van Hemmen, Flin

Primary Scene: Brooklyn/New York

“Originally from Holland, van Hemmen approaches classical precision with a decidedly roguish and unfussy physicality, so his playing feels both utterly spontaneous and quite poised.“

-Clifford Allen (Ni Kantu blog/NY Jazz record)

Drummer and composer Flin van Hemmen was born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Since moving to New York in 2008 he’s been an active presence in the world of improvisation / noise / jazz while experimenting with various percussive set ups. In his compositions Flin focuses on how harmony and melody can simultaneously create space for any variety of improvisation, field recordings and textures- rather than one embellishing the other, they weave one tapestry. These compositions come to life in his trio, Drums of Days, where he plays piano well as the drums along with Todd Neufeld on acoustic guitar and Eivind Opsvik on the bass. As a sideman he has toured with Tony Malaby’s Paloma Recio and Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas, has performed at major festivals such as Moers and NorthSeaJazz, and has toured in Europe, Vietnam, Indonesia and the US.