VI.BE

Yarno "matoka" Hoedemaekers blends a love of rhythmically complex music with a wide range of influences into a sound of his own. A fascination with produced music led him through trap and hip-hop, techno and dubstep, and finally to jazz and improvised music. In this project he brings electronic production-like music into the world of live-jazz, and goes further: simple structures, loops, trance-like chords with post-bop-flavoured lines, while improvisation remains an important form of expression.

With his master's concert, matoka won the Toots Thielemans Jazz Award in 2024, resulting in a promising concert at Brussels Jazz Festival at Flagey in January 2026. In July 2026, matoka won the jury prize of Gent Jazz Talent.