Party: The Rhythm Junks

Party: The Rhythm Junks

The Rhythm Junks ‐ Beaten Borders (2013)
To understand The Rhythm Junks one might compare them to pickles. Pickles are the tasty
combination of three vegetables that appear to be an impossible match: gherkin, cauliflower and
silver onions. Only when these three vegetables assemble as pickles, it gets clear that the whole is
better than the sum of the parts. The very same thing applies for The Rhythm Junks. These three
musicians lean on completely different backgrounds but, when playing together, are able to create a
wider musical spectrum than the sum of their jazz, pop, rock, funk, soul and blues carrying genes. The
three different musicians are from three different generations and yet musically, they are completely
on the same page. The Rhythm Junks’ mission statement is a grand, unique mix that couldn’t care
less about detained genres and moreover radiates international appeal and ambition. These three
gents are musical adventurers that exploit this setting to push the limits as they tear down the walls
between musical genres, brick by brick. Beaten Borders, so to speak. That vast ambition already lead
The Rhythm Junks to China, Japan, Kenya, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Poland,
Italy, The UK and many other music loving places. Beaten Borders, their third album, presents a
stripped down version of the band. They consciously kept the music more intimate, softened the
emphasis on the solos and made it sound like a musical daydream while keeping off the beaten
tracks. ‘Maybe Slowly’? Sure. In the end it comes down to the fact that The Rhythm Junks managed
to record an album with less, but resulting in much more. In such a way that Beaten Borders might
just be their best effort yet…

ACOUSTICSHOCK (DE): Mit gerade Mal 9 Songs, schaffen die Belgier, trotz aller Gegensätze, ein
Album wie aus einem Guss. Ungewöhnlich, verschroben und doch irgendwie gelungen.
ROCKTIMES (DE): Die erzeugten Klangbilder lassen mich zunächst ein wenig ratlos zurück, aber lassen
den Ruf laut werden, die Platte noch einmal laufen zu lassen. Denn ‐ und das ist das Schöne ‐ es gibt
viel zu entdecken! Und eine Entdeckung ist die Musik dieser Band allemal wert!
MUSIKBLOG (DE): Eine seltsame, erstaunliche, schwer zu beschreibende Platte, die sowohl den
Nebenbei‐ als auch Intensiv‐Test mühelos besteht.
TERRORVERLAG (DE): Irgendwie cool, irgendwie schräg, irgendwie anders.
FOCUS KNACK (BE): No rock, blues or pop, but then again... Distilled, muggy and playful. Excellent
album. Not only the cover of Beaten Borders is looking bright.
HUMO (BE): Once again an amazing album.
DE MORGEN (BE): A tight and real band that breathes out music in every bit of their DNA. The
Rhythm Junks were blowing everyone off their socks at the AB (Brussels)!
CUTTING EDGE (BE): You can hear a brisk band, that integrates lovely tunes, touching harmonies and
excellent interplay.
OOR (NL): Deliciously light‐footed ... these slimmed junks are in top condition.
Steven De bruyn – vocals, harmonica, slide guitar, omnichord
Jasper Hautekiet – bass, vocals, keys
Tony Gyselinck – drums, electronic percussion
www.therhythmjunks.com