Artists | The Ex (NL)

The Ex are an underground band from the Netherlands that formed in 1979 by singer Jos Kley (better known as G.W. Sok), guitarist Terrie Hessels, drummer Geurt and bassist René.
Founded In their first release All Corpses Smell the Same came in 1980.
Initially known as an anarcho-punkband, they have since released over 20 full length albums of musical experiments and numerous collaborations blending punk and free jazz with styles of folk music from all over the world. Through the decades their music has gradually developed into its current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/no wave-inspired work
Throughout the early 1980s The Ex went through many line-up changes before settling on the core quartet of G.W. Sok on vocals, Terrie on guitar, Luc on bass and Kat on drums. In the early 1990s, Andy became the band’s permanent second guitarist. In 2003 Luc left the band after 19 years, to be replaced by double bassist Rozemarie Heggen. In 2005 Heggen in turn left the band and Colin (formerly of the Dog Faced Hermans) served as the band’s bass player for recordings and tours with Ethiopian saxophone legend Getatchew Mekuria before becoming The Ex’s sound board operator. Guitarists Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels have since filled in bass parts by switching off on baritone guitar.
The band has collaborated with many disparate artists, including UK anarchist band Chumbawamba (sometimes using the name Antidote), the Dog Faced Hermans, and with the late avant-garde cellist Tom Cora in the early 1990s, resulting in the album Scrabbling at the Lock (1991) and the follow-up And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders (1993). The album In the Fishtank 5 (1999) was made with Chicago’s Tortoise, and on In the Fishtank 9 (2001) they collaborated with members of Sonic Youth and the Dutch improvisers Instant Composers Pool Orchestra (ICP).
In 2009, after 30 years with the group, singer and co-founder G.W. Sok left The Ex. His replacement is Arnold de Boer from the Dutch group Zea, with whom The Ex have toured and collaborated. In addition to singing, De Boer plays guitar and utilizes samples.
In 2001 The Ex curated Music Unlimited Festival in Wels.
In 2011 they co-curate the All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival in Minehead, England.