Jan Swerts is the latest addition to the Unday Records label, the label of some of my favourite Belgian bands like Flying Horseman and Dans Dans. His new album will be released in November, the first single was released last week. Check it out on his bandcamp:
Lig hier zacht en stil
yes the title is in Dutch, as they are on all his songs, but the lyrics of most of them are in English. But even if it weren't so, it's well worth checking out. I wasn't familiar with him yet, this will be his fourth album though but the first on this label. Today I've been listening to his older music, his albums and especially the few concerts that are on YT, and everything is truly stunning! Those aren't on bandcamp (yet?), but it is on youtube, perhaps on spotify as well. Start with the concerts from 2016, in which he plays the Schaduwland album integrally,
here or
here
Just to give you an idea, this is the tracklist of that album, which was his third and came out in 2016:
Code:
Side A
01. Rustig, Martha, Het Is Allemaal Voorbij. Er Is Geen Enkel Gevaar Meer.
02. Iedereen Is In Elkaar Aan Het Storten, Sara. Iedereen Behalve Jij.
03. Dit Was Een Belangrijke Plaats In Hun Leven, Claire.
04. Alice... Ze Is Daar Ergens. Buiten In Het Moeras.
05. Ik Had Je Nooit Alleen Mogen Laten, Becky.
06. Kijk, Jessica, Kijk Naar Al Die Lege Wegen.
07. Breng Me Thuis, Raf. Red Me. Red Me.
08. Ze Waren Doodsbang Van Me, Ruth.
Side B
01. Het Duurt Zolang Het Duurt, Liza
02. Ze Komen Je Halen, Barbara.
03. Daniela, Er Is Niemand.
04. Waar, Marie?
05. Jef
06. .
which translates to:
Code:
side A
01. Calm down, Martha, It's all over. There Is No More Danger.
02. Everyone's Collapsing Into Each Other, Sara. Everyone Except You.
03. This Was An Important Place In Their Lives, Claire.
04. Alice... She's Out There Somewhere. Outside In The Swamp.
05. I Never Should Have Left You Alone, Becky.
06. Look, Jessica, Look At All Those Empty Roads.
07. Take Me Home, Raf. Save me. Save me.
08. They Were Terrified Of Me, Ruth.
side B
01. It Takes While It Lasts, Liza
02. They're Coming For You, Barbara.
03. Daniela, There Is No One.
04. Where, Marie?
05. Jeff
06. .
it's inspired by the music of old school zombie movies, the titles at least. And Yes!, that is really the title of that last song!
The titles of his first album called Weg (meaning Road), consists all of addresses (roadnames and housenumbers).
it's slowcore, acoustic post-rock, neo-classical, minimal music. Reminds me of artists such as Sigur Ros, the last albums of Talk Talk, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, This Mortal Coil. Other references I read are Nils Frahm, Hauschka, Joni Mitchell. His main inspiration is Wim Mertens, don't know him either, but due to him he started making this type of music instead of post-rockish metal.
His voice reminds me of someone, but can't figure it out yet.