I write music for
about

A composer is a sponge. They soak up their surroundings and rinse out a piece that is both a mirror and a message.
I once had this very subtle criticism thrown to my head: ‘the only way you seem to learn is through osmosis, Camiel. You keep waiting until the external pressure is greater than the internal, and only then do you let a subject pass through your membrane’, is what I was told.
I guess that could be a rough definition of a sponge.
I’m a jazz upright bass player by trade, and I started off playing classical piano as a child. I studied performing music and creating music and have been composing for as long as I can remember. I write pieces centered around themes and stories, for all types of ensembles and settings. I try to find the implicit musical story within a theme and make it pop out. I strongly believe that artists have a responsibility to reflect back on society, and I try to do so in my work.
I love Thom Yorke, Igor Stravinsky, Haruki Murakami, Caroline Shaw, Flying Lotus, Dave Chappelle, the Obama’s, Radiohead, Maurice Ravel, David van Reybrouck, Olivier Messiaen, Lianne La Havas, Henri Matisse, Johannes Brahms, Chris Thile, Yves Klein, Franz Schubert, Werner Herzog, Tyler the Creator
and J.S. Bach.
But I love everything that moves me.