ABOUT
Klaas Berings, founder
Because of his long term experience in the advertising business, Klaas understands the concept of writing scores for film. He also understands the language of directors and creatives, and knows how to turn a description of a mood into a musical piece that's right on the money.
Together with his LA based guitar-playing brother Nard, Klaas has been in the business as Freshbeat Studio for over two decades and has composed music for clients like Heineken, Volvo, Burger King, Chrysler, Ikea, etc.
In 2013 he founded FRESHBEAT ACOUSTIC, a musical collaboration with musician friends and colleagues.
Gert Wantenaar
Except from being an amazing accordion and bandoneon player, Gert Wantenaar is also a brilliant composer. His head is filled with tons of melodies and chords, so all you need is a couple of mics to capture all his wonderful ideas. And he flawlessly moves from Argentina to Germany to France, to end up in a typical Jordanese bar in Amsterdam. He has been playing with artists like Mathilde Santing, Robert Long, Henny Vrienten and Huub van der Lubbe and is recently touring with the Malando Orchestra.
Fred van Straten
We’re very happy to have the most gifted piano- and trumpetplayer, arranger and composer Fred van Straten as a member of our team. As a session musician, Fred has been playing with major Dutch artists like Candy Dulfer, Karin Bloemen, Total Touch and international artists like Gino Vanelli, Vangelis and Volkan. As a studio musician, he contributed to over 100 albums in the Netherlands and abroad.
Arturo Ramon
Arturo Ramón breathes flamenco and it looks as if he and his guitar were built out of one piece. He studied with Paco Peña at the Rotterdam Conservatory, from where he graduated in May 2003. Arturo recorded a few solo albums and has been touring with groups like Primos del Norte, NL Mundo, Algo Así, Flamenkika and The Hungry Gods. Besides he accompanies his own wife, the well-known flamenco singer Erminia Fernández Córdoba.
Mike Del Ferro
Lately we’ve been recording some great tracks with Mike del Ferro, a Dutch jazz piano-legend who has been performing his own music in more than 100 countries over the last two decades. He recently has been touring with Randy Brecker, Toots Tielemans, Bruno Castelluci and other jazz- and world music-giants and we are very proud of our collaboration!
Nard Berings
Nard Berings, aka the owner of the Freshbeat LA department, is the most versatile guitar player and composer around. Whether it has to be jazz, rock, pop, funk or country: he’s into all styles and besides he knows how to get the best sound out of his guitars. He’s been around for a while, playing and recording with Stevie Salas, Scam Luiz, Gung-Ho, Zibbz, Lois Lane and many others. As the co-founder of Freshbeat, he knows the ins and outs of commercial composing.
Arie Storm
Arie Storm is one of the most wanted studio and session guitarists from the Netherlands. Celine Dion, Kim Wilde, Lionel Richie and Candy Dulfer are just a few names on the extensive list of people he played with over the past few years. At this moment he’s joining Anouk and Jan Smit, among others, and composes for different projects and artists, like Do. He not only knows how to beat up his Stratocaster, he also can be very gentle ans subtile on his steel string or Dobro. Which is good for us!
Bastiaan Mulder
Another great player is Bas Mulder. After graduating from the Amterdam conservatory, he has done a lot of studio and live sessions with Sara Kroos, Suzanne Lubrano, Moon Baker and many others. Bas is known for his broad diversity and musicality, both as a guitarist and as a composer, and it’s alway a pleasure to have him behind a pair of vintage Neumann’s.
Martijn Schok
The name Martijn Schok is synonymous with boogie woogie and blues. Being one of Europe’s leading boogie woogie pianists, Martijn has played many European jazz and blues festivals and can be seen regularly at festivals in the USA. He performs solo, as well as with his swinging 5-piece band, and has released sixteen successful boogie woogie CDs.
Lucas Stam
Lucas Stam is a true cellio virtuoso. After his classical study at the Rotterdam Conservatory, he soon found his way into other musical genres like pop, dance, tango and minimal music and he’s is also known as an ‘impro-cellist’. He made several European tours with Herbert Grönemeyer and recorded for artists like Nelly Furtado, Viktor & Rolf, Jina Sumedi and Wieke Garcia. On his electric cello he regularly performs with DJ Kareem Raihani.
Hugo Kruijswijk
Hugo Kruijswijk has been a member of the Freshbeat crew for over a decade and therefore composed music for over 100 TV-commercials en leaders. As a guitar player, he has been playing and recording with various artists and he also toured with several theater groups. He’s known for his unusual approach to composing and never can be accused of a dull composition.