SCAD Radio’s Content Director, Ian Dziura, sat down for an interview with Dutch alternative musician Eckhardt And The House.
You just released a new single, “Funeral”. The lyrics seem to point to dissatisfaction in current events ranging from nuclear war to obesity. Is this a track about the problems of the world?
You read everything and see it on TV and the news, and there’s almost not a moment to take time to think about it or do something. [It’s] because we all go on with our lives… more like a ritual, like a funeral. [The song’s] hard to balance so that it’s not cynical or too heavy with the things you wanna tell with this kind of subject.
Of these bad news things you sing about, a lot of it can relate to America’s current political climate. Do you hear a lot about that kind of news in your home country of the Netherlands?
Yeah, we here it, really a lot here. Every day, there’s stuff in the newspapers about Trump, American news… It’s like, 5 years later, we have the same problem here. So it’s good to keep an eye on the United States to see what is coming. I imagine you can recognize all this stuff.
Yes, I can.
(Laughs)
This track has a mix of dancy and poppy, but still an indie sound. How exactly would you describe your genre?
It’s disco- when I started the record with the first draft of these songs, I listened to avant-garde ‘80s New York dance. Talking Heads…B-52s, but 30 years later, you also use stuff from now. For me, [Funeral] is Talking Heads, but also LCD Soundsystem. I don’t know what to call it exactly.
You’re from the Netherlands, and one of the most famous musicians from there is Eddie Van Halen. Is he a heavy inspiration to you?
Actually not. Funny thing about Van Halen is that we don’t see him as a Dutch guy… Also, he’s not really an inspiration for me, because I know the big hits, but I don’t know them very well. Also, Captain Beefheart, Don Glen Vliet, is also a really Dutch name. He has some Dutch roots, so that’s someone you can be proud of… That’s always an inspiration for me, Captain Beefheart.
You’re a multi-instrumentalist, a producer, and a singer. Eckhardt and the House is basically your brainchild, correct? Like, do you have other people, or do you do it all?
Yes, a lot of people play on this track, I play the most, but I work a lot with Gerry Arling, he’s my producer, I would say. And he’s playing most of the time the guitar and the bass parts. He used to be in a duo, Arling & Cameron. That’s my main colleague for these tracks.
To check out the new single from Eckhardt And The House, click here
