Hanne De Backer
Appears on:Photo: Cristina Marx
Hanne De Backer is a saxophonist and performer based in Antwerp.
She is an energetic and versatile improviser and the founder of g a b b r o, a fluid collective of musicians and other artists who confront free improvisation with unexpected places and their inhabitants.
So far, g a b b r o has performed and recorded in empty showrooms, old sewage systems, car parks, laundromats, Antwerp prison, on rooftops and mountains and, for the latest project, along the Belgian coast. g a b b r o has released two well-received LPs on two Belgian labels: “gabbro” (El Negocito Records, 2017) and “granular” (Dropa Disc, 2019). In March 2021, with Brooklyn-based drummer Raf Vertessen and Belgian pianist Andreas Bral, Hanne travelled the length and breadth of the Belgian coastline in the company of a camel and a film crew. The aim was to record this coastline by recording the trio’s musical impressions along the way. Daily improvised sets were played and recorded at different locations, indoors and out, starting at the French border and finishing five days later at the Dutch border. The result is a 45-minute musical documentary, an ode to imagination and perseverance, a plea to slow down and truly meet the other.
In addition to g a b b r o, Hanne has collaborated with musicians such as Signe Emmeluth, Terrie Ex, Farida Amadou, Paul Lovens, Paal Nilssen-Love, Audrey Lauro, Raf Vertessen, Andreas Bral, Raphael Malfliet, Henrik Munkeby Nostebø, Steve Swell, Jakob Bro, Agnes Hvizdalek, Isabelle Duthoit, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Wolf Eyes, Jon Bishop, Martin Küchen and many others.
She is a member of the Brussels saxophone collective La Nuée, the Antwerp underground Condor Gruppe, often plays in duo with Terrie Ex, Signe Emmeluth, Raphael Malfliet and others, and has recently been seen and heard as a soloist. She has performed all over Europe with her own projects, and has been a guest at festivals such as the Summer Bummer Festival (Belgium), Ex-40-Festival (Netherlands and UK), Blow Out! (Oslo), Music Unlimited Wels (Austria), Catalytic Festival (Netherlands), Potentiale Festival (Germany), Taktlos Festival (Switzerland).
She has also performed in theatre with KVS, Zonzo Compagnie and d e t h e a t e r m a k e r and, more recently, composed and performed the soundtrack for „21.02.2021 One day in the world, the world in one day‟, a theatrical performance by Nico Boon produced by Arsenaal Mechelen.