Review by the Music Industry Latest Monthly 　　 　　Poppy, jazzy, bluesy, funky. Just a short description of the versatility of Taek! and of his new album “Changing Gear”. Mind you, it’s not just a mishmash of styles, cause it’s held together by the unique soulful voice of Taek!, as well as the instrumentation being used: acoustic instruments such as violins, steelstring and spanish guitars play a large role on all tracks. Above that, Taek!’s songwriting skills, polished through many years of experience, make sure that every song, in every style, is a joy for the ears. 　　 　　The album came about by coincidence, really. It so happened that friends of Rob Taekema (Taek), who studied violin and alto violin at the Amsterdam Conservatorium were committed to do a concert with music “out of their league”. They asked Taek! to make arrangements of several jazz standards, and the result of their cooperation was so succesful, that it inspired Taek! to start writing more songs. This time just basic songs with the acoustic guitar as his tool, and with the string section in his mind. 　　 　　The results was a mixture of songs: from down and dirty blues, to straightforward pop. From a sloooow ballad to an uptempo funkgroove. No boundries were left untaken. So there you are. It took a couple of years to produce the actual album, but the result is what we can expect of a talented, experienced musical centipede: Taek!