wh^rl is the solo debut of Groninger Jurgen Veenstra (Avery Plains, Moan, Moonlizards), who is not hiding behind walls of noise anymore, but who is making a big emotional impact with his bare & beautiful lo-fi songs.

59-year-old Jurgen Veenstra from Groningen (Netherlands) finally makes his debut as a solo artist, using the moniker wh^rl as an outlet for his morose musings in a lo-fi setting. On his self-titled debut, Veenstra delivers 15 songs that – for the untrained listener – fall into the ‘singer-songwriter’ idiom, but are much broader and deeper, filled with decades of life experience and listening to all kinds of music. Each song enhabits its own lo-fi universe, here and there hinting at indie rock, folk, blues, noise, americana and ambient. 

The album was conceived in a particular way. Veenstra recorded most of the basics with fellow DIY musician Ruud Slingerland (Hairy Love Gum, Dia Del Mercado) on a 4-track cassette tape recorder. Other songs were recorded on various machines in Veenstra’s gypsy wagon in the outskirts of Groningen. These recordings were sent to the brothers Stefan (Tiny Room Records, The World of Dust, Combo Qazam) and Arno (Combo Qazam, Microplaza) Breuer. They started adding layers of drums, guitars, synths and sounds, respectfully harnessing the bare recordings with both humble and abrasive contributions. Thea Visser provided her beautiful backing vocals, Rudy Lentze and Jur de Vries added the final missing pieces. Jurgen didn’t hear any of the work in progress. Eventually they all gathered together to listen to the end result. Everyone agreed on the magic that was conceived, and that is still the version you hear on this double vinyl record.

Jurgen Veenstra has been an icon in the music scene for the past decades. Whether it’s as a passionate supporter of independent music, as an organizer of shows, or as a musician in Avery Plains, Moan, Moonlizards or with Meindert Talma (providing lead vocals on Tamango, Talma’s English 2009 album). Frequently hiding behind a wall of noise, but always heartfelt and genuine. wh^rl might be more laidback, quiet and experimental, Veenstra proves he doesn’t need a loud sound to make a huge emotional impact. That makes this solo outing an essential contribution to this talented songwriter’s legacy. 

wh^rl came out on 2xLP, CD and digital on November 24, 2023 on Tiny Room Records.

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