Sven Figee is the Lucky Luke of the Hammond: he plays faster than his shadow and it is always striking. This man knows no limits on his instrument and he has to be one of the funkiest people we know. Last week he invited us to his studio - Marmalade Music - in Delft (NL) and we had a blast! Keep an eye on him because he is working on a new album and he is also the producer of a very cool new funk band that we will introduce to you soon.
In 2006 Sven founded the band 'Sven Hammond' that since has released 9 albums with nr 10, Sphere - A tribute to Thelonious Monk. Sven has also been appointed as the musical director and side kick of Matthijs van Nieuwkerk for his new Saturday night show on prime time Dutch TV called 'Matthijs Gaat Door'. His band appears as an extended version and is called the 'Sven Hammond Big Band' - a 16-piece orchestra under direction of Sven.
Sven Hammond is still going strong: Since its creation in 2006, main man Sven Figee and his band of brothers have played hundreds of shows, both in their home country the Netherlands, and abroad. They have 6 studio albums and 4 live albums under their name and still sound as fresh as ever.
Starting recordings in 2019 the band went back to their roots as an instrumental, Hammond-driven outfit. The result is their new album ‘Sphere’ (released April 16, 2021). An album dedicated to the music of jazz legend Thelonious Monk.
"It was back in the days in a little bar in The Hague where I started to play the music of Monk and where the seed was planted for this idea; an entire album with his compositions but in our own way. Arranged to fit collaborations with contemporary artists and their music. Hip Hop and soul in the blender with Monk’s hard bop jazz. A very exciting project and an amazing mix of styles that actually works out!"
The album has become a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks with appearances of Typhoon, Akwasi, Cheyenne Toney, Gianski, and Zoe Love Smith.
With this album, the band has set the tone for an exciting new round of shows and is more ready than ever to bring their exciting, grooving, dirty, and always soulful sounds to international stages in 2022 and beyond.
Check out Sven Hammond in our playlists and be sure to check out his website - www.svenfigee.com - as well!
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