Under the Surface

Under the Surface is a Dutch band formed in 2015 by drummer Joost Lijbaart (1967), guitarist Bram Stadhouders (1987) and vocalist Sanne Rambags (1994).

The group released their successful debut album in 2017 which was nominated for an Edison award and bought the group to major festivals all over the world.

In 2019 the group released their second album (Trinity, Challenge records) which was also nominated for an Edison.

The last 7 years the group focused on fully improvised concerts and a lot of international touring. During these years the group developed a unique musical language with influences from jazz, prog rock, folk and tribal music.

An essential part of the group's international success, is that they capture the essence, the feeling, of much ethnic/folk music but in their own language:

Coming in a different state of mind.

Drummer Joost Lijbaart belongs to the top of the Dutch jazz scene, Bram Stadhouders is one of the most promising new young musicians in the European improvisation circuit and he received many awards and Sanne Rambags is one of the few singers of her generation who is able to improvise in a very open way, sometimes with self-written texts and poems, sometimes by positioning herself completely between the musicians.

This gives her voice an instrumental function which is beautifully in line with the open group sound and the playing of Lijbaart and Stadhouders.

Under the Surface is a unique trio of three musicians from different generations who have found each other in a common urge to search for space and silence through improvisation.