BAS BEENACKERS

songwriter // singer // guitar // keys

 

The sun-drenched beaches of his imagination

If you've ever had the pleasure of witnessing Bas Beenackers on stage, either solo or with his indie rock band My Blue Van, you know that he completely loses himself in the songs. Fully absorbed as it were. Sounds and words merge and put the listener in a trance-like state of mind as well. And not just live. His untitled solo début washes over us in pleasurable waves, although existential turmoil seethes beneath the surface.

 

Solo début? Didn't singer-guitarist Bas Beenackers (Maarheeze, 1985) previously release the EP Man under his own name? Yes, that's right. Five new tracks have been added to the five acoustic guitar songs on it now. While more richly arranged, these new tracks blend seamlessly with the older ones in tone and theme. "All ten songs are spiritual and emotional," Beenackers says from his sprawling garden on the outskirts of Utrecht. Further on, his wife works in the vegetable garden and his sons play in a big rain puddle. "I write sentimental music about life's big topics: love, death, children. I don’t like analyzing my lyrics to death, but they are definitely contemplative in nature. Hopefully people will find comfort in it, on a Sunday morning with the curtains closed and the fireplace lit."

 

Uncharted territory
As with his EP, Beenackers once again worked intensively with producer Simon Akkermans (i.a. C-mon & Kypski, Mister & Mississippi and Jungle by Night) in his Epic Rainbow Unicorn Studio in Rotterdam. "In half of the songs, previously released on Man, you hear only my voice and acoustic guitar. The other half features more instruments, namely horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba and bass clarinet. Jazzy horns, that is. But we also included electric guitar, bass, percussion and even a singing saw. For the sound of these tracks, producer Akkermans and arranger Romain Bly (i.a. The Kyteman Orchestra, Typhoon and Wende) were influenced by Sketches of Spain, Miles Davis' classic album, and Ennio Morricone's western soundtracks. I myself am inspired by all kinds of music, ranging from flamenco and rebetiko to Americana and classical composers such as Erik Satie and Claude Debussy. It's a delight to venture into unexplored territory, to step out of your comfort zone." The finest work is as close to the creator himself as possible, Beenackers believes. So it's no
surprise that he works as a psychologist in his daily life. He also delves into the human psyche in his stream-of-consciousness texts. Not to find answers, but to showcase the inscrutability and absurdities of life. We all have our flaws, which is precisely what makes us beautiful. "For me, the craft of songwriting is a combination of self-therapy and recreation"; Beenackers says with a playful
smile. "That way, I try to understand something about our existence."

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