West Side Trio plays Alternate Realities

The West Side Trio is an electric string trio formed by Annie Tangberg (cello, fx, voice), Vera van der Bie (violin, fx,voice) and Rani Kumar (viola, fx, voice). Their compositions can be described as fresh and cinematic. They are using various effects to alter the sound of their instruments and create their own universe. To complete their exceptional sound, all three of them also sing. Influences of classical, pop and jazz music can be heard. West Side Trio writes songs that may be groovy, or reference contemporary classical music while always leaving room for improvisation. Their style could be described as eclectic stringdustrial.

Tonight’s program consists of the songs from their 3rd album, Alternate Realities, which will be released today! Every song tells a story of a possibly different state, an alternate reality. What would it be like if we all moved to a different planet in the future? What if evolution would have taken a different turn somewhere? What would the world look like if you believed it to be flat? Or if you suffer from dementia? In ten songs, West Side Trio gives ten alternatives for the world around us. Every song sounds like its own little universe: one moment you’re hearing a poppy song, and the next you may be dancing in a night club during a pandemic.

Through the years the trio has played several original projects and also worked with an array of different artists. For the silent film Tabu, they wrote a new soundtrack which was performed together with the Metropole Strings at the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ. In collabo-ration with the EYE film museum they wrote new music for multiple silent films. They’ve toured and worked with musicians and bands like Bill Laurance Project (Snarky Puppy), Jonathan Jeremiah, Sonja van Hamel/The Leonids, Fay Lovsky, Yentl en de Boer, Margriet Sjoerdsma, Tini Thomsen and The Big Hustle.

West Side Trio:
Annie Tangberg (cello, fx, voice),
Vera van der Bie (viool, fx, voice)
Rani Kumar (altviool, fx, voice)