How do you write about something that makes you speechless? Okay everyone you have to check out the website for W139 for yourself then you’ll understand the predicament I’m in. Or even better, go to the gallery itself and look at the website. HUH? EXACTLY!

I just logged onto the The Age to see the headline “Rise and Rise of the Empire” referring to Empire of the Sun topping the charts around the world. Their debut album has been playing here at Dolly Rogers HQ for about a year now and we are huge fans of this Australian duo and we thought we should tell you about their other two bands. The Sleepy Jackson have been around for ages and have released some brilliant albums that forecast the sound of bands like MGMT. Pnau hail from Sydney and have been THE dance act in Australia for about the past five years. I remember sneaking into one of their gigs years ago and loving every second of it. If you live in the UK send me an email and I’ll send you an invite for Spotify.

The KlankKleurFestival is one of my favourite weekends in Amsterdam. A bi-yearly celebration devoted to sound and colour ~ and the colour of sound.

You can experience everything from Beethoven sonatas to a performing balloon orchestra.   A collective of more than 50 artists and musicians come together and create a unique fusion of music, art, performance and sound experiences ~ packaged in a colourful collage of mixed media.

I will be there as the official festival photographer, documenting the events on stage and behind the scenes. If you’ve never been to a KlankKleurFestival, make sure you don’t wait another two years to experience it! Check out the festival program at www.klankkleurfestival.nl

THURSDAY 11 JUNE – SUNDAY 14 JUNE, Uilenburger Synagoge, Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 91, Amsterdam.

Lask weekend I visited the Open Ateliers Westerpark and had the delight of experiencing the wonderful bambooistic world of Hans van Koolwijk. His work as a sound sculpture artist generates eery, emotional, human-like sound experiences that leave a disturbing impression on one’s soul.

“I approach sound not on a musical, but rather on a sculptural level. I mould and chisel it. I make it visible. ‘Sound is substance’ – this has become my central statement over the years.” – Hans van Koolwijk

The installation (shown above) uses a collection of bamboo bass flutes that express sound through intermittent air flow generated via a complex architecture of modern apparatus. You can experience his work first hand at the KlankKleurFestival, Amsterdam (11-14 June).