Who’d start a career as a musician when he’s 19 ? As a bagpipe player in a folkdance club, say what?
Ladies and Gentlemen: Wim Claeys.
The bagpipes were quickly changed for a diatonic accordion and the playing for folk dancers was replaced by jamming, a lot of jamming. And practising, a whole lot of practising. After a few years of studying, Wim left his hometown Ghent for Hudiksvall in Sweden, to be a fulltime folk music student.
When returning home, he founds the group Ambrozijn, together with Tom Theuns and Wouter Vandenabeele. Two years later, Tref is born: a explosive cocktail of three accordions with Didier Laloy and Bruno Le Tron, and the odd non-accordionist Frédéric Malempré on world-percussion.
In 2000, Wim starts the Boombal, beginning as a part of his accordion lessons, but quickly becoming a national phenomena that attracts thousands of dancers and musicians, thanks to the collaboration with Muziekburo.
In 2001, he meets Maarten Decombel, master-guitarist, with whom he forms duo Göze.
From then onwards things start to develop for the 3 groups: app. 15 cd’s, some tours abroad,  some very big stages and some house concerts, but most of all: a lot of concerts and bals in Belgium and Holland.
In 2008 things change: Ambrozijn stops as a group and Wim leaves the Boombal organisation and takes another path: in the summer of that year he presents his first cabaret show Test Eu Gents: a course in social behaviour when speaking the Ghent dialect.

waaim.be - 2009