Percussionist takes new performing name
Dominique Vleeshouwers has taken the artist name of DOMNIQ. The change runs across the variety of his performances and compositions and is reflected in a new wordmark.
He said of the development: ‘I’ve always composed music for my own interdisciplinary projects, alongside my classical solo work, and in the past years I have started to define my own style – experimental percussive electronica. Having a simple visual identity is part of the aesthetic of new music, appealing to its diverse, young audiences, so I wanted to match my musical signature with a one-word graphic. After a lot of research, we decided on DOMNIQ because it’s elegant and modern. I hope it will bring new visitors to my musical playground.’
The change of name takes effect on 1 November, with his next performances including Peter Eötvös’s Speaking Drums with Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal on 1, 2 and 3 November and World of Rhythm, which he takes to The Concertgebouw on 23 November.
A key element of the World of Rhythm project is his work with communities local to the venues where he appears. Ahead of his Concertgebouw visit, last weekend he organised two free concerts in community centres in Amsterdam, performing his own music and joining local musicians. In the first, at Mijehof Community Center, he accompanied spoken word artist Asomdwenyi and singer Mariah Aaliyah Venus. He says: ‘It was a lovely way to share the stage. It was about connecting and sharing. At the end, some Moroccan women stood up, took our drums and played some amazing Moroccan rhythms and songs. Everyone played together and we all ate Moroccan food at the end.’
In the evening he played at MAQAM with multi-instrumentalist and composer Martin Fondse and a local oud player, Hamza Amrani, from the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra. He explains, ‘This formula works really well. Go to a community, give them a budget, bring some music, play with local people. That way, you connect with local audiences. It demonstrates the secret power of percussion to reach and connect with different audiences, speaking the universal language of the drum.’
