Groningen: Land of the free; home to all of the universe’s natural beauty; a landscape bubbling with culture where there was once water; location of one of the world’s finest concert venues (well ask any touring band who’ve played there); and currently a great music scene. Not that I’ve ever been to Groningen…yet. However, it’s the current hometown of Audiotransparent, and as much as I would love to spend four hours on a train in order to admire the area, I’m grateful they put so much effort into playing live throughout the Netherlands, and even more grateful to be able to sit back and enjoy one of the finest debut albums to be released in 2003.

The gentle collision of careful guitar/bass rock music with keyboards and violins on their self-titled album is simply a treat to listen to, and despite being a small-scale release from a small-town band, it’s marked Audiotransparent for bigger and better things in what turned out to be a momentum-building year.

For most young bands, simply getting an album released is their biggest ambition, yet for this lot, they surpassed all hopes by achieving a personal invitation to support The Tindersticks throughout the country, appearing live on their own everywhere else, achieve further opportunities to record with new friends, performing live on national radio multiple times, and then it all culminating with an invitation to play one of the industry’s prime music showcases: Noorderslag in Groningen, which took place this January.

If you had to single out a band to enjoy such good fortune, then Audiotransparent deserve it as much as anyone. Musically, their sound is so natural and mature after years of crafting the songs. They managed to create such an embracing atmosphere that it scoops you up and takes you on a journey with the music, through good and bad, from start to finish. Harnessing such mood and style, it’s no wonder a band as successful as The Tindersticks, who are famous for creating music of a similar vein, could hear that potential.

What makes it even more convincing is that they can pull this music off live, too. You can hear it in the radio broadcasts. If you’ve seen them in person, then you’ll also have been left impressed by their ability to convey that same atmosphere captured on record with both energy and a professional manner. So by the time ‘Your God’ starts to fade and vocalist Wouter Touw departs the stage to let the rest of the band finally erupt into the instrumentally powerful ‘Fin’, the wall of sound will completely blow you away and just leave you with a huge smile, the imprint of an excellent show.

That’s what makes a great band and a great concert, and after one such occasion in Den Haag, late in 2003, I was able to chat with Wouter Touw about what the history, present and future of Audiotransparent really has become.

Firstly, why choose the name Audiotransparent?

Well we did have difficulties with our name. When we were younger, we called ourselves S5. That’s the army code for being crazy and not having to complete your military service. However, it didn’t really suit our music. We really wanted a name that fitted with the sound, and when you see the name you think to yourself, “Oh, it must be this kind of music.” That was the main idea behind it, but also we just thought that it looked cool when you write it down.

I’ve noticed there has been a mixed reaction with the name, though…

Yeah…well, if you make good music that’s what’s important. Like dEUS for example. It is a really off-putting name, especially with the small ‘d’ and the capitals, but if the music is cool, the name will be taken too.

So why did you also choose to self-title the album Audiotransparent?

The songs on the album come from a period of three or four years of writing, and to have a name for the album would be very difficult because it covers such a large period of time. So we decided to use the ‘self-titled’, because it stands for the four years that we worked on the songs. Not so much on just an album, but a collection of individual songs. For the next album we will definitely have a title to work with, whereas this was just the logical result.

What is the songwriting process like within the band?

It’s different per song really. Some songs are written at home on just an acoustic guitar. We play them in rehearsals and it gets picked up by all the members. Other songs come more from jams - starting with a chord scheme. The more complex and longer songs are basically always from the jam style, and the shorter ones with definite structures tend to be written at home first, and then they evolve later.

Are you always writing new songs?

Yeah, constantly. We already have a couple of ideas for the next album. We have one “finished” song. It’ll change a bit by the time it’s recorded, but the idea is together and we’re playing it live. I think it’s going to make the next album because we’re very proud of it so far.

I think the songwriting is the best part of being in a band; just making music with your friends. That’s what we always wanted to do. So during rehearsals, we always try to come up with ideas and write new material while we practice. Before the recording of the album, we focussed on the older songs to really get a grip of the material, and just did the set, did the set, did the set, on and on, getting ready to put it on tape, but normally, our rehearsals are about new music and figuring out new things.

Was the album recorded in a “live room” setting?

Yeah, that’s the best way for us. We need that bit of a live feel. It’s good to play with each other. Mostly when we are recording, I’ll be outside with a microphone and I can’t see the rest, which is a bit difficult, but they will all be playing together.

And was it recorded primarily with analogue equipment?

Yeah. Well, one song is recorded digitally, another song uses both, but eight songs are fully analogue.

So why do you prefer to sing in English?

Because I think Dutch lyrics are really horrible. Most cool Dutch bands sing in English, and it’s partly because the Dutch like to copy our English and American heroes, but it’s also because for singer/songwriters, the Dutch language is really upfront. The feelings you want to express end up being overly clear, whereas in English you can work around it, like the language is more playful in a way.

Was it always part of the plan to include instrumentation such as piano and violin?

No, we didn’t plan anything. Originally when we played as a four-piece, we played as guitar, drums, bass, and me. I met Andreas, the violinist when we were 18 or 19, and I invited him over to play and immediately it clicked, both in friendship and musically. Eventually he started taking piano lessons too. We started off more like a rock band with a violin, and now we’re this slow, piano-bass band with additional violin. It wasn’t a plan, just good luck, but we’re very happy about it.

On the album you have some guest appearances…

Yeah, Bart, our bassist saw Chantal and Marissa from Chacda playing in Vera supporting Timesbold. Chantal was also an old school friend of someone we knew, so we met them and it clicked, and we just invited her to come over to the studio.

There seems to be a very healthy and supportive music scene in Groningen…

Oh yeah. We have our thing with Lawn, and Whipster etc, but in Utrecht, you have We Vs. Death, At the Close of Everyday, and This Beautiful Mess. They’re all very supportive towards each other, and they all have something in common with each other. We asked Lydia from This Beautiful Mess to record with us for the Christmas song for VPRO and she was very enthusiastic, so that’s really cool. It’s the thing I really enjoy most about music; the “scene” feel, or something. Just talking to everybody and knowing their heart is all about the music. You don’t always enjoy all of the music as much as you do with some bands, but it’s all about being supportive. We don’t think we’re king or anything.

It’s a nice thing, but I guess it doesn’t happen everywhere…

Yeah, I have a theory about that. A lot of Dutch bands when they first start off have to be in competition. You have the Grote Prijs van Nederland and all the regions have their own finals. It’s just so bad for music, though. I was once in the jury for a competition like that and I hated it. How can you say one thing deserves to be in the final more than another? They’re doing their thing, and if they grow and keep doing their thing, they’ll get somewhere. Some bands aren’t that talented admittedly, but if they’re having fun, why do it in competition?

In the venues we play, there is only one thing that matters and that’s the music. Everyone comes along for the music and the drinks. There’s no competition, no “I’m better than you.” But I know those attitudes do exist in other places and I hate that.

How did the deal with Living Room Records come about?

After we recorded ‘Your God’ and ‘Low High’ we contacted them and sent them the demo. They were immediately enthusiastic, but also honest. “We don’t have a lot of money to help you record, but we can help you put it out.” They were friendly from the start, they liked our music, and they’re friends of ours now too. Not so much ‘the big label guys’.

Do you have options for releasing Audiotransparent outside the Netherlands?

Well, it’s selling very well, even beyond my imagination when we first recorded it. We’re also going to be playing Noorderslag, so that should get some response. We’re slowly trying to contact people and we already have some options, but we want to do it properly. Firstly we’ll concentrate on Holland and Belgium and see what comes.

Is it difficult to tour around the Netherlands when you live so far north?

Yeah. The venues like you to be there in the afternoon, virtually, and we have members with day jobs, so that’s just not possible. We’ll manage, though. We always work something out, and we’re used to it.

One of the influences listed by the band is that your songs carry the spirit of Ede Staal? How would you explain this to a foreigner?

Particularly in the rural areas of the Netherlands, you have people singing about the changes that are happening in the countryside. People go into the big cities, land is redistributed, and buildings change the landscape. So in Groningen and also in Limburg, you have very melancholy songwriters who write about those types of issue. Ede Staal is one of them. He is very famous in the north, and released three records. He captures a melancholic, desolate feeling, and we just feel we have something in common.

How did it feel playing live for 3voor12 on national radio?

It was really cool. It happened very soon after the release of the record and it was incredibly nice for us. It’s a very professional and relaxed situation, so you don’t even have the idea that you’re playing on the radio, just for the people in the audience. I used to listen to the show five years ago and dream about being on it, and now we’ve been there and did it.

Finally, after a great year for the band, do you have one particular highlight that stands out for you?

The Tindersticks. Being asked to support such a great band that we all love so much was…wow! And there is being invited to play Noorderslag. There are so many. It’s all highlights and so nice; like living your boyish dream, almost. All that time you’ve dreamt about being at Noorderslag, about being asked by a cool band to join them on tour, about being on the radio, about getting a record out, then suddenly it’s all there and it just seems normal. It’s weird, but it’s a logical progression. It comes in small pieces, but for me, though, playing with Tindersticks was the biggest highlight.

Steven McCarron

photo by d!o

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