Els Vandeweyer

Els Vandeweyer is a Belgian-born vibraphonist, percussionist, improviser and composer based in Berlin, known for her adventurous and expressive approach to jazz, contemporary and improvised music.

Growing up in Belgium, she began her musical journey with classical percussion before shifting her focus to jazz and free improvisation. She studied classical percussion in Antwerp and continued her jazz studies in Brussels and Oslo, deepening her engagement with spontaneous and experimental forms of music.

Els was a co-founder of the IMI Kollektief, whose album Snug as a Gun — released on the renowned Clean Feed label — earned critical praise and marked an early milestone in her recording career.

Now an active figure in Berlin’s vibrant music scene, she performs widely as a solo artist, ensemble member and collaborator in projects that span group improvisation, contemporary composition and cross-genre exploration. Her work ranges from intimate solo vibraphone performances to large-scale ensemble collaborations and innovative sound-art concepts like Landscape, a 25-metre textile graphic score realised in performance.

Els has appeared with a broad array of ensembles and creative colleagues across Europe and beyond, including projects such as Quat (with Fred Van Hove, Paul Lovens, and Martin Blume), MIMOSA, Metal Illusion, and Dead Leaf Butterfly, and she released her first album under her own name, Debut, in 2019.

Her musical voice is marked by a bold curiosity and a willingness to explore the expressive potential of sound, improvisation and texture — bringing the vibraphone into fresh contexts that bridge tradition and innovation.