Musician
picture by: Odette Denijs
GUITAR
Bas Gaakeer (1989) is a guitar player based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He started playing guitar at the age of nine. After succesfully finishing his studies in Classical Guitar at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2015, Bas established himself as a guitar player in several musical styles. Arabic music and culture has had a strong influence on his musical career as he has been working regularly in the Middle East since he was a teenager. Besides working as a performing/recording guitar player Bas works as a composer and musical leader in several interdisciplinary projects. He aspires to be a connector of musical worlds, using the guitar as a tool to connect and exchange between musical backgrounds.
Since 2017 music from North Africa and the Sahara desert plays a central role in the musical career of Bas. He co-founded the band SAMIRA’S BLUES with Samira Dainan. They have toured the South of Morocco and Sahara desert on several occasions as well as numerous performances in the Netherlands. The band released two EP’s (“Ya Baba” in 2018 and “Salam” in 2024) on which Bas plays guitar and co-wrote the songs. Bas has toured with several artists from North Africa such as Kasba, Hind Ennaira and as a musical leader/guitarist with AMSTERDAMS ANDALUSISCH ORKEST with Hamid Bouchnak, Hatim Idar and others.
TEN-HUT is an Amsterdam/Zaandam based band which Bas founded with his childhood friends as a teenager. The focus of this band has been playing original songs and intercultural collaborations with musicians from non-Western backgrounds. The band has released several EP’s and albums, their latest live album being “YOL” in 2021 which marked the beginning of an Anatolian adventure with saz player Burak Dolutas.
Bas recorded guitars for the debut album Yedega Sew of Ethiopian artist YEMA,
Bas is an endorser for Martin Guitar, Jim Dunlop Guitar Products and MXR electronics. Bas uses Spectraflex handbraided cables.
COMPOSER/ARRANGER/MUSICAL LEADER
Commissioned by the Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Bas has created several performances in collaboration with theatre director Gregory Caers. Bas his work involves composing the music, leading the ensembles and musical contributions of the actors and playing/recording guitar. Their first collaboration dates from 2018, spring 2025 their latest performance CODES will premiere in the main hall of the National Opera.
Earlier in his career Bas gained valuable experience in interdisciplinary work as a composer/performer with SINE FORMA, a dance theatre collective with which he created several performances in the Netherlands and Egypt.
Other arrangements include various Arabic pieces for ensembles and (microtonal) guitar, numerous instrumentations in classical and popular music.
For several years Bas studied Composition with André Douw at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.