NEWS | 15.05.2013

What a great concert we had last March at the Gothic & Fantasy Beurs!

It feels like it's been ages ago! Looking back, it was such a nice surprise to see so many had come there to watch our show again. We had a really good time with this concert as the start of our new live formation. Thanks a lot for all your enthusiasm!

In the meantime, L.E.A.F has been busy with booking more and more special events and concerts for you throughout this year, so we can share more precious stagemoments together with you, the audience.

For us these little moments, where we perform in such a fragile timebubble on stage, mean that we get to share more of our 'natural state' with the outside world. We open up to our inner dreams and 'living myths' inside of us and come back to a feeling of being at home.

Someone I admire once wrote; "Our natural state is Peace. Our natural state is Love. Home is where we are all one. We're all just trying to get back home..." That is exactly why we make music the way we do with L.E.A.F. We like to invite you to come by to one of our concerts and share that with us.

The first one coming up is our special Sunday afternoon FOLK MATINEE, with L.E.A.F, Shireen and Sowulo.

This will be held at the Regentenkamer in Den Hague, on the 26th of May. It will be a special, cosy afternoon and we look forward to play together with such great, upcoming folkbands who all make music in the same acoustic Paganfolk tradition.

If you like to come by that Sunday Afternoon, please note that there is a limited number of tickets available, so please reserve a ticket beforehand at the Regentenkamer.

More special L.E.A.F. concerts will be announced soon!

Also as a little May surprise we like to show you our latest pressphoto, titled 'water'. It was taken by Eline Spek, earlier this year, at a beautiful lake in the area where I live.

I sometimes go there to sit by the edges of the water, watching the warm colours of a sundown reflected in the water of the lake, imagining the water to be so smooth and soft to swim through.. This time, the lake welcomed us with her ice cold grip on our feet and it was hilarious to go into it for a snapshot.

For your pleasure you can actually watch us trying to do this on a little youtube clip of this moment here.

We all LOVE this photo! Even more because of the effort it took to make it. And we hope you do too. Thanks a lot again to Eline Spek for making it!

Love,

Kaat & the rest of L.E.A.F.

The year of the snake...

04.03.2013 | L.E.A.F.

We must be willing to get rid of

the life we've planned,

as to have the life that is waiting for us.

old skin has to be shed,

so the new one can come."

These days, we would like nothing more than for spring to finally show her face fully and for the sun to caress our skin again... But the snowflakes keep falling and the wind still blows eerie cold our way. brrr...

All we can do is sit the very last winter days out and make ourselves comfortable at our warm homes, lighting candles and burning incense, and making music whenever we can...

Today, finally, it seemed the faeries have woken up from their winter sleep with our merry L.E.A.F. tunes. The first spring flowers came up from the cold ground in the garden and the sun revealed her face. At last!

L.E.A.F spent this last winter building on our new live set, which we are happy to present to you at our upcoming spring concerts.

The first concert of the year, at which we kickstart the new live set as well as the band’s new line-up, will be held at the Gothic and Fantasy Fair in Rijswijk, on the 16th of March.

Our playing time will be from 12.30 to 13.15 hrs, so some of you might have to get up early to hear our pagan folk sound on stage once again...

Nonetheless, we dearly hope to see you all there and celebrate the transition from winter to spring. We are looking forward to it!

Mabon

26.9.2012 | Kaat

Dear all,

Summer has come and gone quickly and pleasantly, and Nature is calmly making ready for Fall, as Her first bright Autumn colours begin to appear. Last week, we sought self-reflection and relaxation, walking through forests and grassy fields, strewn with deep purple heather.

We are set to step into the darkening days that follow Mabon, to make things cosy at home and play some tunes indoors.

During these last few summer days, we have enjoyed visiting several medieval folk festivals, such as the MPS and the blessed Festival Mediéval, and met up with many befriended musicians. It has been inspiring to hear the beautiful live music of our Danish, Dutch and German folk friends, as though it were for the first time all over.

Our band members have been playing in and performing with various musical projects, and we had fun!

L.E.A.F. has been rehearsing with a few new musicians, which we feel is working great; we felt a wonderful natural vibe together, that nurtured numerous ideas for new material NOW in the making...

We are currently preparing for new live shows – more news on this will follow soon!

We want to thank everyone for the amazing response that we recieved to our first L.E.A.F. CD, which came out this summer. Press comments have been overwhelmingly positive; nothing is more motivating than such a blissful debut! We found a place in the hearts of listeners in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Bulgaria, France, Denmark and even across the ocean, in the USA and Brazil. A big Thank you to all!

For your convenience, you can now order the CD’s directly with us; simply drop an e-mail at: kaat@leaf-music.com and we will arrange a way to get your L.E.A.F. CD shipped to your home… to the North Pole or beyond, if need be! A few of the press comments below, which make us blush:

SONIC SEDUCER:

“Ihre Stimme und ihr Können an der Nyckelharpa sind es nun, die der vor kurzem gegründeten Formation of L.E.A.F einen nachdrücklichen Stempel verleihen. [...] Die Songs der ersten schlicht ‘L.E.A.F’ betitelten EP überzeugen neben ihrem beindruckenden Detailreichem durch tiefe emotionalitat, ein echtes Highlight fur die Freunde feiner Folk-Klange "

“Zerbrechlich, verzaubernd, Sehnsüchtig und gänzlich dieser Welt entrückt. Vielfaltig instrumentiert und von Katz lieblicher stimme maßgeblich geprägt, sind die detailverliebten Kompositionen im Pagan Folk beheimatet. Mit den titlen ‘Unter Nymånen’ und ‘Wind and Tree’ gelingt der jungen Holländischen Formation ein echter Geniestreich der sofort Lust auf mehr macht.”

MIROQUE Magazine:

“Mit ihrem zauberhaften Pagan Folk gelingt es der Bandgrunderin Kaat Geevers und ihren Mitstreitern, einen perfekten Gegenentwurf zur Hektik der Moderne aufzubauen. L.E.A.F darf wirklich stolz auf das erreichten sein. Die Lieder sind zauberhaft, sehnsüchtige Paganfolk perlen. ‘Unter Nymånen’ und ‘Wind and Tree’ sind echte Geniestreiche und machen augenblicklich Lust auf mehr. Die detailverliebte, verspielte Musik weckt unwillkürlich eigene Emotionen und Sehnsüchte.” 5 von 5 punkte

ZILLO MAGAZINE:

"L.E.A.F uberraschen mit grazilem un feinfuhligem Folk aus den weiten den Paganistischen bewegung. "Under Nymånen" vermag mit nur wenige tonen unter die haut zu gehen und sich dort mit seinen zarten Schwingungen bis ins herz auszubreiten."

LAVA STUDIO (producer Christopher Juul & Maria of Euzen, Valravn) :

"Your cd is really lovely. Big congratulations: well played and nicely produced! Thank you so much for making this."

UN-ART Magazine:

"Die Musiker transportieren mit Hilfe ihrer Stimmen, Instrumente und ihrem Können verschiedene Bilder und Stimmungen und das gelingt ihnen wirklich sehr gut. Wie bereits erwähnt, lässt sich ein gewisser Einfluss von Faun nicht leugnen, aber auch das steht L.E.A.F. gut zu Gesicht. Freunde des Paganfolk sollten L.E.A.F. unbedingt im Auge behalten, aber auch allen anderen sei dieses Album ans Herz gelegt, wenn sie mal entspannen möchten und dafür noch die passende musikalische Begleitung suchen."

Steve & Jenny of OMNIA:

"Wow, this cd is really very nice! we play LEAF at home sometimes to relax." (they only listen to real good music, such as Xavier Rudd and such, so that's cool ^^)

METAL-DISTRICT:

’’......Einstweilen lasst Euch hier nochmals mit Nachdruck die LEAF EP ans Herz legen. Und das Herz ist dafür auch wirklich die richtige Adresse, denn daß die Holländer viel Herzblut in ihre Musik legen ist in jedem Moment spürbar – selten hat mich ein Debut schon beim ersten Hören so in seinen Bann gezogen und zum träumen gebracht. Nicht zuletzt verantwortlich dafür ist mit Sicherheit die wunderschöne Stimme von Kaat Geevers.“

Wordpress.com:

“Finest folk”, l’expression est bien choisie : un son superbe, des musiciens sensibles et talentueux, des instruments qui me font chavirer (harpe, hammered dulcimer, nyckelharpa…), sans compter le charme de la voix de Kaat ! Tout cela apporte un vent de fraîcheur sur les morceaux traditionnels, et une empreinte, un vrai son “Leaf”. Claire des Bruyeres.

Thank you all for the great response and a Happy Mabon!
Kaat & everyone of L.E.A.F.

Lughnasadh

20.7.2012 | L.E.A.F.

L.E.A.F.'s debut CD entitled "LEAF" is out!

We are delighted to share our magical music with you, in the form of a beautiful digipack that features exclusive graphic design by Fieke of Orchus & line artwork by Maryn. In the package you'll find a booklet with our personal stories about the songs, exclusive photos and artwork, lyrics, as well as, of course, a disc that holds our high-quality, cherished and pure folk music!

The CD will be available at our merchandise booth at our concerts, and you'll be able to order it at your local CD store. Moreover, you'll find our brand new baby at the CD stalls of Miroque. You can find their CD booths at the many medieval and fantasy markets and festivals throughout Holland and Germany. Next, those of you who cannot wait any longer can visit Miroque's online store to order your copy of "LEAF"! If you live outside of Holland or Germany, you can also order L.E.A.F.'s CD at Amazon.com. 

During the upcoming epic edition of Castlefest in Holland on 2-5 August, you will be able to purchase the CD at Stellamara's merchandise stand (right next to FAUN's boot near the main stage), or at the merchandise stand of Kelten zonder Grenzen and Cesair. We hope to see you there, and celebrate this joyous event together!

Lots of Love,
L.E.A.F.

7 May

7.5.2012 | Fieke

7 May is the date we finished our EP; nearly 30 minutes of music that holds everything we have to give. It took a long period of hard work, 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