Barend’s guitar playing influenced his electric bass style. He plays chords, strumming, slapping and uses various finger styles. By combining all these techniques he creates his own unique bass style. Sometimes the bass

is used as a solo instrument but also an accompanying instrument. Besides normal

4-string bass he also loves playing fretless bass. Adventurous players such as Mick Karn, Stanley Clarke, John Giblin, Percy Jones, Pino Palladino, Les Claypool, Tony Levin and Ernst Reijseger (cello) had an influence on his bass style.

 

Barend writes workshops for the Dutch bass magazine De Bassist. He has played bass in many bands like Lemur Voice, Arabesque, Slow Poke Rodrigo and he also does session

work.

 

Barend also has great love for the upright bass. He has played classical music but also fusion. Lately he is also playing Indian classical music on his upright bass transferring the things he has learned on sitar and Indian music to his bass. Mostly playing ragas with the bow. For this he is playing a double bass that is tuned a fourth higher than a standard double bass. Also the string tuning is different then the normal fourths line up  of the bass to better match Indian bowing instruments like the violin or the sarangi. He is taking lessons now from Lenneke van Staalen who is specialized in Indian music on the violin.