Biography
Clochard is a Belgian folk band that was formed in Tongeren.
Clochard consists of the Dessers brothers, Ezra and David, Frans van Hamersveld and Johan Lambrix, who know each other from school. Originally they were named 'De Zonneschijnheiligen' and played mainly Celtic and Flemish folk music. Later they renamed themselves Clochard and diversified their repertoire with European folksongs and own Dutch and instrumental compositions.
Ezra Dessers plays diatonic accordion, sings and has composed a good number of tunes. David Dessers plays whistle and banjo, sings and has written the original Clochard songs in Dutch. Frans van Hamersveld plays the fiddle, sings the upper voices and provides new arrangements for existing songs and tunes. Johan Lambrix sings the lower voices and shapes the Clochard sound with his original open tunings on guitar.
Clochard released its debut album 'Vreemde Avonturen' in october 2005. On this album Clochard combines original Dutch folky popsongs with a keen selection of European folksongs and -tunes. 'Vreemde Avonturen' was well received within the folk community of Belgium and the Netherlands.
When playing live, Clochard likes to present a mix of instrumental and vocal music, of fast dances and slow ballads, of ambiance and quiet enjoyment.
In the year 2006 Clochard performed a show at the 'Gooikoorts'-festival. For that occasion, Katrien Bos (of the dutch folkband 'Wè-nun Henk') joined the band on double bass. This line up proved to be a great success. Nowadays, Katrien often plays as a guest musician at the Clochard gigs.
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