Zea
The Swimming City
Since 2008 Zea is the solo project of Arnold de Boer (who is also singer and guitarist in Dutch band The Ex, since 2009). Before 2008 Zea was a duo and earlier a five piece band, but the songs were always written, arranged, recorded and produced by De Boer. 'The Swimming City' is Zea's fifth album, and the first one featuring guest artists. Immediately in the first song 'Sub Specie Ludens' Mats Gustafsson appears on baritone sax and 'People Shrink, People Grow' features Oscar Jan Hoogland on piano, who returns in 'All Words Have Been Here First', the song that also features the characteristic and recognisable clarinet playing of Xavier Charles who De Boer made a 7" single with in 2012 called 'Bourgeois Blues' (Makkum Records, MR 5). Zea has toured all over the world and played in thirty five different countries including Ethiopia and Ghana. In Ghana Zea set up a studio with local musicians where two of the songs on 'The Swimming City' were recorded: 'Dark Minded Me' and 'Ik Kin Der Net By'. This last song is sung in Frysian, De Boer's first language, who grew up in a small town called Makkum, in Fryslan in the northern part of The Netherlands. On this album Zea's songs sound more open and versatile. Zea music is direct music; fat-free and no words wasted. Some songs are about consciousness and some songs are about simple things; Zea can take a subject out of the world of encyclopedia and move it into the musical mind. They are the frescos of he twenty first century, unfolding before your ears. His tracks are elastic, urgent, always playful, joyfully obstinate and with double bottoms and open ends.