 | songwriting & music production |
'Loud Noise'
| songwriting & music production |
'Loud Noise'
From November 1985 until somewhere in 2003 I was a member of 'The Missing Link'. On the picture above you see the 1988 - 1989 line-up, which was the most successful one. Top, from left to right: Ronald Demilt - Guitar; Ger Dik - Keyboard; Bert de Bruyne - Bass and background vocals ; Bottom: Oscar Koenders - Drums; William Hill - Lead vocals.
click title to play
| title | description | recording |
|---|---|---|
| Radio | This song, originally by Jaco Bouwmeester, performed here by William Hill on vocals. | The Missing Link @Holland Spoor Studio's |
| Feel Like I Feel | Although I came up with the basic idea for this song, the eventually result is definitely a group effort. William re-worked the lyrics in such a way that only the title remained of the original idea. The same applies to the music. | The Missing Link @Holland Spoor Studio's |
| If I hurt you | This is another version of the 1984 song 'Hurt you' by Time (see below). This version from 1989 features William Hill on vocals and Manfred Schurwanz on saxophone. Manfred and I lived in the same student home for a while. However when studio boss Rob Rehorst suggested to call a studio musician, I never expected to see Manfred appear. He did a marvellous job, however, playing 8 magnificent takes to choose from. | The Missing Link @Holland Spoor Studio's |
| See it from both sides | In the mid 80's, bands could play live in Rotown, Rotterdam in exchange for a meal and a live recording. We did and found out both were great. This is a song I wrote in 1987 and was adapted and arranged by the band. | The Missing Link 'live' @Rotown Rotterdam |
| Cult! | Guitar player Ronald used to play this riff every now and again between songs in the rehearsal room. Somebody remarked that it sounded a bit like the band 'The Cult'. It inspired William to write lyrics about how being in a group of people addicted to something, can be like being in a cult. We tried a few musical things back and forth and eventually this song was born. The live recording presented here was during 'De grote prijs van Nederland'. That night the audience thought we were the best, but the jury had an opposite opinion. | The Missing Link 'live' @Het Paard van Troje, Den Haag |
From Februari 2015 until March 2021 I was a member of 'Kajal'. On the picture above from left to right: Steven - guitars, Astrid - vocals, Me - keys, JW - drums (a.o.), Ruben - bass. Steven and Ruben founded Kajal in 2015 with the aim of playing trip hop in a traditional band set-up. I reacted on their ad. It turned out that Steven and I had cooperated earlier as sound engineers of the Beachbattle band contest in Scheveningen. We started out with a different drummer and a different singer. The first drummer left after only a few rehearsals, because he wanted to spend more time with his baby daughter. JW joined. Then the first singer was replaced by Erica, who stayed with us for 1 1/2 yrs. You can hear Erica sing on 'Melodica' and 'Dancing Slowly'. Erica got a job abroad and fortunately we found Astrid, who sings 'Albuquerque' on the recording below.
Since Kajal have moved on into a different direction with a different line-up. JW moved from drums to keyboard, replacing me when I was forced to leave due health issues as a result of the Covid pandemic. They also have a new drummer and a new guitarist. They are still regularly gigging in the The Hague area. When you have the opportunity, you should check them out: they are a great band.
click title to play
| title | description | recording |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | Like Bugs Bunny, some people should have taken that left turn. The ACME analogy is maintained throughout the song, which deals with the not so silent dispair of middle-aged suburban civilians like myself. | Kajal @HPC |
| Melodica | The instrument is the title. This song originated from an idea by Steven and Ruben. We just all added our part. | Kajal @HPC |
| Dancing Slowly | About the love of my life. Former singer Erica's mother wanted to have it played on her funeral. When such a remark is made, you feel flattered and you never give it a second thought, expecting such an event to take place far away in the future. Sadly Erica's mother passed away rather suddenly in december 2017. I attended the funeral and this song was played. | Kajal @TTRAKS |
| Temptation Island - Trance Mix | We recorded this song in our rehearsal room, but it didn't sound the way we 'd hoped. The vocal part was fine though, so I made a trance mix out of it. | Kajal @TTRAKS |
| Rainsong | Although I am really fond of this song, it didn't work too well in front of live audiences. Therefore we decided to remove it from our set and make a nice home-studio recording instead. What you actually hear are Astrid's vocals and yours truly on guitar and keyboards. | Kajal @TTRAKS |
Between August 1982 and August 1984 I was a member of 'Time', together with Hans Scholte (drums) and Paul Nanninga (guitar & vocals). I played the bass and sang as well. In 1983 Jos Scholte, Hans' brother, recorded a few of our songs while we were rehearsing. He only had a stereo analog casette recorder and a consumer stereo microphone. The results surprised us all. Artists Gerry Baptist made a nice cover (above) for the thus recorded demo and promoted it in Enschede, where he attended the AKI art academy. Although the gig in Enschede never materialized, I have called these recordings the 'EnscheDemo'.
click title to play
| title | description | recording |
|---|---|---|
| Burnout Zone | In the eighties we sang either about our girlfriends or about our fear of nuclear war. This one obviously is about the latter. | EnscheDemo |
| Surprise | Much to our dismay, the Winschoten rock scene of the eighties was all about traditional rock 'n' roll. Therefore we indulged in a parody on the genre. | EnscheDemo |
| Time | Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Likewise I don't remember if our band name came first or the title of this song. Paul is singing this one and I think he did a much better job as far as singing is concerned than I did. | EnscheDemo |
| Hurt You | A love song. The chord procession in the middle indicates we 'd already started looking beyond the most basic chord schemes. | EnscheDemo |
| Nova Zembla | About nuclear weapons and the man on the trigger along the arctic front-line in the coldest of wars. | EnscheDemo |
| Churchlane | About the fear of nuclear war. Audiences around Winschoten sang along with the chorus of this song. Back then I thought it was because the song was brilliant. If I listen to it now, I rather think it was merely the power of endless repetition. | EnscheDemo |
| Punishment | A song about feeling guilty about not feeling guilty. Back then I didn't know that medicine is available against thoughts like that. | EnscheDemo |
| Long Time | Paul wrote these great sounding lyrics. Next time I see him, I will ask him what they are about. | EnscheDemo |
| Leaving | A song about depression and suicide. Negative feelings were hot in the eighties. Ian Curtis was our role model, but fortunately not all the way. . . | EnscheDemo |
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