Listening Club Rotterdam

02/10/2022

For our next event on Sunday October 16th we will listen to the neo soul classic 'Voodoo' by D'Angelo. As an introduction to the album, we have invited none other than Guido van Dieren a.k.a. Thelonious to speak on the album and it's influence.

As programmer of BIRD Rotterdam, Thelonious organizes the successful '360 Degrees', 'All Eyes On' and 'GO BANG' parties. Notable guests on this party have included the likes of Theo Parrish, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Osunlade, Lefto, J Rocc and Mr. Scruff. Besides being programmer at BIRD, Thelonious is also a permanent fixture of the Dutch DJ scene, starting in the late 90's in the bar of one of Rotterdam’s most legendary clubs called 'Nighttown', and nowadays having played festivals such as Lowlands, Dimensions, North Sea Jazz, Pitch and venues like Canvas, Off Corso, Perron, BIRD & many more.

We are more than glad to have BIRD's head honcho over for this event, and we hope to see you all there!

Entry to the session is free (reservation required, link in bio) but donations are encouraged after the session.

11/09/2022

Serious listening faces..

17/05/2022

NEW EVENT!

On the 26th of May, we are back with another open listening session, ‘open’ in the sense that we like to hear what YOU like to listen to! So bring your own records, CD’s or digital/Spotify tracks (max 7 min) and tell us more about why you picked that particular song. If you're a musician, feel free to bing your own music as well, as long as it's mixed, mastered and released (no demos).

Every open listening session is centered around a specific theme. This time around we picked 'travel', so bring your favorite tracks you associate with this theme. To start off the evening we have invited Utrecht-based historian and DJ extraordinaire: , who recently went on an extended trip around Brazil. He will share some of the Brazilian gems he picked up while travelling around the country.

Entry is 2.50 euros at the door (with reservation, link in bio), 3.50 without. Reservations expire at 20:00, so be on time.

See you on the 26th!

17/05/2022

We enjoyed our last albumsession ‘Choose Your Weapon’ with 🧡 Thank you for sharing your knowledge about 📸 Stay tuned for our next open listening session 26/05!

14/04/2022

On the 28th of April we will once again host an open listening session at , ‘open’ in the sense that we like to hear what you (the participants) like to listen to! So bring your own records, CD’s and/or Spotify tracks (max 7 min) and tell us more about your enthusiasm for these particular songs and why. If you're a musician, feel free to bing your own music as well, as long as it's mixed, mastered and released (no demos).

Every open listening session is centered around a specific theme, and for this one we selected ‘musical storytelling’. To open this themed session, the has asked one of their members to give a brief lecture on the history of hiphop, after which we invite you to share the music you like that comes to mind when you think of the word ‘storytelling'. We hope to see you all there!

Entry is 2.50 euros at the door with reservation, 4 euros without. Reservation is free (link in bio), but expires at 20:00, so make sure you're inside before that time.

10/04/2022

🤩

This girl bought her first album ever🙃😊and she starts with this album🤗greatttt!!!!! #

14/03/2022

Thanks Vessel 11 for a great session together!

Thank you CulturehubRotterdam & Listening Club Rotterdam for the listening session yesterday and everyone who was there! It was very cool to hear Calls from the Hull from such amazing speakers and share its story. Next up the compilation album's release festival on 31 March & 1st April.

Attend: Calls from the Hull - Album Release Festival

09/03/2022

For those curious about the backstory of Calls from the Hull, read the interview below👇

Still some tickets left for Album listening session: Calls From The Hull, get 'em quick!

‘Solidarity especially among artists and institutions is very important and I think V11 did a good job giving the space’, schrijft de band Daatura op de hoes van het verzamelalbum Calls…

07/02/2022

On the 24th of February, the Listening Club, together with the faculty association of the Erasmus School of Philosophy (ERA), organizes a two-part event at the Culture Hub in Rotterdam: a lecture by Paul Schuurman on “Beethoven and the tension of the rule” and an Open Listening Session.

In the first half of the evening, Paul Schuurman, associate professor in the history of philosophy at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, tells us more about Beethoven’s world of music and what should be understood by ‘the tension of the rule’.
The second half of the evening consists of an Open Listening Session. ‘Open’ in the sense that we like to hear what you (the participants) like to listen to! So bring your own records, CD’s and/or Spotify tracks (max 7 min) and tell us more about your enthusiasm for these particular songs and why.

Entry is free (reservation required), but donation-supported (pay at the venue).

28/01/2022

Before we announce our first events, we'd first like to introduce the team behind the project! Who are they, what motivates them and what do they listen to? To close of the bunch is...

𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Toine
𝗔𝗴𝗲: 27
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼: Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Boogie, Fusion Jazz, House, Broken Beat, Downtempo/Experimental Electronix, Ambient, Hip Hop, (Neo-)Soul
𝗕𝗶𝗼: All-out music nerd, DJ, occasional philosopher, full-time ambtenaar, hiking enthusiast

"When I started organising listening sessions under the 'FOCUS' header a little more than a year ago, the main idea behind it was to bring music lovers together, to share their knowledge and experience music in a different way. I quickly found out that 'listening session' is a flexible concept under which you can organise all sorts of events. While FOCUS will be focusing' on live music and DJ's, 'The Listening Club' aims to build on the social aspect of listening sessions by organising events that promote exchanging knowledge and experience in the musical realm, together with a diverse team of enthusiastic music lovers. I'm very much looking forward to see what kind of events this new project will bring forth!

Now, just like the rest of the team, I found it quite difficult to compile a list of my favourite tracks. I generally like all things "jazzy", but lots of other kinds of sounds as well. Just like Ruben, I feel like there is no rhyme or reason to my music taste; a song either triggers a reaction or it doesn't. If it sounds good, it sounds good. Therefore, my playlists consists of tracks that I never seem to get bored of. They continue to move me in different ways."

Check out Toine's playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RoK5vRFep5FZaKWMLsNdQ?si=37f78c3ae2f04ddd

27/01/2022

Before we announce our first events, we'd first like to introduce the team behind the project! Who are they, what motivates them and what do they listen to? Next up is...

𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Aysia
𝗔𝗴𝗲: 29
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼: Soul, Boogie, Disco, Jazz, Gospel, R&B, Pop, Brazilian
𝗕𝗶𝗼: Singer, song-writer, DJ, nurse (oncology/chronic pain), massage therapist to be

"I consider myself a sucker for groovy bass-lines, funky horn-sections and killer vocals, which is (surprise, surprise) also what my record collection mainly consist of. Besides singing and song-writing, I spend a lot of my free time digging for soul, boogie, funk, jazz, gospel and Brazilian music. It is my mission to transmit my love for music, make people feel the emotion in it, and dancing to it (when we can again)

Compiling a playlist of my favourite tracks was quite a challenge, because there are so many great tracks to share. I find myself uttering phrases like "ooh" or "aah" from excitement when I hear a nice harmony or the energy in a track goes up. So my playlist is a collection of tracks that excite me in this way: they are soulful, uplifting but comforting at the same time."

Check out Aysia's top tracks, compiled in a Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6xTsJbqFScqwMv1AnS31Hu?si=1f9dd8a82e6a45d7

26/01/2022

Before we announce our first events, we'd first like to introduce the team behind the project! Who are they, what motivates them and what do they listen to? Next up is...

𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Ruben
𝗔𝗴𝗲: 27
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼: House, Float House, Techno, Funk, Disco, Nu-Disco, New Wave, Classic Rock, Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop, R&B
𝗕𝗶𝗼: Historian, record collector, guitarist and overall music enthusiast living in Leiden.

"A couple of months ago Toine introduced me to his project 'FOCUS', after which I attended one of the listening sessions at CultureHub Rotterdam. I was pleasantly surprised by the concept: getting acquainted with all kinds of music, the artists and producers in an accessible way, while also enjoying a drink. It was a fun way of meeting music enthusiasts and learning about new music. By that time Toine already hinted that he liked to start another project with more emphasis on the social aspect of listening sessions. So here we are! I'm glad to be part of this team of music geeks, and I'm looking forward to meeting other music lovers at our events!

How can I best describe my musical taste? When James Bond was asked the question in the movie Goldfinger: "what do you know about gold?" He replied: "I know it when I see it". It works the same way for me with music I like: I know it when I hear it. I do have a soft spot for funk, disco, new wave and electronic music. That is why my playlist is mostly filled with funky tunes, 'new wave'-like synths, disco bangers and ‘tear the roof off’ techno. Enjoy!"

Check out Ruben's playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2nClRkYaF33URAfGnuV?si=407548bd47364edc

25/01/2022

Before we announce our first events, we'd first like to introduce the team behind the project! Who are they, what motivates them and what do they listen to? Next up is...

𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Fede
𝗔𝗴𝗲: 21
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼: Post-Rock, Drone, Noise, Punk, Techno, Jungle, EBM, Industrial, Darkwave, (Dark) Jazz, Triphop, Experimental Hip Hop
𝗕𝗶𝗼: Cultural heritage student, archivist-to-be, tosti-maker at Kopi Soesoe , volunteer at Koffie & Ambacht, DIG IT UP & Roodkapje

"As a cultural heritage student, I find my interest lies in collecting stories and connecting people through them. And what’s better than collecting stories about music? To me, 'The Listening Club' should be a place to share stories about our favourite music and learn from other people. Get ready for some surprising soundwaves that will expand your music taste!

I get my new music fix from a radioshow called 'X-***ed' and exchanging music with friends. My taste constantly changes, but what I love the most is finding combinations of different genres or collaborations between different artists. Moor Mother, who's also in my playlist a few times, is in a free jazz band, but also makes punk, noise and hiphop."

Check out Fede's Top 10 (or 13) on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40GpDI518Cgg8nQiLKtTSj?si=38c7484488014720

24/01/2022

Before we announce our first events, we'd first like to introduce the team behind the project! Who are they, what motivates them and what do they listen to? First up is...

𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Randall
𝗔𝗴𝗲: 26
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼: Jazz, Soul, Funk, Disco, House, Electronic, Hip Hop, R&B, Psych Rock, Prog Rock, New Wave, Brazilian, African, Dub
𝗕𝗶𝗼: DJ, record collector, occasional musician and all-round music geek based in Rotterdam

"As a member of this crew I’m glad to be able to contribute to a new and vibrant space for music lovers in Rotterdam: a place to meet new people through the discovery of new sounds. Each record has a unique story connected to it for each individual, and I hope these meetups will be a place where people can exchange these stories with one another.

Compiling a playlist that represents my taste was very difficult. I find my own musical taste difficult to capture, since it branches out in many different directions. I decided to share the artists who have made the biggest musical impact on my own personal life, and whose discography I continue to revisit even after years of listening. Picking one song for each of these artists was an almost impossible task since they all have released so many brilliant records.”

Check out Randall's playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jQ9OFOKr11MgUMe7jwKrw?si=a04d46299b094743&nd=1

04/01/2022

FOCUS now has a little brother: Listening Club Rotterdam

While FOCUS will be focusing more on live events in the coming year, our listening club will be organising meetups, including the former album and open sessions. But new kinds of events are also incoming, which will be announced soon.

These meetups will focus on bringing people together to share their love of music, experience new sounds and learn from each other. It will provide a space for music lovers to meet and enjoy their passion together.

Coming soon to CulturehubRotterdam as soon as measures allow. Stay tuned📻