Jeroen Paul Thesseling (born 13 April 1971) is a Dutch

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

player, most famous for his work in the German progressive death metal band Obscura and the Dutch progressive death metal band Pestilence.

Biography

;Early life Jeroen started studying violin and followed his first lessons at the age of 7. During his youth he played with classical orchestras, ensembles and attended several classical music contests. At the age of 16 he switched to bass guitar. ;Professional career Thesseling began studying bass in 1988 at the ArtEZ School of Music in Enschede,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Between 1992 and 1994, he was a member of Pestilence, with whom he recorded the jazz fusion-influenced album '' Spheres''. In 1995 Jeroen started to study microtonality, which resulted in two pieces: ''Hafnium'' — study in 72-tone equal temperament (1999) — and ''Argon'' — study in 18-tone equal temperament (2000). The period following, Arabic microtonal and contemporary classical music inspired him to focus primarily on fretless bass. In 2005 he recorded his first fretless work with the studio group Ensemble Salazhar. Despite their highly acclaimed demo ''Colors'' the group never officially released recordings. Between 2007 and 2011, he collaborated with Obscura and recorded with them '' Cosmogenesis'' (2009) and '' Omnivium'' (2011). Between 2009 and 2012, he rejoined Pestilence after a 15-year break and recorded their sixth studio album ''

Doctrine Doctrine (from la, Wikt:doctrina, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given ...

'' (2011). Since 2011, he has played exclusively fretless 7-string basses built by German bass luthier

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

; they are strung with a subcontra F#-tuning (F#₀–B₀–E₁–A₁–D₂–G₂–C₃). In late 2014, he founded the jazz fusion group Salazh Trio featuring legendary Cuban drummer/percussionist Horacio Hernández. Their debut work ''Circulations'' was released in December 2017. In October 2019, he founded the fusion-world-metal group Quadvium with fellow fretless bass player Steve Di Giorgio. In April 2020, it was revealed that he rejoined the German progressive death metal band Obscura as a permanent bass player after a nine-year break. With them he recorded their sixth studio album ''

A Valediction ''A Valediction'' is the sixth studio album by the German technical death metal band Obscura. It was released by the music label Nuclear Blast on 19 November 2021. Background The album was written and recorded separately by the band members dur ...

'' (2021). Jeroen Paul Thesseling lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Equipment

Jeroen endorses

basses and has played Warwick Thumb NT series exclusively since 1993. He has played several Thumb NT6 and NT7 basses, each marking different chapters of his musical career. During Pestilence's Spheres era, he played a Thumb NT6 bass. Later on he started using fretless Thumb NT6 basses, for Obscura's Cosmogenesis and Omnivium era. In 2011 he started playing custom shop Thumb NT7 fretless basses, which are most notably heard on the recording of Pestilence's

album, Obscura's ''

'' album and

Sadist Sadist refers to: * A person with sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term for individuals who derive pleasure from the suffering of others Sadist may also refer to: Sexual practices *BDSM, one who engages in the erotic (sexual) practices ...

's ''Firescorched'' album. ;Warwick 7-string basses (customshop) * Warwick Thumb NT7 fretless Ebony fingerboard (2017) * Warwick Thumb NT7 fretless Snakewood fingerboard (2013) * Warwick Thumb NT7 fretless Ebony fingerboard (2011) ;Warwick 6-string basses * Warwick Thumb NT6 fretless Macassar Ebony fingerboard (1993) * Warwick Thumb NT6 fretless Ebony fingerboard (1991) * Warwick Thumb NT6 Wenge fretboard (1991) * Warwick Thumb NT6 fretless Asian Ebony fingerboard (1989) * Warwick Thumb NT6 Wenge fretboard (1989) ;Live amplification * Warwick LWA 1000, WCA 115 CE LW cab, WCA 115 CE LW cab (left) * Warwick LWA 1000, WCA 115 CE LW cab, WCA 115 CE LW cab (right) ;Recording gear * Phoenix Audio DRSQ4 MkII dual channel preamp * Aurora Audio GTQ2 MkIII dual channel preamp

Discography

;Studio * Sadist – ''Firescorched'' (2022, Agonia Records) * Obscura – ''

'' (2021, Nuclear Blast) * Salazh Trio – ''Circulations'' (2017, Salazh Trio) * Obscura – '' Omnivium'' (2011, Relapse Records) * Pestilence – ''

'' (2011, Mascot Records) * MaYaN – '' Quarterpast'' (2011, Nuclear Blast) * Obscura – '' Cosmogenesis'' (2009, Relapse Records) * Pestilence – '' Spheres'' (1993, Roadrunner Records) ;Live * Pestilence – ''Presence of the Past'' (2015, Marquee Records) ;Compilations * Pestilence – ''Twisted Truth'' (2020, Warner Music Group) * Pestilence – ''Prophetic Revelations'' (2018, Hammerheart Records) * Pestilence – ''Reflections of the Mind'' (2016, Vic Records) * Lange Frans – ''Levenslied'' (2012, TopNotch) * Pestilence – ''

Mind Reflections ''Mind Reflections'' is the fifth studio album from Dutch death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tr ...

'' (1994, Roadrunner Records)

Videography

;Official music videos * Obscura – ''Heritage'' (2022) * Obscura – ''The Neuromancer'' (2022) * Sadist – ''Accabadora'' (2022) * Obscura – ''When Stars Collide'' (2021) * Obscura – ''Devoured Usurper'' (2021) * Obscura – ''A Valediction'' (2021) * Obscura – ''Solaris'' (2021) * Obscura – ''Anticosmic Overload'' (2009) * Pestilence – ''Mind Reflections'' (1993)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thesseling, Jeroen Paul Living people 1971 births Obscura (band) members Pestilence (band) members Death metal musicians Dutch heavy metal bass guitarists 21st-century bass guitarists Mayan (band) members