7 May

7.5.2012 | Fieke

7 May is the date that marks the release of our EP; nearly 30 minutes of music that holds everything we have to give. It took a long period of hard work, crazy rehearsals, song writing, tweaking, re-arranging, recording, editing, re-recording, more editing, mixing, some more tweaking, adding another layer, and another, and.. finally... mastering the tracks. It surely has been a long wait for all of you, but I hope the music (and the quality we achieved by taking so long to publish it) makes up for it.

This date also marks a big step for us, for we have been given the opportunity to print our EP in hard copy edition! Because we want to encourage you to acquire this much more "L.E.A.F.-like" product (compared to the digital download), this EP will come with a special track that is NOT included in the BandCamp download! The track is called 'Bundet', and you can listen to a short sample of it on our website. Also, in light of this opportunity, digital download purchase has been closed for now. We are awaiting some last arrangements, before the whole printing-process can begin.

So this extends the wait again a little longer for some of you, but the result will be a beautiful album - to the ears, but to the eyes as well, for it will feature unique artwork by Fieke and several handmade drawings by our percussionist Maryn.

We will keep you updated!

Finest wishes,
Fieke

Wheel of change

24.4.2012 | LEAF

Dear all,

We've got some interesting news to share with you about the progress we've made the last couple of months. First of all, we are glad to announce that our very first mini-CD is finished and that this baby will be released on the 7th of May, 2012. The CD, produced by Fieke and Kaat, will contain six original LEAF songs. Recorded, edited and mixed by Fieke at the Orchus Studio. It features a renewed version of our beloved song Under Nymånen; you can listen to it now, on our music page, along with snippets of all the other songs featured on the CD.

We are so excited to finally be able to share our music with all of you! On May 7 we will let you know all about where and how to get hold of it!

As the band progresses, we found out that some changes needed to be made. Therefore, we also announce the exit of Fieke and Sophie as members of LEAF. As time is a valuable thing, Fieke found herself having too little of it to be fully able to focus on LEAF. She will be concentrating on graduating, and her many other musical and creative projects. Luckily for us, she will still be working with us on the background, helping us out with future artwork and recordings.

You will still be able see Fieke perform in the band Kelten zonder Grenzen, and, together with Sophie and Thomas, in Cesair. We are forever grateful for the wonderful musical journey that we shared with Fieke and Sophie.

While the wheel of change is ever turning, we can whisper already that we have some exciting plans lying ahead of us! For now, they remain clouded in mystery, but we hope to share them with you soon...

We hope that you will enjoy our very first CD and we hope to see you around on the festivals this summer!

Below this message, Fieke has some personal words to share with you.
Thanks again, Fieke and Sophie, for everything. We love you and wish you all the best!

Kaat, Chloe, Thomas & Maryn | LEAF

These lines are actually more difficult to write than I imagined. But I feel it is important to let you know what drove me to the choice to leave LEAF. I'm still a student (Music Technology), and a very ambitious one. What this means in practice, is that my life changes rapidly each year. With my inexhaustible lust for knowledge and experience, and my interest in, well, almost anything, I keep finding myself involved in many many projects. At this point in my life (while trying to focus on my graduation) I have to make a couple of tough choices, regarding the direction of my career as a professional music engineer and producer.

Looking back at the wonderful time I had being part of LEAF from the early beginning, I can only say that I'm proud. At us, at you, my beloved (former) band members. At the journey of development we went through together, the beautiful music we made. I've seen and hear both musicians and songs grow during rehearsal sessions, studio sessions and on stage. I've learned such an incredible amount of valuable unforgettable lessons. Everything was worth it, and there is nothing I regret!

It will be difficult for me to distance myself from LEAF, since I've put so much time, work and effort in it, and I really do feel connected. But I'm glad they are not quite done with me yet and I look forward to future collaborations in the studio.

To conclude, I want to wish LEAF all the best of luck in the future, and thank the band members and the fans for an unforgettable time!

Yours,
Fieke

Interview & recordings

6.2.2012 | Fieke

Last two weeks I've been completely immersed in finishing the Leaf EP, and I must say the result even beats my own expectations! After a short break to save myself from becoming sonically exhausted, the process of editing and mixing continues. Even 'Fjarilar' and 'Under Nymånen' have been partially re-recorded and are being properly remixed.

Now for something totally different which deserves being mentioned as well (especially for those not on facebook): we've been interviewed by RockPortaal (rock?!?) and if you can read Dutch or if you've got some skill with Google Translate, click here to read what we had to say.

Enjoy the white world,
Fieke

Sophie

1.11.2011 | Kaat

On this beautiful date of the year, 1.11.11, we are pleased to announce that we have a new bandmember in LEAF! Violinist Sophie Zaaijer (Cesair), who was our super cool and stage rocking guestmusician during SummerDarkness last summer, has joined our band as a fix bandmember. We are ofcourse very excited about this. Sophie adds amazing and beautiful fiddle playing to our music (she plays cello and viola as well).

Next to this, you can watch two new live videos on YouTube, with Sieben as our guest during the Castlefest 2011. These were filmed by the audience. by Vuurelf
by Decla

Also, on this very same day the website www.folk-noir.com, a new musical project by Kaat Geevers and Oliver S. Tyr. Follow the news and listen to the first music snippets.

Blessed autumn leaf greetings,
Kaat | LEAF

Autumn Equinox

21.09.2011 | Kaat

We are now celebrating the festival of Mabon, the second harvest of the year, and these days are considered a time for contemplation and reflection. In my garden at home, we are collecting baskets of grapes, pears, and herbs, and with Bacchus as our house guest, we feel nature's untamed energy pouring through us. It is a fun time, but it is also the moment to look back on the past summer, and to be grateful for our successes and experiences.

We are pleased to look back on a wonderful summer with LEAF. We have had the honour to perform at the annual Summer Darkness festival in the centre of Utrecht, and we played a fantastic concert at Castlefest, together with Matt Howden of Sieben - Thank you again, Matt, for the great times! To all the people who came to this early-morning breakfast concert: you were such a sweet audience! We were surprised to see how many of you showed up and enjoyed your enthusiasm and kind reactions. Thanks!

Oliver (of Faun) and I have started a new band called "FolkNoir" together. This October, we will be in the studio, recording, and a release is to be expected shortly after. For any news on the band, the upcoming website release and, of course, the CD, you can check out FolkNoir's facebook page. In the last few months, many of LEAF's other band members have also been engaged with a number of other musical projects.

In June, Fieke joined the band Kelten zonder Grenzen. Together with Thomas, Fieke has been working on their awesome folk project Cesair. Their music incorporates elements of traditional music from all over Europe and the Orient. Next, amongst her many other projects, Fieke designed the latest Faun CD, entitled 'EDEN' (including the 70-page booklet!), as well as Omnia's en Shantalla's new albums. We are all very proud to see how her creativity and talent is appreciated by so many people, and we look forward to seeing and hearing more of her. Please find out more about her endeavours via www.orchus.nl.

Maryn has recently joined Thomas's band Shireen, and they are working hard, writing new songs and rewriting old material. We are all deeply impressed by this band's unique, spiritual atmosphere and sound, and are eager to hear more of them soon.

Our sweet Chloé, finally, has been on the road almost constantly, touring through Holland and Germany as Omnia's merch-babe. Besides, she has been following some amazing harp courses in Ireland and we just love her new harp songs!

With that, we can look back on an incredible summer, full of creative surprises, in which we have seen many new adventures take root. You can expect to hear from us soon with news on our 2012 concerts and the release of LEAF's EP.

As Mabon will be fading into the afterworld soon, we ourselves will now be saying goodbye to the summer, to welcome the fall and winter... gathering early autumn leaves, rocks and feathers, and remembering lost melodies on our journey home.

Much love,
Kaat | LEAF

Castlefest

07.08.2011 | Fieke

Wow! What a show, what a festival, what an amazingly wonderful experience! We were overwhelmed by the large number of people that came to see our concert on such an early time of day! We had a great time on stage and really enjoyed playing with Matt Howden from Sieben (who we cannot thank enough for his amazing contribution to our music!) We can now confirm he is a true master of magic on the violin.

Our thanks goes to Castlefest and all its organisers and volunteers. To Wim and Richard for the sound and the light. And to the enthousiastic reactions we got after the concert. It felt very special to have to give signatures and have photos taken for fans of our music. Personally I just cannot stop pressing refresh at facebook to see if there are pictures or videos of this special moment!

Many of you asked us for a CD, which unfortunately we didn't have with us.. But, we've got something going on here so none of you have to be disappointed! We will release our tracks digitally on BandCamp!! Shortly said, this is the best way to save a lot of trees, fuel, time (and many other things harmful to Nature) to get cd's to you all by mail. We are still working on the mixes of 3 of the 5 tracks, but you can already pre-order the EP.

Best of wishes to all of you!
Fieke, and the rest of LEAF

Interview with Kaat

21.03.2011 | Fieke

Kaat answered a few questions, for LEAFs very first interview.
Read it on DarkRoos.com.

And don't forget to enjoy the sun!
Fieke

LEAF ft. Sieben

03.03.2011 | Kaat

We proudly announce that we will have a very special musical collaboration on Castlefest 2011:
LEAF will play together with Matt Howden of Sieben! During this special concert we will have Matt Howden of Sieben guesting on our LEAF set, followed directly by a Sieben set where we we will return the favour. We are so very much looking forward to it!

Mr. Matt Howden comes all the way from the UK to join us on our stage with his amazing vocals and violin, so this is something you shouldn't miss!
For more information on the unique sound of Sieben check out www.matthowden.com
For more information on Castlefest, and the schedule: www.castlefest.nl

Next to this, you can now also check out a short compilation clip on our YouTube channel of our very, very first LEAF concert. It took place end of December 2010, where we stood in an arched temple with flowers in a dinner setting...

Early spring greetings,
Kaat, Fieke, Chloé, Thomas and Maryn