Ball Noir

Is it balfolk metal? Or metal balfolk? The circles are divided. Their music is just as suitable for jigue dancing as it is for banging your head. Ball Noir has played at many folk balls and festivals in the Netherlands and abroad and their fans are active in the (bal) folk genre as well as in the metal world. But whether it's sultry dance steps or wildly flowing hair... it's always a party!

BALL NOIR combines acoustic music with electronic metal and has a longing for dark melodies accompanied by a pounding heartbeat. With the medieval sounds of the harp and the hurdy-gurdy, you get the feeling that you are in between the old and the new world. All music is written so that it is suitable for balfolk dancing.

It has been more than twenty years since part of the band learned to dance at small fest-noz in Brittany. The balfolk element is therefore heavily intertwined in their music. But the band members come from very diverse backgrounds: the alternative doom metal groups Eria d'Or and Daedalus Down, the balfolk bands Orfeo and Kelten Zonder Grenzen and the medieval group Datura. The lyrics of Ball Noir singer Jeroen have a poetic view of life and are about the soul, unattainable loves and the abstract concepts of 'home' and 'time'.

Ball Noir has had their first performance in 2010 during the Summer Darkness festival (NL). It was a resounding success and the entire Domplein in Utrecht was dancing excitedly. Since then they have been unstoppable. Their music is also internationally acclaimed: they played in Denmark, Belgium, France and Germany. In 2022 they released their third album CABINET OF CURIOSITIES; a concept album with covers, acoustic music, new songs and remixes. They are now busy writing new material for their fourth album.

Ball Noir is:

• Marco van Asperen – electric hurdy-gurdy, 12-stringed guitar, electric guitar
• Mark van den Heuvel – drums
• Jeroen Gilhuys  – voice, electric guitar
• Rutger van Krieken – drum computers, sequencers, keyboard
• Lies Sommer – harp, hurdy-gurdy