a permanent fixture in the Belgian and European jazz scene. Each of the musicians is active in a handful of other jazz and pop bands, as is the case in Flanders when you have to earn an income from music.

Among all those bands, De Beren Gieren remains the mother hen. In other configurations, Segers accompanies Nathan Daems, Matthias De Craene and Sylvie Kreusch, among others, ‘but De Beren Gieren have undoubtedly been the most important for my personal development as a drummer. Fulk’s compositions and playing have always challenged and inspired me.’

The run-up to their seventh album ‘What Eludes Us’ was different than usual, because this time the recordings literally had to cross some borders. “We usually work together with my brother Frederik and once we teamed up with Koen Gisen,” Segers continues. ‘But this time we thought a different environment and approach would do us good. In the end we recorded everything in five days, not even on our own instruments. We used what was available in our Norwegian producer Jørgen Træen’s studio in Bergen. That imposed a number of limitations on us, but sometimes as a band you are better off with a short burst of creativity than by working everything out to the last detail. Especially in these AI times, it is worth taking the risk. The errors that remained indicate that music is human work.’

Just before the other musicians arrive, Segers quickly puts a plant aside. “It is moved so often that almost all the leaves are snapped off,” he sighs, almost apologetically. The breeding ground for the music of De Beren Gieren has not yet dried up. ‘I remember Jørgen exclaiming with delight at our first recording in Bergen: ‘This is real music, guys!‘, says Ottervanger, straight to the point.

In addition to being with De Beren Gieren, he has released solo albums, plays with BeraadGeslagen, a crazy sound lab with drummer Lander Gyselinck, and is also in the krautrock combo Stadt with Van Pée. The bassist already knew Træen from his other band, John Ghost. ‘In terms of line-up, it is close to Jaga Jazzist, a leading Norwegian company with which the producer has worked before. I recommended him to the other Beren, because he also comes from an alternative circuit and is not the typical jazz producer… just as we are not the typical jazz band.’

Segers: ‘There is no format for what we do and Jørgen also had to adapt to that, as we noticed during the recording of the opening track of the new album.’ The playful single ‘Papir Freedom’ goes from minimalist keyboard and percussion work with plenty of space between the notes to a full-on intermediate section and ultimately ends up back at the minimalist start.

‘It wasn’t until we told Jørgen that we were inspired by a Japanese samurai film by Akira Kurosawa in which the workers became one with the percussion that he understood.’

According to Ottervanger, you often need such a spark of recognition to get started. ‘I sometimes have that problem with 20th-century classical music, which at first I think I can’t do anything with. But then I suddenly find an entrance or I hear a fragment of virtuosity and I still leave.’

“We have always tried to cultivate a kind of childlike simplicity,” Segers continues. ‘Certainly in the melody. We are fans of Kraftwerk and Miles Davis. Underneath they are often intense, but their melodies sound sweet, fresh and small. The best fusion jazz leaves room for lightness among the experiment.’ According to Van Pée, the master lies in those who can make something complex appear very simple. ‘As a listener I think so too show. It shouldn’t feel too far-fetched.’

One of their greatest achievements is that after fifteen years of career, no one has been able to give De Beren Gieren a label. It makes it more difficult to sell their music, but the freedom that comes with it is priceless. From the start, the members realized that the dynamics were right. “There was a strong will and a great sense of community,” Ottervanger remembers. ‘During our first music competitions we had already transcended the predicate ‘conservatory combo”, says Van Pée, referring to the very beginning, which included an award as a young jazz talent at Gent Jazz in 2009. Ottervanger: ‘But the best thing is that after that we always have continued to evolve.’

‘Of course sometimes we thought: we already have so much music, what’s next? We were really searching for a while,” says Segers honestly. ‘You can hear that on the live album ‘The Detour Fish’ (2014) and on ‘One Mirrors Many’ (2015). Our first records were acoustic, but when we added electronics, it initially became more stressful with all those extra buttons. Only with ‘Dug Out Skyscrapers’ (2017) did we feel that we had landed here.’

‘Many hybrid bands have emerged in the meantime.’ Ottervanger refers to the countless companies that now operate under the broad umbrella of ‘jazz’ in the border area between genres, but sometimes also simply make instrumental pop music. ‘Even with a Dutch name,’ Segers adds, laughing. ‘Aka Moon was once the primal scream of ‘fusion’ in Belgium. We were all fans.’ Instead of African influences, De Beren Gieren ‘played up’ Ottervanger’s classical touch. The constant cross-pollination across styles provided oxygen.

During the conversation it becomes clear how much more relaxed the band members have become over the years. Segers: ‘In the past, one mistake could throw me off balance for half a concert. The next day I was sometimes still depressed. I won’t let that happen anymore. We are also less afraid of the ‘boring’ moments live.’

‘Adapting moments’ is what Ottervanger calls these periods when they don’t really know where to go. ‘Now we realize that there is nothing wrong with trying.’ According to Segers, it usually comes down to returning to something simple while searching, and then letting something grow again from there. ‘We used to find it boring to collapse during a concert. We didn’t yet see it as a breeding ground to be creative again afterwards.’

‘What Eludes Us’ by De Beren Gieren is released today via Sdban Records. First concerts on April 9 at the Handelsbeurs in Ghent, April 14 at the AB in Brussels, April 17 at Nona in Mechelen.