Vitja Pauwels
Vitja Pauwels, a young and versatile musician based in Brussels, showcases a captivating fusion of classical, jazz, rock, roots, and electronic music in his work. His debut solo album, "Day at Half Speed," was released in 2019, followed by his latest album titled "Drift By / Sink in" under the W.E.R.F. label in November 2022.Early Life Forms is a quartet fronted by Belgian guitarist and sound wizard Vitja Pauwels, and in January ‘24, they released their self-titled debut album via W.E.R.F. Records; a stunning, one-off live show recorded with American guitarist Marc Ribot (Robert Plant, Tom Waits, John Zorn). Having already earned his spurs as a sideman with artists including Naima Joris, Bombataz and Bony King of Nowhere, rising Belgian star Pauwels released his debut album 'Day at Half Speed' in 2019, which explored the possibilities of acoustic guitar and live electronics. This experiment became a new artistic path for Pauwels and showcased his musical versatility, with second album 'Drift By, Sink In', released to critical acclaim in 2022.
The same year, Pauwels was invited as special guest by the BRAND! Festival, Mechelen, to showcase new material and he came up with the idea of putting together his ‘dream’ live band which included his hero Marc Ribot, one of world's most accomplished and acclaimed guitar players. Reaching out to him via videos and early demos for this new recording project, Ribot liked what he heard and agreed to perform with Pauwels and his new project Early Life Forms in what would be the band’s first ever live show. Joined by Frederik Leroux (baritone guitar), Laurens Dierickx (Hammond organ) and Casper Van De Velde (drums), Early Life Forms now tours as an adventurous quartet drawing on latin, jazz, cuban, and rock with a touch of exoticism and cinematic explorations, The music cites Ry Cooder, Henry Mancini, Los Lobos, Ennio Morricone and of course Ribot, as heavy influences. There is something existential, primary, epic and at the same time youthfully uncomplicated about the music. “The live recording of our album was probably my best musical experience so far. But I couldn’t imagine that it would even get more and more exciting afterwards. I’m super proud of this band, and I want people to experience its catchy energy.” – Vitja Pauwels
Vitja Pauwels (guitar, pedal steel guitar, roncoco,...), Frederik Leroux (guitar, baritone guitar), Laurens Dierickx (Hammond organ), Casper Van De Velde (drums).