Some bands are formed in rehearsal rooms. Others take shape while moving across borders, rhythms and traditions. Trackvogels belong to the latter. Born out of a shared obsession with global roots music, their sound is shaped by travel, deep listening and a constant urge to connect traditions rather than contain them. Like migratory birds, they move between cultures, carrying stories, rhythms and energy from one place to the next.
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Introduction
What does the name ‘Trackvogels’ mean to you?
We had our first show booked as a support act for a Malian guitarist we deeply admire, but our band didn’t officially exist yet. So suddenly we needed a name. “Trackvogels” came up almost instinctively. Over time, the meaning grew. We’re constantly drawn to music from all over the world, crossing borders both physically and musically. Some of us are in Morocco, others studying rhythms from Guinea, Mali or elsewhere. That borderless movement feels very close to what migratory birds do. The name fits us more and more as we evolve.
How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard you before?
Our roots lie in what many people would call desert blues – music from the Sahara and North Africa – but that’s only the starting point. We’re influenced by a wide range of traditions: Turkish music, Afro-Peruvian rhythms, South American grooves, Ethiopian and Angolan sounds. We’re deeply interested in many musical cultures, and those influences naturally surface in our compositions.
Where do the band members come from musically?
Four of us living together in Lisbon played a big role in shaping the band. That’s where the core of Trackvogels connected. It was also there that we met Duvale (Afrogame), a Brazilian percussionist who became an essential part of the group. Then Robbert joined and we started playing and reforming under a new name with renewed energy. We all come from different musical backgrounds, but we share a deep-rooted love for global music. Some of us grew up surrounded by vinyl collections and jazz, others by Afrobeat, hip-hop or traditional percussion. Robbert is a dedicated vinyl DJ and collector, deeply invested in the stories behind records – the context, the artwork, the movements they came from.
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Roots
How do your personal roots influence the music?
For us, roots feel less tied to ancestry and more to movement. To the places we’ve been, the cultures we’ve experienced, and the music we’ve lived with. Growing up in the Netherlands, I (Sem) often felt out of sync with the culture around me. I come from a big family where everyone is welcome and there’s always enough food for one more person. That sense of openness, warmth and sharing felt much closer to southern cultures than to the more restrained Dutch mentality I saw around me. It wasn’t until I met the other members of Trackvogels that everything clicked. Suddenly I was surrounded by people who spoke the same musical and cultural language. People who had also spent their lives searching through global music. What once felt like being an outsider became a shared strength, and that shared background is deeply embedded in the music we make today.
Where do you currently find inspiration?
We’re constantly listening, discovering and sharing music with each other. Right now, Moroccan Gnawa music plays a big role in our inspiration. We’re studying it deeply and even incorporating traditional instruments like the guembri into our live set. At the same time, our interests keep expanding: Ethiopia, Angola, Guinea. Inspiration is an ongoing process. Our studio in Amsterdam Noord has become our headquarters, a place where we can spend real time exploring, refining and developing ideas together.
How do you transform all those influences into your own sound?
For us, it starts with the fact that we’re not just a band, we’re a group of close friends. We spend a lot of time together, building things collectively. Music is always playing, and we’re constantly jamming. That shared hunger creates momentum: when someone discovers a rhythm, a record or a tradition – whether it’s a groove from Mali or something else – it immediately gets brought into the room and explored together. The process is very organic. We play, we watch how people move to it, we perform, we meet musicians from different backgrounds. It grows like an oil stain, becoming more alive and more defined over time. Practice is a big part of that too. Everyone is constantly working on their own craft, studying specific traditions and techniques, so when we come back together, new ideas can really take flight
Having all those influences, what does fusion mean to you?
Fusion is the key word for us. There’s so much music we genuinely love, and bringing those influences together feels completely natural. When you’re deeply connected to different styles, combining them isn’t a conscious choice. It simply happens. My own background comes from hip-hop, Afrobeat and artists like Fela Kuti, Tony Allen and Ali Farka Touré. We also draw from jazz and African traditions. Fusion is like stirring everything into one pot of soup and seeing what emerges.
How does that musical “soup” take shape during your live performances?
On stage, that fusion comes to life through a hybrid setup. We combine traditional African drums with electronic elements like SPD and samples, allowing rhythms and textures to blend naturally. Our Brazilian percussionist Afro Game brings an enormous rhythmic vocabulary and raw energy, while Robert moves between congas, percussion, keys and synths. Chris switches between guitar and guembri, and Olly anchors the sound on bass while adding percussion.
Live
What can people expect from a Trackvogels live show?
Every show is different. Sometimes we invite the audience into a hypnotic, almost meditative trance. More in trance, rather than dance. Other times, we aim for full release high-energy, dance-driven sets that close festivals with fire. We always build our set around the context. Where are we playing, and what does the moment call for? That determines the direction of the show. Rather than fixed song structures, we approach our live performances as journeys. Improvisation plays a big role, and the music evolves in the moment. Inspired by many African traditions, we focus on repetition, movement and collective experience. The goal is to take people into a shared flow where deep inner focus and physical release exist side by side.
Is there a live moment that stands out so far?
Playing Paradiso for the first time was a defining moment for us. It’s widely seen as the main live music venue in the Netherlands, and stepping onto that stage made things feel suddenly very real. More recently, joining Radar Agency and being invited to support Ali Farka Touré’s nephew felt like a clear next step. Those moments confirmed that we’re moving in the right direction and being supported by people who truly understand our music.
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Inspires
What’s next for Trackvogels?
Our focus now is growth artistically and internationally. We want to play major festivals in the Netherlands and beyond, while developing a strong recorded body of work. Touring through France, Spain and Portugal is high on the agenda, followed by wider international routes. Long-term, the dream is simple and ambitious at the same time: to travel the world with our music, connect cultures through sound, and keep evolving. Alongside that, we curate our own nights and events, creating spaces where music, community and culture come together under the Trackvogels umbrella.