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My musical journey started with a toy drum my parents bought for me when I was 4. A few years later, during a brief period at the local music academy, I noticed that learning music theory and playing recorder were not my favourite things to do. When I was 12, I heard œWalking On The Moon on the radio and it was an instant reason to play drums. Pretty soon I realized music was not just a hobby and I started to play my instrument on a daily basis. At first, my parents thought I needed to learn a œreal profession, so I studied Communication Science, while I was still playing drums in several bands. After my studies the urge to play music grew even stronger. So I followed my intuition and I auditioned at the Conservatory in Rotterdam. I never found so much pleasure and (artistic) satisfaction in my studies as in those days. I got the chance to play in the big band, I played with teachers such as Dick de Graaf and guest lecturers such as Bobby Shew, Bob Brookmeyer and Joe Pass. I also got the chance to join an exchange program with the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After I graduated I was still hungry for more. Thanks to the Foundation of Performing Arts in Holland I still could continue my study with Billy Hart in New York for a few months.
After my studies I performed with a lot of different acts. Ks Choice, Venus in Flames, Woodface, Sarah Bettens, and Lalalover are some of them. Thanks to my work with Ks Choice I got the chance to travel all over the world and perform as a guest artist with Skin, The Indigo Girls, Hooverphonic, Cheryl Crow, Sarah McLaughlin, and many others. Koen Lieckens & the HITmachine is my own project that I started a couple of years. It's a mix of instrumental versions of hits and original compositions in the electric jazz era.The last few years I have played on various stages, Ive cooperated in several productions and taught at The Rockacademy in Tilburg and Da Kunsthumaniora (Highschool for the Arts) in Antwerp. The most important thing to me is that I feel involved artistically in every project I do. I can find that artistic value in different styles. It just has to grab my soul¦
