Hai there, Joost has an update. Nothing shocking or to scare you or embarrass myself of I hope... I'm working on it...work to make it work. Ideas pile up every day. It says so on my Twitteraccount. Excitement occures ocassionally. Which ones will end up on the new album? I've already got 9 songs in the pipeline, but far more sketchy ideas, all helping me to focus I guess. As I want this to be a compact one, there'll be no more than 12 of them. More quality, less quantity then? Well if you chew out a full album (say double album) of say about 18 songs, that's a lot to process. It worked more or less with the last one. But especially in the finishing stage, you have to have fresh ears. Less is more! The most fun part for me is to write, record and arrange the songs, but the finishing part (mixing and mastering) is easier to do with less. I'm in the middle of this mixing process with 9 songs, working more and more on the details than before. Let them breath in an experimental journey.
Is this all neccessairy? Well, I've been around the block writing songs a few times now and I just want to get better you know. Yes I know and you know. Get ready!
In the meantime if you just can't wait, did you know I've come up with another instrumental album on Jamendo?
Yes, I've updated the "Complete List Of His Works" section. My o my, look at those arty albumtitles! Just to make things look complete, I've compiled anything I've been recording since 1987, when I started my own band with some friends, way back. All played and recorded on those hip, vintage cassettes. In 1998 the digital age started creeping in, so I burned my own cd's (Now On CD) and in 2005 digital distribution became the motto. It's been an intensive journey so far, but I hope it will never stop.....
just to proof that I really made those cassettes/cd's, for non-believers, I've added a few pictures..
Just arrived! 22 instrumental songs, only available on Jamendo for now. Especially for video-projects and the like. And easy on the ears, heart, knees, mind and feet. So take them, they are yours.
Sort of an inbetweenie (refreshing for me to work on too!), For Your Pleasure Vol.2 is an ongoing series. Enough material for more pleasure.
My next "straight" album will arrive somewhere... in 2016.
During the process I noticed- by the flow and mostly beachy, summer
mood- a little story was evolving while sequeing the songs. A concept? A Hitchcock/
Orson Welles mystery perhaps? Well, let's imagine....
Here's a little storyline
I came up with (while listening) for a yet to be made or not to be made movie:
this
reckless spy, once a successful operator, has to escape into his
silhouette. Now older, washed up, stranded somewhere on a desolate
beach, meeting the good (romance), the bad (no cash) & the ugly (fake
romance) and getting away with it (with that "Moon Elevator") and
finally steps out of his shadow.
Hai folks of the flat earth, what's happening?
I'm in the middle of learning more about the mixing and mastering process while recording new songs, trying to get on a higher level studiowise. Homerecording is tricky, when you're not a pro, but I'm getting better at it- at least what I think- with each new album. I'm learning.
So far I've got 9 songs, some already finished, except for the experimental mastering process. That's the last tweak on the mix.
Here's a one last thing I've done for my last album. Didn't hear it yet? Here you are Spotify
Got this little flashy, funny video for ya, sort of a collage of different versions of me playing the same song "Rock'n Roll Me In Or Out". Hey it's my holidays by the way! I'm off....
"You keep rolling in rolling out of my life
You've packed your bags, won't say farewell
Ain't got no tissues up there in Heartbreak Hotel
You keep rolling in rock'n roll me out of your life!
You keep walking in you keep walking out of my life
I knock at your door you won't open up
Keep pounding even louder I won't give it up
Hi folks, it's hot in da lowlands, but I still keep going!
Yes I am curious and as I stumbled upon those funny, glossy-styled video's I immediately recognized that voice (aargh) and the sound. Most of the songs are licensed by Jamendo. So far I've found 160 (there could be more of course) of them with a lot old, funky dutchman stuff and some do not fit at all:
Dance Till Your Drunk [2005], I Want It Back, Overdone [2005], Desertfly [2007], Making Faces [2008], Mumbo Jumbo Heebie Jeebies [2008], Wonder [2008], Violent Boy [2008], The Root of My Belly [2009], The Greek Way Garden [2010], Back To The Race [2011], Bigger Things [2011], Sugar tune [2011], Stupid Song(s) [2013], Sin Pan Alleyman [2014], Intermission Of Love [2014], Buy (Bye Bye) [2014], Slow Motion Dream [2014], Bomber Drone [2014]Have a great summer everyone!
How ironic: just when you think we'll all go digital, we're going analog. Needle, turntable, grooves, black, sleeves, analog...As a vinyl lover I've always dreamt about having my music on black plastic, until now... just received my own! It's a 10 inch one (25,4 cm), 3 songs on each side, so that way it fits in the post box. I listen while writing this and immediately I recognise those deep, warm nostalgic 70ties sounds, haha. Of course I had to choose which songs would make it. Six favourites from the last three albums are on it. Good fun!
Just to add another way to find the obvious. Yes, I have one ( JoosTVD's vids) where I upload my own promo videos, but these days YouTube collects all the songtitles associated with the artist. Quite a varied bunch I may say....
100 pages long! Wow, that's a lot of words. Of course there are these great pictures of intense looking blues artists too to satisfy the view of tired readers. What an honor to be part of the review section (page 59!) of this german online blues-magazine, Wasser-Prawda, standing next to the latest of Boz Scaggs and Van Morrison. I already showed you this great review of my latest album in one of my last blogposts, but there is so much more. I think what this magazine adds to the current "scene" is the balance between the old and the new, the already known and the upcoming unknown. Some forgotten heroes like Andy Fairweather-Low or Leadbelly get large overviews. All written with the love for (blues) music.
Anyway, read the stuff, it's good for the soul! WP-Magazine pdf
Someone took notice of a certain soundcloud playlist I was on with "Unscrew Yourself". It read TBE. To Be Edited? No, it's a playlist of personal "To Be Evaluated" choices by Tom Robinson. You know that guy that sang "Glad To Be Gay" and a personal hero of mine songwriterwise. Comes to mind "War Baby", "Listen To The Radio" and "Still Loving You". What he will do with the songs only Joost may know...TBE.
Now with his sixth review since The Vanished dutchman [2010], Nathan still knows how to impress me with his couraging words. Well, it is his work, he's a journalist, always busy writing in a generous way. Thanks again, I'm very grateful!
It's in german, but I've put an free, loose english translation underneath it.
Here's the original Link
JoosTVD - Lightning Dutchman
German:
Manche Musiker sind einfach zu clever und gleichzeitig zu humorvoll, um
in dieser ach so ernsten - und so erfolgsgierigen Welt - erfolgreich zu
sein. Bin ich froh, dass jemand wie JoosTVD davon nicht entmutigen
lässt und in jedem Jahr dennoch ein Album voller musikalisch großartiger
Lieder zu veröffentlichen.
Es geht um Verschwörungen im Whirlpool, Paranoiker mit Knarren, den
Narzissmus der Mediengesellschaft oder arme Schuhputzerjungen. Dabei
trifft Rock auf Funk, Jazz, Latin und schamlos poppige Melodien. Und
zuweilen holt Joost van Dinter sogar einen Slide heraus, um seine
Gitarren zu spielen.
Klar gibt es in den Songs jede Menge Humor – wer aber JoosTVD wie ich
über Jahre hinweg mit seiner Musik verfolgt, der lernt ihn darüber
hinaus lieben als einen unwahrscheinlich reflektierten und feinfühligen
Musiker, der einfach lieber drauflos lacht, als über all das Elend zu
heulen.
English:
Some musicians are easy too clever and at the same time too amusing to be successful in these oh so serious - and thus successful-greedy world. If I am glad that not everyone allows to discourage the likes of JoosTVD of it who can publish every year an album more fully musically of great songs.
It is about conspiracy in the jacuzzi, paranoic with rattles, the narcissism of the media society or poor shoeshine boy's boys. Besides, rock on radio, jazz, Latin and shamelessly poppige melodies hits. And now and again Joost van Dinter gets out even a Slide to play his guitars.
Clear there is in the songs a lot of humor – who pursues, however, JoosTVD like me for years away with his music, that learns him, in addition love as an incredibly reflected and sensitive musician who laughs simply rather, than to howl about all misery.
