HAPPY TEARS IN THE DARK : A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION

Brussels, September 2023

Cheers!! To start these personal notes with a toast.
A toast is something universal. A moment of standing still in a certain thought and feeling.
A politeness, some sentimental words, a tear and a laugh.
At the same time there could be some irony and sarcasm in a toast. A spark of dark humour.
Nonsense and meaningfulness in a tender and polite embrace.
Is it an act? The good part is that this remains unknown. A toast passes most of the time rather quickly. Cheers!! And as we drink, we swallow whatever what was said.

In my library I have a book titled A Manuel of Etiquette, edited by Nora M. Bickley and printed in
1942 by George Routledge & Sons, LTD. It’s a small book with a worn out blue hard cover.
The pages are now yellowish. A few chapters are Etiquette in Everyday Life with Hints for Ladies etc, Mealtime Manners, The Well-dressed Man, How to carve Fish and so on...
One can already imagine the world in these days by reading this book.

Quote from A Manuel of Etiquette:

“Drink today and drown all sorrow,
You shall perhaps not do’t tomorrow; Best while you have it use your breath - There’s no drinking after death.”

This quote is taken from the chapter Toasts & Sentiments and it is this title that I borrowed for
our new album with Skemer.
It’s funny and serious, straight forward with a bit of irony. In essence all are toasts to Life itself. Maybe I can see my lyrics in that perspective. Toasts & Sentiments is therefore a very suitable title.

Writing lyrics goes back to my time as a teenager in my room at my parents’ house.
Writing poetry was one of a few forms of much needed self-expression.
I also painted, made collages, dressed up, ... together with listening to my favourite music.
Music was already very important, never just background.
I think the reason I was writing poetry instead of a diary is because poetry can be personal and unpersonal at the same time.
You can use just a few chosen words to express something. It can be deep and clear but also unclear as you play with words that can shift meanings.
Broken sentences. One word.

At a certain moment I started making music. A very fulfilling form of expression. The most fulfilling.
At Skemer everything came together. The lyrics are quite personal but not about me.
I prefer them universal. By that I mean that it’s about sharing, that they are part of Life.
To be written with uncertainty. The only certainty is uncertainty. I don’t know anything that’s what I know. Quite funny and ironic, no?

A process of acceptance, surrender and appreciation. Showing fragility can be a strong act. A gift. These thoughts inspire me a lot.
My lyrics are soaked in this approach. One of the many layers in Skemer but yes, a prominent one.

Some fragments from Toasts & Sentiments, Skemer: Kiss me Kill me

“We hang in there Change for each other Stay together
Real love does hurt.”

Overgave (our first single)

“Geen mededogen Geen ontkomen Overgave
Die me niet loslaat.”

New Born Babe

“No resistance
My body is a razor
The wind can not feel me Hairless and pure
Like a new born babe.”

Here some quotes (source unknown) that passed by and caught my attention:

“Unless it’s mad, passionate, extraordinary love, it’s a waste of time.
There are too many mediocre things in life. Love shouldn’t be one of them.”

“You don’t need to be good. You need to be whole.”

“Beyond exited to announce that I’m giving up!
I’m so grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to see where this decision takes me.”

“Vrees niet de dood, Vrees het ongeleefde leven.” “Yolo then you die.”
“Growth will also feel like loss. Remember that.”

Quote from Marina Abramovic’s Walk Through Walls A Memoir:

“Stop this bullshit crying on stage” he said. It’s not you who has to cry; the public has to cry - snap out of it” It was the best possible cure for me.”