Homelands is a collaboration of Artvark Saxophone Quartet (NL) and the Cameroonian/Dutch singer Ntjam Rosie. The Dutch tour had 38 performances throughout the Netherlands including the best jazz venues, like Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Cloud Nine-Tivoli Utrecht and Lantaren Venster in Rotterdam. The music is inspired both by traditional and recent music from Ntjam’s home country Cameroon from for instance Manu Dibango and Richard Bona. The Afro-European blend of Ntjam’s current soul-, jazz-, gospel- and world music has been a source of inspiration too. 

Artvark continues the same path they took a few years ago, be it more radical than ever. Looking for alternative ways of playing the sax and the way it sounds, using unorthodox sounds as the basis of a composition. Besides the whole range of ‘ordinary’ acoustic sounds, these four gentlemen dived into the world of electronics and effects to create the desired grooves of this project. Ntjam’s role is divers. She is the fifth instrument of the quartet, recites 'spoken word', plays (vocal) percussion, forms duos or trios with the saxes, accompanies the quartet on her guitar. She performs texts in English and French, one of the official national languages of Cameroon, and sings in Bulu, her mother tongue.

Artvark Saxophone Quartet:
Four saxophonists, among the best of the Netherlands, that’s Artvark. They played across the world at major Jazz festivals and venues from Prague to Egypt and from Ireland to South Africa. No boring chairs or music stands, no rigid jazz purists. Artvark meanders through musical traditions from jazz to blues and everything in between or outside of that. 

Ntjam Rosie:
With her strong characteristic voice, endearing performances and charming appearance on radio and television Ntjam Rosie is a rising star in jazz and soul music. Her latest album ‘The One’ contains a wide range of styles and intensely beautiful songs. For this album Ntjam collaborated with top notch Dutch musicians like Eric Vloeimans, Martin Fondse, Ronald Snijders, Pink Oculus and Lamin Kuyateh.