It was cello-player Kumi Kondo who asked Simonis to write a ‘multiphonic’ (cello & voice) piece for her final exams for the Rotterdam Conservatory in 2004. The lyrics of this song –Iyashi- were written by the Japanese Poet Takayuki Kawabata and having discovered his work like this, Simonis suggested to do a bigger project together. Out this came ‘NEWS’ which consists of the songcycle with the same name (the first 5 songs on the cd) and 3 other Kawabata (inspired) songs. Simonis wrote some music and made some ‘route descriptions’ for the band that consisted of two cello’s, a guitar & voice. After the recordings ,that thus involved a large part of improvisation, Simonis took his time, editing and mixing the material, almost like re(de?)composing the stuff. So what we have here, is -not unlike Simonis’ last CD ‘Stots’- a project that is in a way about the misunderstanding of (a) language and therefore very suitable for massive misinterpretation. A fact that is eagerly exploited in the use of composition as a commoditive tool. In the meantime we hear a much more quieter and esthetically friendlier landscape then in ‘Stots’. Then there’s the disoriented ‘remix’ of reality that happens in Kawabata’s texts. And last but not least, the interpretations of the ‘band’ that, except for Simonis sparse contributions on guitar, consists of two cello’s –Nina Hitz and Kumi Kondo- and the beautiful voice of Miki Sugiura. About Simonis; Lukas Simonis; guitarist, composer, lives in Rotterdam (Netherlands) and co-founded and works for WORM (a centre for experimental arts). For most of his musical career, he has played in bands and projects that seldom managed to play 'straight' music, despite moving within the field of 'rock' (e.g. Dull Schicksal, Trespassers W, Morzelpronk, Liana Flu Winks, AA Kismet, Vril and Coolhaven). His interests also lie in the direction of more abstract 'sound'; using electronics, improvisation, voice, field recordings and objects. He has played gigs/improvised with people like Eugene Chadbourne, Eddie Prevost, Pierre Bastien, Richard Barret, Jon Rose, Anne Wellmer, Trevor Wishart, Greg Malcolm and many more, and has groups with Ann la Berge, The Bohman Brothers (Apricot My Lady) and Henk Bakker (Static Tics).