Letters to Handenberg
By Soolmaan Quartet

​Belonging to a family of travellers, Tristan Driessens (1982) spent most of his childhood travelling across Southern Europe, where he discovered the oud through the Sephardic and Arab-Andalusian music. In 2011, after finishing his musical training in Istanbul, he founded the Ensemble Lâmekân, which rapidly acquired a solid reputation in the field of Turkish classical music. Moreover, he collaborates in a wide range of artistic projects, from traditional and Balkan music (Nathan Daems Karsilama Quintet, Tcha Limberger) to Oriental music (Refugees for Refugees, Rafik El Maai), but also Contemporary music (Pascale Dusapin, Wim Hendricks, Mathias Coppens).

On the creation of Soolman Quartet, Tristan says: Nowadays, an artist has become a nomad. He is pushed to build an eclectic identity in contact with the reality wherein multiple languages and modes of expressions constantly meet. While remaining loyal to my musical standards, specifically those introduced to me by my masters, I had the desire to create this space, somewhat timeless, wherein we can freely dance. For the Soolmaan Quartet, this “space” is a breeding ground for a rich and inspiring music, as proven by this first album. Tristan Driessens’ compositions, which are of melodic brilliance, carry traces of Arab-Turkish makam, classical music and modal jazz, along with the improvisation as a powerful link.