Andy Benz Archives - Andreas Bennetzen

Bass Day (Dansk BasTræf) 2020

April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

Bass Day (Dansk BasTræf) 2020

This year Danish Bass Society organised the event Bass Day(Dansk BasTræf on March 8th. I was invited to talk about live-looping, and the Yamaha Silent Bass. The whole thing took place at Metronomen in Frederiksberg.

Now you might be thinking: March 8th, wasn´t that just a few days before Denmark was shut down completely, due to the COVID 19 outbreak? If you are then you are absoutely right. 3 days later primeminister Mette Frederiksen decided to shut DK down, with effect almost immediately.

This meant that there were no handshakes and hugs going around. There was also this feeling of beginning social distancing, but we managed to have a great afternoon in good company. Bass players are nice and friendly people, just ask around!

Setting up

I arrived an hour before kick-off. First a few technical issues had to be resolved. It was not hard at all thanks to a great team of organisers with Peter Kevin Kofod helping me with the sound and projector set-up. As with all events, even though we plan and talk beforehand, unforeseen issues might arise. When we found out that we were missing a cable to connect the audio output from my laptop, then Peter just pulled it out of his bag. Magical!

The clock was almost 12 and I was all set-up and ready to go. My presentation was on the schedule for 13h, so I had an hour before it was my turn to talk and play

Introduction
From left to right: Mikkel Riber, Peter Kofod, Jesper Kastrup & Berit Engblad

Off we go!

The chairman Mikkel Riber and organiser Jesper Kastrup first held a short introduction and then we listened to Peter play a few pieces with a pianist and singer Berit Engblad. Nice jazzy stuff. I also had time to look around at the exhibition of instruments.

The Danish Bass Society and Bass Day is not only for upright bass players. Mikkel Riber, the chairman is an electrical bassist and it has been a goal for many years to have a Bass society rather than a double bass society.

Surprise!

Some of the best things are spontaneous. It was the case here as well. Kasper Vadsholt and Lars Danielson had been jamming backstage trying out some basses and asked if they could jam on stage as well. No need to disagree with that! I didn´t film their performance, but I found a video from their backstage jam.

Backstage til Bastræf med Kaspar Vadsholt og Lars Danielson
Slået op af Linne Lauesen i Søndag den 8. marts 2020

Kasper Vadsholt & Lars Danielsson jamming backstage

My presentation

After that great show of musicianship it was my turn to talk about live-looping and the Yamaha Bass. I had prepared a powerpoint in danish, similar to my presentation in Lucca 2018, but with a lot of updates.

It went really well. It lasted about and hour. First I talked a bit and then I played my tracks Wamps Dance, Cumbassia and New Friends, from my 2 solo albums Flowing in Circles and Disciples.

What is live-looping?

Live-looping means recording and playing back musical phrases with your instrument or voice in real-time. It can also be caracterized as a One-Man-Band setup. I have been doing it for years and now I often combine it with playing on top of pre-recorded backtracks.

Live-looping is great for solo performances and has the kind of magic feeling about it. When you loop yourself the audience becomes curious and drawn into what you can do with the instrument.

Do you want to try live-looping?

Wamps Dance is a pure live-looping composition that everyone can play. I have transcribed the loops and the solo so if you want to try out the technique, but don´t have anything to play you can always start with Wamps Dance. You can buy the sheet music directly from my webstore Arbolis Music

Download Wamps Dance

Jon Pold – slap bass

After me then Jon Pold took the stage and presented slap bass techniques on electric bass. Interesting and great sounding. He broke a string on stage so he had to switch basses, but he still rocked it!

The day comes to an end

A fine day came to an end. I want to thank all of the involved and the people that organised the event. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun.

THANK YOU

The Team! From left to right
Mikkel Riber(chairman), Peter Kevin Kofod, Me, Jesper Kastrup and Mads Hermansen

Double Bass Dub

April 15, 2020April 26, 2020 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

My new track Double Bass Dub is now available. I have been in the studio and it gives me great pleasure to announce that the track Double Bass Dub is NOW available on BANDCAMP.

Click on the link above or below to listen to the result. For the best listening experience I recommend that you listen on a real soundsystem or good headphones.

Double Bass Dub was previously released on Stingray Vision Records back in 2017, but I have spent a considerable amount of time remixing and remastering the music, and it now has a new and fresh sound.

All the sounds are created with the double bass and an electric bass for the reggae bassline. Classic Andy Benz style! I am a sucker for that old style dub sound that I grew up with. King Tubby, Lee Scratch Perry & Augustus Pablo are some of my heroes from that age.

I used my old Yamaha SLB 100 for the effects and rhythm.; my Rickenbacker for the bass line and then finally my acoustic Pöllmann Busetto for the solo. The result is a pretty conservative Andy Benz track. A sort of classic Andy Benz sound.

If you listen to Flowing in Circles. Then you will find that Double Bass Dub is very closely related to a composition from that album called MS Dub. It is sort of an updated version, but then with a different and more bluesy melodic line.

The track will be included on my upcoming 3rd album titled The Vibration. So Double Bass Dub could be called the first single if you like.

LINK TO THE MUSIC

Dansk BasTræf 2020

March 5, 2020March 8, 2020 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

Jeg glæder mig meget til søndag den 8.marts 2020. Her vil jeg fortælle lidt om teknikken Live-Looping og spille nogle numre på min Yamaha Silent Bass ved BasTræf 2020 i Metronomen på Frederiksberg.

BasTræf er et årligt møde organiseret af Dansk Basselskab, hvor bassister mødes og giver den en god gang nørderi på bassen. Det er altid et fantastisk inspirerende forum at mødes i.

I samarbejde med Yamaha Instruments vil jeg demonstrere hvorfor SLB200 er en af de førende elektriske kontrabasser på markedet i dag.

Jeg vil selvfølgelig spille noget af min egen musik og bagefter vil det være muligt at prøve instrumentet selv. Det vil være sat op til min loop-pedal, så der er også mulighed for at prøve at loope lidt. hvis man har lyst til det.

Her kan du læse mere om min undervisning i Live-Looping

BasTræf 2020 arrangeres af Jesper Kastrup og Mads Hermansen.

Her er hvad De skriver om dagens arrangement

Kom til det årlige bastræf i Metronomen, stedet at dyrke sit basnetværk.

I vil finde et interessant program igen i år med musikalske indslag, udstillere og en masse basnørderi.

Arrangementet er gratis, men kun for medlemmer af Dansk BasSelskab.
Medlemskab kan købes v indgangen og koster 50 kr

PRÆLIMINÆRT PROGRAM

Kl 12 velkomst v formanden og præsentation af programmet.
Kl 13 Præsentation af Yamaha Silent Bass. Med live musik og ord beretter Andreas Bennetzen lidt om hvordan teknikken live-looping og en Yamaha Silent Bass kan bruges.
Kl 14 Slagbas teknikker på Elbas v Jon Pold

UDSTILLERE
I pauserne er der rigelig tid til at besøge udstillerne:
A Little Bass, Peder Linneberg præsenterer en række kontrabasser.
Peter Rahbek, tager et udvalg af sine basser med.
Spens Guitarer, Bjarne Spens præsenterer et udvalg af elbasser.
Www.StringAmp.com med et magnet system til kontrabas. Der er demonstration af en akustisk kontrabas og en EUB med systemet, og mulighed for at prøve systemet

CAFÉ
Det er muligt at købe forfriskninger i caféen.

BAS MARKEDSPLADSEN
Igen i år vil der være mulighed for at tage sit overskydende gear med til brugtbørsen: Køb/salg/bytte husk at sætte info på dine ting.

Vi ser frem til en god dag i F nøglens tegn.

Martin Hall – Services Rendered

February 19, 2020March 5, 2020 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

Back in 2018 I met up with Martin Hall in connection with an upcoming tour around Denmark. He presented me with a song he was working on and I was immediately struck by the power of the song.

In my mind I heard strings as the perfect extra for the song and I offered to write a string arrangement for the song.

After a bit of back and forth we landed in a place of romantic classically sounding strings. We went into the studio with Johnny Stage as the producer and 5 strings players.

The recording features Eskild Winding (piano), Tinne Albrectsen (violin), Gustav Ranum (violin), Nicolaj Møller Nielsen (viola), Live Johansson (cello) and Andreas Bennetzen (string bass)

The session went really well an Thomas Li mixed and mastered the track. The result is breathtaking and very moving.

Listen to Martin Hall Services Rendered

Martin Hall is an amazing artist and a great person. I really like working with him, but unfortunately he only tours every 5 years.

It is how he prefers to work. He also writes books and excels in other artforms so touring is not his first priority.

The Danish Magazine Gaffa wrote a review of the tour and it was a top rated 6 star review.

Gaffa Review

Martin also made a music video for Services Rendered. A very emotional video in Black&White with Martin as the only performer. The video has been filmed by Robin Skjoldborg and features sequences produced by Staal Film. Edited by Michael Webster and Johnny Stage.

If you want to know more about what I can do for your musical project have a look at the COLLABORATIONS part of my webpage. You can also simply write and ask me. I always give your project a good look and I answer as soon as I can

15th annual Double Bass Masterclass in Germany

February 14, 2020February 21, 2020 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

The masterclass line-up is ready!

We are ready with the faculty for the Mittenwald International Double Bass Masterclass 2020.

This is the 15th time we invite double bass players of all levels from around the world to join us for a week of double bass studies in the German Alps.

We are very excited about having the great Szymon Marciniak with us this year as the special guest teacher.

Faculty group

Professor Jeff Bradetich – classical double bass

Szymon Marciniak – classical duble bass

Andreas Bennetzen(Andy Benz) – cross over and live-looping

Alex Bayer – jazz

Alexis Scharff – classical double bass

and physiotherapist, Angela Gebler

More info and photos from participants

Please visit our Facebook Group with lots of photos and videos from the previous years uploaded by the students.

Registration

You can register online by following this link.

Online Registration

Or you can send an email to info@andreasbennetzen.dk if you want to learn more or want to register by mail

The story of the masterclass

Since it´s foundation in 2005, professor Jeff Bradetich has held a Double Bass Camp every summer in Mittenwald together with Andreas Bennetzen.

Jeff Bradetich is a double bass professor at the University of North Texas and a world famous classical music performer.
Andreas Bennetzen is a leading, classically trained cross-over bassist and composer.

—Highlights include—

-Multi-level teaching
-Solo lessons
-Intense technical training
-Orchestral training
-Attention and room for your personal needs
-Basses that you can borrow for FREE
-A nice friendly learning environment
-Highly experienced faculty
-Focus on your development
-Concerts, workshops and insight into the world of double bass making in company with famous double bass maker Michael Krahmer Pöllmann.

Mittenwald is a historic town situated in the Bavarian Alps 938 meters up the Karwendelspitz- this area has always had excellent wood for building instruments and is the home of the Pöllmann double basses.

The town is also a popular tourist attraction so it´s full of cosy restaurants, hotels and bavarian good spirits.

Andy Benz – Høker Session#3

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

Totally live and uncut in Christiania

The crew from Freetown Sound Division approached me with the idea of recording a medley of 2 tracks for the Høker Session series. Høker is an old danish word originally meaning a person who sells food and drinks from a small stand.

In this context it refers to the pretty good beer named “Høker Bajer” brewed at Hancock Brewery

The concept of the Høker Sessions is that it should be 100% live and a one-take shot in the W.C.Fields club in Christiania.

I really liked the concept and the crew behind the idea, so when they asked me to do a session for them I gladly agreed and so we went ahead and made this video.

I am playing 2 tracks. In the first track I am using Live-Looping and it is a track that I made up on the spot, showcasing some of the elements I am working on at the moment. Elements such as making the kick by tapping on the bridge. Using breaks to build up tracks. Keeping it simple to get closer to the sound of electronic music genres like trance and minimalistic techno. I like to call it acoustic techno, but I will try not to label it too much. It is very much the Andy Benz sound.

The second track is Kick it! from the album Disciples. This track is performed with a backtrack that I play from my iPad and RME Babyface soundcard and a solo on top. In my opinion allowing for the best of both worlds with the backtrack being very dynamic with break downs and buildups and the live double bass giving it the improvised element.

If you like to watch more videos from my hand go to my YouTube Channel or have a look right here on this Webpage.

The video was filmed by the amazing Mark From Denmark

Concept by Kasper Boll & Freetown Sound Division

Music edited and mastered by Andreas Bennetzen

Andy Benz – HØKER SESSION #3

Watch Andy Benz conjure up a blizzard of bass in HØKER SESSION #3. Listen to many, many more great tracks by following these links:Bandcamphttps://andybenz.bandcamp.com/Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/3n2mZfOeqLrJ1YGqWG1gNOApple Musichttps://music.apple.com/bn/album/disciples/1088968243

Slået op af Andy Benz i Fredag den 1. november 2019

BASS 2018 in LUCCA

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

This summer saw the great city of Lucca host the BASS 2018 Double bass convention.

I was fortunate enough to recieve an invitation to play at BASS 2018 and with the generous support of D´Addario Orchestral and Yamaha Instruments I had the funds to travel there, play a concert and also give a lecture on Live-Looping.

It was a great event and despite only being there for a few days I saw many interesting and very inspiring performances and met many good friends. I can highly recommend participating in the bi-annual double bass convention of BASS EUROPE

As is normal for me I played a full program of my own compositions from my 2 Andy Benz albums. Music created for and with the electric upright bass. If you have not heard my music yet I invite you to check it out on my BANDCAMP PAGE

Henrica Fagerlund at BASS 2018 trying my Yamaha Silent bass and Line 6 POD

There were many bassplayers there. A great mix of professionals, students and amateurs. You also have all the bass makers-bow makers-string makers. Yes, basically all you need to have a fantastic time with only bass, bass and more bass. Nobody looks at you in a wrong way if you find yourself talking about double bass for the entire day. Well maybe it is even expected from you.

The article below is a review by professor in psychology, Mads Hermansen of some of the performances that took place incuding my solo-performance. He is an amateur bass player with a lot of insight into modern bassplaying. If you want to read the part about my performance then scroll down to page 6. It is in danish.

I want to use this oppotunity to give a big thank you to Jimmi Roger Pedersen for organizing this with the rest of the BASSEUROPE team!

BASS2018LUCCA_Resume_MadsH

Field recordings for “The Vibration”

March 20, 2018March 22, 2018 By Andreas BennetzenNo Comments

Some time ago I had a session with Katrine Ring. We were improvising with the composition “Morfars sang” in my studio. This track is a mixture of a sound-collage that Katrine assembled of her now deceased grandfather humming his own little tune while doing some kitchen work and a double bass solo.
We had performed the piece before on several occasions and I think it has even been played on Danish National Radio. However, we wanted to record a studio version and were just jamming a bit. I had not really set up the sound and I was playing on my Yamaha EUB.
When I was playing I suddenly felt the presence of my, at that time, recently deceased grandmother. She was there in the studio. I loved her very much and she was a fun and outgoing character, and I felt her right there. The improvisation became very intense and the end result was an amazing powerful solo. So powerful that after careful consideration we agreed that this solo now was a new composition called “Grandmother” and not “Grandfather”.
Since I started getting the upcoming album The Vibration ready I wanted to include this recording on the album. However, The recording quality proved too bad for my taste, so I took out 2 days to transcribe it(I will post the sheet music another day). Now I will record it again and make it the title work of the album. My vision of the composition “The Vibration” is that is has to contain samples from The big Bang, The Japanese Earthquake of 2011, The Pacific Ocean and The Atlantic Ocean.
I have collected all of the samples now. The last sample was recorded by me at the Faroe Islands this weekend. It was very difficult to record as it was extremely windy almost all the time making it very difficult to get a clean recording. I went on a tour of Stremoy with my friend Agnar, but we could not find a place with less wind. Then the last evening after the concert at Nordens Hus, the wind fell quiet and I went down to Torshavn harbor and recorded the sound of the majestic and crazy Atlantic Ocean hitting the rocks.