The Thing at Bimhuis

Scandinavian all star band links avant-jazz to punk, garage rock and more. ‘Masters of intensity’ (Downbeat). ‘Juggernaut free improvisation, shooting out sparks’ (The Wire).

Since 1999 The Thing brings fans of rock, noise and jazz together. With sax, bass and drums the band has covered music from jazz avant-gardists such as Don Cherry and Albert Ayler, from garage rockers such as The White Stripes and The Cramps, more established names such as PJ Harvey and Iggy Pop and underground bands such as Lightning Bolt. The trio recorded albums together with, among others, Neneh Cherry, Ken Vandermark and Thurston Moore, and has collaborated with, among others, Pat Metheny, Peter Brötzmann and Merzbow....

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Scandinavian all star band links avant-jazz to punk, garage rock and more. ‘Masters of intensity’ (Downbeat). ‘Juggernaut free improvisation, shooting out sparks’ (The Wire).

Since 1999 The Thing brings fans of rock, noise and jazz together. With sax, bass and drums the band has covered music from jazz avant-gardists such as Don Cherry and Albert Ayler, from garage rockers such as The White Stripes and The Cramps, more established names such as PJ Harvey and Iggy Pop and underground bands such as Lightning Bolt. The trio recorded albums together with, among others, Neneh Cherry, Ken Vandermark and Thurston Moore, and has collaborated with, among others, Pat Metheny, Peter Brötzmann and Merzbow.

Frontman Mats Gustafsson is internationally renowned for his powerful tenor sax playing. The Swedish saxophonist/composer plays in The Thing with bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love, who are known as ‘Norway’s heaviest rhythm section’.

‘The sheer energy and physicality of The Thing’s sound is immensely satisfying, fusing the freedom of jazz with the controlled power of rock’ (The Quietus).

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