Orgel Vreten (NL)

About

Also known as: The Merciless Hammond Battle

Two Hammond organs locked in a kind of musical duel are at the heart of Orgel Vreten, a Dutch band whose sound blends rock, funk and psychedelia into something genuinely hard to pin down. Keyboard players Darius Timmer and Thijs Schrijnemakers push each other across the full range of what the instrument can do, backed by Jan Teertstra on bass, Henri van den Berg on drums and Arno Bakker on sousaphone. The band started in 2012 as a one off organ battle, never really meant to last, yet went on to release five albums, the most recent being De Man En Zijn Machine from 2018. Live, the whole setup translates into shows where riffs and solos fly between the two organs, creating an atmosphere that pulls you in whether you want to dance or just stand there and listen.