George Dumitriu – violin
Pablo Rodriguez – violin
Yanna Pelser – viola
Thomas van Geelen – cello
Chamber jazz, folk fusion, world music improvisers – the Northsea String Quartet from Rotterdam is considered one of the most exciting and innovative of its kind and has already experienced many attempts at definition.
In the end, none of them quite capture the compositions of violinists George Dumitriu and Pablo RodrÃguez, Yanna Pelser on viola and Thomas van Geelen on cello, which are inspired by classical, world, folk and jazz music and are always open to improvisation. Using new playing techniques, they transfer music to the string quartet format that one would never have thought possible – and they really groove in the process.
So it’s no surprise that “Strings that make you move” has become the quartet’s motto! The current album SPLUNGE (7 Mountain Records, 2024), a spectacular demonstration of the art of technical transformation, entices the listener to jump into free improvisation, whose supporting structure is often syncopated drum & bass beats, which in turn are considered a polyrhythmic techno derivative and here come from RodrÃguez’ electronic stompbox. Then again, choppy pizzicati take over the stage to not only hint at bebop-like rhythms. Percussive impulses dominate elsewhere too, coming not only from the strings but also from the corpora of the instruments. Despite all the impulsive joy of playing, the North Sea String Quartet always succeeds in sounding like a single, organically grown body rather than four individuals.
