helena & amanda-
{laughing}....we're just kinda relieved that this record is gonna be out
there soon so we can move onto doing new stuff
s-
yeah, we've just been playing
the same songs for a while now
g-
what have you learnt about yourselves whilst you've been making this record?
h-
I think we ....well, it's a process of working together
and kind of listening to each other and feeling what's possible for the others, and feeling what's possible for yourself. So it's a process where you learn to work together, really, as a group. It went quite smooth. I would say. We didn't have a lot of trouble, because first we recorded a few songs - like Leugenaar, and Dat vind ik lekker in winter last year. And that was kind of different, because it was the first time that we had gone into the studio. We had already been playing together for a while, but it was still very fresh. We hadn't really worked as a group before, because we hadn't really decided which way we all wanted to go, I guess.
And it's not like we talked about this and then we wrote it down and everyone put their signature underneath it. Because of playing so much live - we had, played, I don't know, 200 shows or something - you don't have to think about it anymore, because the creative process is really done on stage.
So I think that's why it was quite easy. We realized that we wanted to go for the energy that we create on stage. And yet I would say the album is different because it has some songs that we barely play live.
But that's fine.
I guess I'm very curious what the next album will be like, because we did have some discussions about, like, "Should we put the songs that we don't play live on the album?" Those were the things that I was really doubting. But then I guess now there are not really any songs left, so we'll have to start from scratch! I mean that gives us the opportunity to completely create a new vibe or start with what we are doing now, and then create on top of that. So that's a very different approach than what we did for this record, because lots of these songs were lying around for a long time, and they have been adapted, and changed. I can feel that the newer songs that we make will be different. I think that's how it's going to evolve.
g-
i think it's such an exciting time - first album done and then it's all about what comes next? how do you evolve?
h-
i guess we all like adventure and we don't like to reproduce ourselves too much in the same way. At least that's the idea!
s-
it's nice that there weren't really any boundaries or, like, a plan that we were gonna make this kind of music, we just do what we like and what we want, just like what Helena says. That's why it's very exciting wondering what the next album will be. Because we don't know.
a-
well, the way that the album came out is where we are right now. It happened very naturally, very organically, and now we just have this white canvas that we're gonna paint together. And we have no idea what's gonna be on it, but I'm sure it's gonna be awesome.
h-
I think, well, when you play together with people, you kind of already tick one box of keeping it exciting, because the playing together, creating together, and gigging and touring together, all these things make it like a world on its own. The three of us have different stories about learning, because we have a different background. For me, I don't like to practice any technique or anything, because I just like to write songs. It has its advantages and its disadvantages, because I could be, of course, a better musician or a better guitar player. But the thing is, really I just like the creation part. And by creating, and by also pushing myself to not always create the same thing, I also learn. I feel like I also develop my skills and I create my own language. And for me, that's how it works. It's the best way of learning an instrument - with my guitar, writing songs, even if I only played two chords, for six hours a day. And then I would just be in a love relationship with this guitar. I would sleep with it in bed. It would lay next to me, things like that. And I mean, now I started learning piano this past year, and I tried to go to school, and it's just....fuck, it doesn't work for me at all. I hate that I have to sit there next to this teacher and I just want to run away. Last week, I just told her that I had to puke, and then I went home without saying goodbye or anything and then I wrote the school a message saying that I don't want to come anymore.
It's just not my fucking thing. You know, we have Loeke in the band and she's quite different. She's the one that learns from, I guess, going to school, she likes to have the structure and that structure gives her the discipline. So, she goes to guitar class, she goes to songwriting class, this and that. But if I do it, I just lose all the fun in it, and I'm not motivated anymore to just sit at the piano and just do stupid shit, which is how I learned. So it's different for everyone.
g-
when i was learning, it was fun at the start and then it started to become a chore. Like work. It stopped being fun and I became resentful. But i carried on doing the lessons and passed all my exams but gave it up as soon as I felt I could (long story). But since I've started playing again on my terms, the fun and excitement has come back and I'm honestly really happy with it all.
h-
yeah, and then you have someone like Sybe who is in the best of both worlds. He's creative and loves what he does, and he did the whole conservatory education thing and everything that he could do at school. So he combines it, and that's where the true genius comes in, right? If you can combine the two...
a-
that's where it gives us the full space to be as chaotic as we can, because we know that we have Sybe to keep everything together.
s-
For me, it's the same. When I first started playing with them, I was very relieved and very happy to be kind of naive on the instrument. I like that a lot, because I've been playing with all these other people and friends that also did the same study as I did, and it's fun, but it's so predictable. I like to let go, but they don't, and they keep to what they've been been learning all these years. And it's just boring. It's just very boring. And you can really tell when the band is like, all members are from like, this high music school, conservatory stuff. You can just tell. And then I started playing with this band, and I was like, "Ah, yes. Finally. People that are making music because they want to make music, because they want to say something, and because they want to explore and and just make the sound of what they feel, instead of making sound because they learned how to do it. And that's what I really, really, really like about playing with these guys.
g-
turning the clock back to when you were kids, what were your formative influences when you were growing up - people, hang out scenes, music, events?
a-
I grew up in Brazil, so most of my musical influences were, like Brazilian rock bands. All of my friends were musicians, so I only hung out with musicians. They liked all kinds of music. So I remember listening to metal and to more like indie rock, Coldplay, Pearl Jam and everything all mixed together. Because I got a bit of everything, I brought it with me through time, from all these different people that I met.
g-
Do those influences stay with you so you can bring them into the band?
a-
I guess it does, because it's part of who I am as a musician. So maybe it's not very conscious that those influences come directly into the music, but I know it does because it's part of me. It's part of how I grew up and how I always played.
h-
friends and musicians for me. I mean, when I was studying philosophy, well, a little bit before that, actually....when I was 20 years old, I came into a group of musicians, and they were all playing together, playing guitar, singing and they all had bands, and I couldn't play at all. I had a guitar when I was 12 from my grandma, and she also got me some private lessons with it. But I used to have all these warts on my hands. I was very, very ashamed by them, and I would always wear my my jumper, like this, with the sleeves pulled down over my hands. So then I went to the private lesson, and the teacher was like, "Yeah, but you have to take it off". And I didn't want to, so I never played with him again. So, when I got into this group of musicians, I just got really inspired by them, and I just wanted to be part of their group. I wanted to be able to play with them and sing with them, and that's when I started learning guitar and writing my own songs almost immediately. So of course, these people were very influential. And yeah, like Amanda said, it's really the people that surround you that creates this, they inspire you, and they give you the spirit to see the beauty in something that you didn't see before.
g- oh yeah, 100%..having the right sort of people around you is a life changer.
when I got a bit older, I started going to this thing
It's a very common thing here.
Maybe 70% of the people here do it.
where people just get together in the woods and sing round the campfire
Anyway, this was also really influential for me because we would have a book with all these songs so I would learn all about Nirvana and The Beatles
and then later on, it was the Pixies.
and that was how I learned about Kim Deal
From that moment, I always wanted to be like her, because she was just so cool.
She was such a good example of what it could be like to be a woman on stage that is not constantly trying to live up to any image
HELENA CAZAERCK
where I'm from, there was not a lot of music
none of my family members are musicians.
no one in the neighborhood was a musician.
nobody played music in the school when i started there
so it was kind of a lonesome adventure in music, which was actually nice, because I liked being on my own then
i could feel that, in the streets, my neighbors would encourage me, because it was like, "oh, there's someone in the neighborhood that's finally doing something that we can listen to"
They just wanted me to do what I wanted.
it was very nice for me to be able to practice and play a lot without having neighbors saying "Hey, shut the fuck up, we're trying to enjoy our afternoon here"
it gave me the space just to explore in this different world
SYBE VERSLUYS
it was bit like that for me, as well
I'm the only artist in the family, and no one really got it
So, my musician friends, became my family
I remember after school on weekdays, we would just be on the square in the city center, just playing a jazz guitar and singing our favorite songs and maybe trying to write some stuff
we didn't even know how to write music
on the weekends, it would be the same people going to the same bars to see other bands playing, and just dreaming about eventually getting there and doing that.
that was it. it was all about music.
it didn't really matter about the place.
we would take the music wherever we went.
AMANDA BARBOSSA
g-
so was it nerve wracking when you first got on stage together?
a-
No. For me -and I said this so many times - I find it crazy, because I've played with a lot of bands, and, you know, you play with all kinds of people and different styles and everything, but that connection that you have in the band is very important. When I first joined the band, I felt like I was back in those old days, playing with my friends at the square, like we were just, having fun and doing something that we love, and then just going with the flow and creating something new together. For me, this band felt exactly like that.
h-
For me, it wasn't scary at all, because I played before by myself - solo. And that's really
something else. I mean, you're not backed up by your gang. If you mess up, it's really messed up. So it's on you. I've been through a lot by myself, so it couldn't get any worse, really! When I started doing that, I just picked up the guitar - I couldn't play - and I started making songs, so you can imagine it was like shit.
I mean, obviously I enjoyed it for a bit. It was very stressful in the beginning, but I also like to overcome this feeling. So for me, I kind of like it when I am a bit scared, because I'm not easily scared. So I do like to face my fears. So for me, if I feel fucking nervous and think I'm gonna mess up this and that, but then I do it, and I feel so powerful after. So for me, it makes me stronger mentally. It makes me, I don't know, just more confident and also I give less of a shit about what other people think. It doesn't fucking matter. You're not gonna die because someone doesn't like you or doesn't like what you're doing.I don't have a lot of trouble with people not liking me or liking what I do.
g-
It took me years to overcome that. I would always have one eye on what somebody else would say about it. I knew it was so negative and a waste of energy. I'm kinda over it now. I don't really care what people think now, but you have to work your way through it, don't you?
h-
But then it's like when you see someone doing something that is vulnerable, and maybe, okay, it's not super good, but it's like, it's real. I never think, "What a douche bag" or whatever about this person. The only time I think about an artist as being a douche bag is when they just think that they're everything. So it's about attitude, and that's the thing I remember for myself. It doesn't really matter if I mess up or anything, as long as I keep it a bit real, that's all that matters, really.
g-
Yeah, you're totally right. The other thing with that is it's the start of thinking that it's gotta be perfect because you're worried about what people will think. And you know, sometimes you think about the small details and you think, "oh, fuck, I fucked that up. People will hear that." And it's crazy, you're usually just zeroing in on small stuff, nobody hears it.
h-
Yeah, people don't hear it. And also, I mean, we have this stage where we can do whatever we want, because we play music. And it's not about perfectionism at all. It's about the energy you transfer. So, I mean, it's a relief, because the world is more and more about being perfect, and people are putting plastic in their face and in their body, and they do everything to look like what they think is perfect, but it makes them ugly. I think, I mean, it's also like that with those musicians that are too perfect. It makes them ugly,really.
g-
I think society's obsession with perfectionism is one of the worst things. And we all know that so much of social media is about creating this perfect image and shit like that. It's so ridiculous, because we're human beings, you know, we're not meant to be perfect. I love watching bands live when they either fuck up, or they play a song different to the record. It says to me that they are human being.
h-
yeah, it's very funny that you say that, because we have this quite often, where something goes wrong. We played a hometown gig in the summer, and it had been a year since we played there. So people were really looking forward to it, right? And there was a storm at the time. And so the act before us finished, then we set up everything, and we started playing, and by the third song or something,the electricity dropped - everything, equipment, all the lights, everything. And so yeah, we were just like, okay, let's just keep the audience warm. We started singing and shouting on stage, Da Vind Ik Lekker!. And then the audience kind of also got into it. We could restart after, I don't know, five minutes or something, and then one and a half
songs in, and it happened again. It happened three times. But, eventually we we went back on stage, and we ended it with, like, five songs or something. But for us, I mean, the energy was right. It was very heartwarming how people reacted. But, I mean, for us, it felt a bit like, "Oh, fuck. This was our hometown gig, and we really wanted to do the gig properly". But then everyone came to us afterwards, and were like "It was so great. It was the most punk gig I ever saw". And, "oh, it's so nice to see you guys like this". People bought so much merch, and I still don't fully understand it! We have a big 10 day festival in Gent called Gentse Feesten, it's like a city festival and the whole city parties for 10 days. So after the gig, we went to another place, and we're just walking there, and people were coming up to us saying "Oh, it was really nice. I really enjoyed it". And I'm like, "Really, wow!". I mean, there must be something about the authenticity of it.
g-
How do you all feel about taking risks.
h-
I love taking risks.
s-
Making good music is about taking risks.
Why else would you make something new if it's already been done so many times? I think the exciting part is to just do whatever, and try to risk losing yourself in it or something.
g-
I think there are some bands that were never meant to change - like Ramones and Motorhead - just as there are some bands who are meant to keep changing. But, I wonder if there are some bands that worry about losing fans if they change too much. You see a lot of fans comparing new stuff to old stuff - oh, it's not as good as their early stuff, it's not as good as this album, blah blah blah....
h-
Bob Dylan started playing electric guitar, and he was like a traitor. Bad Brains mixed reggae with hardcore. Think, about like a band, like Ween, for example. Every album sounds super different. I mean how exciting is that? It just means that you're a bunch of friends making music together, and you're just doing what you feel like. I mean, we're probably gonna make an album that is still, like, high energy on stage, but it's not like we've suddenly got to make jazz or, whatever. I don't think we're gonna make reggae or something, but we're just open for other influences and to maybe have a different vibe in it. But I think it is important to have some kind of identity as well. You don't have to make an album where every song is a completely different genre. I mean, you can, but I don't really want to do that, because you can't really create a story. This album is one story, really.
g-
Can we talk for a moment about your use of Flemish language? I've noticed a growing number of artists - Violencia from Tijuana, Gewalt from Berlin, Rey Pila from Mexico City for example - singing in their native language, which I think is a great thing to see
h-
We never expected that we would even get out of Belgium. I mean, we were just hoping to get some gigs in Belgium and the Netherlands, and then something weird happened. We went viral with a video. We went touring with Tropical Fuck Storm. It just happened, and people all over the world started following us, and they started listening to our music. Now we're playing in so many new countries - we're going to Germany, Switzerland, Czechia, France, Spain, Netherlands. We've done Belgium and we've been to the UK for eight shows. I mean, that's quite impressive for a Belgian band that sings in Flemish. I don't think any other Belgian band that sings in Flemish has done that. So, this is not something that we intended to do. Just to say that what we identified was to make music that came intuitively. So it means that for me, writing the first song on the EP, it was just something that I did from the heart and then, because I'm able to express myself better in Flemish, it just happened. It was a really happy accident. I think it's a good thing that more bands would like to sing in their own language. And I think this will be more appreciated everywhere, because then we can really have a multicultural world where there is more influences from each and one another. While now a lot of Belgian bands are singing in English, well, first of all, because it's what they're used to but also they think they have to, and also they think it's going to give them more opportunities, which might be true, I don't know.
g-
You mentioned intuition there. How much do you use your intuition or instinct?
h-
I would say that I use it in music quite a lot. It's the only thing that you can do if you haven't really studied your instrument.
I mean, that's what I was trying to explain earlier. All these big artists, like, for example, Picasso, he would say he learned to paint in the first 10 years of his life and then the rest of his life, he learned how to become a child again. So, not being able to do it technically correct gives you the advantage of being able to be the childish creator, but hopefully over the time, because you keep doing it, and you keep doing it with passion, you do create your own structural language. But obviously the best thing you can do is to be like Sybe. But not everyone has the abilities or the discipline or just you have a different life path. He has had a different life experience. It's evolved differently with different people.
