Toasaves

Flemish songs with melismas from the cultural metropolis of Antwerp (Belgium)

Toasaves is a fascinating project from Belgium that brings together musicians from different musical backgrounds under the artistic direction of Tristan Driessens, who specialises in traditional Flemish songs.
Toasaves means "home harbours" in the Antwerp dialect. The name says it all for the ensemble: the musicians draw their inspiration from the diverse influences reflected in the city's history. Antwerp is a dock harbour at the mouth of the Scheldt and the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam. Early on, the city was a global meeting place for traders, in the 15th/16th century one of the largest cities in the world, at times the most important trading centre in Europe and traditionally the most important diamond trading centre in the world. But it also attracted painters such as Peter Paul Rubens as a refined cultural metropolis.
And Antwerp was also the home of Wannes Van de Velde (29 April 1937 - 10 November 2008), the legendary Flemish singer, musician, poet, puppeteer and folk artist who was known for singing in the local dialect. His father, Jaak Van de Velde, was a metalworker and talented singer, his mother a housewife and singer, so he was always surrounded by music at home. He grew up in the neighbourhood of Antwerp's red light district.
Wannes Van de Velde is an important source of inspiration for Tristan Driessens. And so today he asks himself, in the spirit of the chronicler Wannes Van de Velde, what an Afghan rubab player and a Sephardic violinist could have done in 15th century Antwerp ... and Toasaves provide the musical answers! With them, the old Flemish songs breathe the diverse cultural influences of today: with creativity and openness, with frame drum, lute and microtonal violin, with bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies and medieval flutes, with stylistic elements from Afghan, Corsican, Greek, Turkish and Sephardic traditions, the ensemble has created a fascinating world. As bizarre as this may seem, the effect is intoxicating and you can't help but listen ever more deeply to the driving rhythms, changing melodies and virtuoso performances to find out what the hell is going on. The virtuosity of the musicians makes for an exciting and wonderful journey into a perhaps not entirely fictional lost world.