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BIOGRAPHY

An elegant and mysterious mix of electronics and smooth pop, modest and groovy at the same time ... is the best description for the musical project of Bart Bekker and Jan Vanwinckel. These guys are best known as key figures of the rock band Gudinöv, but in between they are working on tracks for their studio project The river curls around the town.

In 2008 their debut CD "more than a break" was released on the label ‘at night recordings’ by DJ / producer Jan Vervloet. The CD gained a lot of positive reviews and airplay. After that it became a little bit quiet around the project. Bart & Jan focused on their rock band Gudinöv and families. Although regularly new songs were written (enough for a few new albums). On the 29th of february the second album ‘nightshadows’ was released by the record label 3300 RPM RECORDS. The album contains 12 songs. At the same time the band also releases the EP (s)park(l)ing with ‘only’ one song that lasts almost 24 minutes. The debut album "more than a break" is also available again through the most important online stores.

In december 2020, Bart & Jan were thinking about a third album. For the coverpicture they contacted photographer Eddy Verloes (who also took the picture on our homepage). He talked about an upcoming book with photos and poems by the great Dutch writer Benno Barnard. Bart & Jan suggested to add music to these poems. Instead of the planned album, a third album 'Losing our minds' was released 17th of may 2021 by Poëziecentrum. In fact it is a book including a cd with the music.

The musical influences of the project haven’t hardly changed. Think of Massive Attack, Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Low, Hood, The Low Frequency In Stereo, At The Close Of Every Day, California Guitar Trio,... Nevertheless throughout the years The river curls around the town developed its own recognizable sound.

The river curls around the town is a studio project. We always said that there will be no live touring. OK, we'll make an exception. With 'Buiten zinnen / Losing Our Minds' we will tour the cultural centres in Flanders (Belgium) in 2022 & 2023 together with Benno Barnard, Eddy Verloes and Geert van Istendael.