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FES LIVE

The most unreliable music since 1999

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Taking Belgian whimsy to a logical, irresistible extreme, Flat Earth Society straddles the border between multi-color surrealism and savvy skill with striking ease.  

Working with sheet music and tight arrangements, as well as alarming amounts of freedom and unpredictability, this 15-headed juggernaut effortlessly switches from one style and temperament to another. Not to prove that it can, but because the possibilities are just too good to ignore. The generosity that is at the heart of Flat Earth Society will satisfy those looking for an XL-shot of adrenalin and its proudly upheld ‘unreliability’.

While Flat Earth Society’s compositions and arrangements betray an expert knowledge of 20th century traditions - from various jazz branches to rock, exotica and contemporary music - it starts from a decidedly 21st century spirit, looking forward and creating a body of work that is as large and multi-layered as it is instantly recognisable. Quick-witted, effortlessly eccentric and always on the lookout for new and exciting challenges, Flat Earth Society is that rare beast: a constantly evolving orchestra that keeps shedding its skin and thrives best live.

Pianist / Rhodes specialist Uri Caine already succumbed to them (Psychoscout, 2005), as did Jimi Tenor (2008) and Ernst Reijseger (2012). When rock icon Mike Patton (a.o. Faith No More, Fantômas) heard them for the first time, he promptly released a compilation CD in the States on his label IPECAC Recordings (FES-ISMS, 2004).

Photos

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CONCERT REVIEWS

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Pančevo Jazz Festival
(Marcin Puławski - laboratoriummf.com, 25/11/2023)

The concert of the Belgian Flat Earth Society Orchestra conducted by Peter Vermeersch was something of a musical fantasy, with each piece being a separate world full of surprises and originality. The band crossed the boundaries of styles and idioms and created music that seemed to be for everyone - regardless of musical preferences.

The eclecticism of this orchestra was not only a conscious choice, but also a way to explore countless musical contents. Highlights of the performance were the arrangements: original, fascinating and full of unpredictability. The songs were like musical mazes where every twist was both surprising and fit perfectly into the overall story. There were many excellent solo parts here, distinguished by their virtuosity and emotional message. What was also striking was the great sense of humor - both in the music and in the behavior of the musicians on stage. The performers had a great time and their joy permeated the entire room.

This concert reminded us that music can be intellectual and fun, challenging and accessible at the same time. For the audience, regardless of their musical preferences, it was enough to fully enjoy this extraordinary experience with an open mind. Flat Earth Society Orchestra showed that jazz can be just as exciting and innovative as any other music genre, and their performance was proof that boundaries in music are just an illusion.

Lincoln Center, New York
(Andrey Henkin – The New York City Jazz Record, Juni 2011)

“We’re playing all of these tunes for the last time,” remarked clarinetist Peter Vermeersch, conductor and spokesperson for Belgium’s Flat Earth Society. He was speaking during the large ensemble’s premiere US performance at the David Rubenstein Atrium (May 19th), just two days before the heavily-advertised end of the world. This comment was very much in line with the group’s sardonic humor, naming songs after “our favorite dictators”, for example. The 15-piece group, a typical big band augmented by guitar, accordion and vibraphone (with the pianist also playing keyboard) offered up supremely coordinated madness, the likes of which American audiences more often expect from the Dutch.

But don’t forget that the two countries border each other and that Belgium itself is composed of two distinct ethnic groups. A similar dichotomy was in place musically: complex charts requiring intense focus leavened with low comedy. The audience certainly appreciated the latter though one wonders, given that this was a free concert, about the former. During the almost 90-minute set, the band performed Carla Bley’s “Musique Mecanique”, displaying what may be a more accurate foundation for their aesthetic, more so than, say, Willem Breuker’s Kollektief. And unlike that band, the personalities were subsumed, the overall sound most important.

The group was, world still existing, to perform as accompaniment to the film The Oyster Princess at the Museum of the Moving Image the next day, an intriguing notion.

London Jazz Festival
Flat jazz...not at all
(Ivan Hewett - Telegraph, 21/11/2007)

A band called Flat Earth Society sets you up for something determinedly against conventional wisdom, and this “cult Belgian band” of 13 players is certainly that. They come on to the cramped Purcell Room stage with artful casualness, two or three of the band breaking into a number (or possibly three different numbers) before the rest have arrived. The accordion player Wim Willaert picks up a wine glass and plays a note on it. It’s all cheerfully anarchic. Looking at this lot, you can understand why forming a government in Belgium might be tricky. But this is just a front for a big band that’s as tight and together as any I’ve seen. They’re led by clarinettist Peter Vermeersch, who also composes and arranges most of the band’s material. It’s soon clear what moves him musically. He loves blues and gospel, he loves old film noir, he loves Quincy Jones. But there’s a political heat there too. In Ich, Bin, George, Vermeesch pokes fun at American military music, and in another number Willaert takes on the role of Dr Goebbels, who keeps interrupting the band’s natural style to “correct” it, until all we’re left with is a relentless military beat. This is funny (and not just a fantasy, as Goebbels did in fact try to encourage a form of “Aryan” jazz), but it’s in pretty dubious taste, too. At one level, everything the band does is in bad taste. The music is full of bizarre and shocking juxtapositions, as in Without, which has a weird combination of a neon-lit muted trumpets and moody piano with strange fluttering sounds on clarinets. But, once you’ve got over the sheer oddity, the juxtaposition becomes poetic, though in a surreal way. It’s as if a night scene in a Raymond Chandler novel were suddenly invaded by a flock of seagulls. Vermeesch’s approach is risky, which is what makes it so energising. The chasm between the hectic drilled brilliance of the big band moments, and the sudden silences and strange “spacey” sounds that intersperse them is vast, and Vermeesch’s music could simply disappear down it. What saves it is the band itself. It’s the presence of some big personalities with virtuoso improvising skills that binds the whole experience together. Most extraordinary among them is the multi-instrumentalist and singer Tom Wouters, who on this showing must be one of the most talented musicians alive.

London Jazz Festival
John L Walters - Guardian (22/11/2007)

Flat Earth Society, a tight 15-piece band led by clarinettist and composer Peter Vermeersch, late of X-Legged Sally. Two brilliant sets confirmed how accomplished they are, twisting rapidly from theatrical bombast to tenderness, collective improv, mad movie-chase music and back to swinging anthems such as Gulls & Buoys and, er, Anthem 2004. Wet is Wet presented jazz as envisaged by Goebbels. Vermeersch grins impishly, like a young Daniel Libeskind, as he directs his close-knit ensemble. He is a monster talent, with an outrageously original band.