Saturday 3 October 2015

Music as Cultural Memoir | Interview with Andre Hazes

Andre Hazes, the phenomena of the Dutch-music world spoke with our journalist about the impact of his music on his society, his background, and his intentions.

Fere Vande Kerckhove: Good afternoon Andre. As we know you’re music has a solid place in the Dutch culture, how did you start off your singing career?

Andre Hazes: Well, first of all I would like to tell you a bit about how I first started off as a singer. I came from a big, working-class family with a hotheaded father who often lost his temper and a sweet mother. At the age of eight, I was discovered by Johnny Kraaykamp when I was singer at the farmer’s market. We recorded a track, however this wasn’t a big success. However I continued singing as I worked as I bartender in the pubs. I was discovered again at the age of twenty-six, this time by Willi Alberti. And from that moment on, my career boomed.

Vande Kerckhove: Did you always intend to start singing to bigger audiences commercially?

Hazes: I’m glad you asked, but the answer is ‘no’. At first I refused the offer from Alberti, I enjoyed singing in the pub as I created a very relaxed, firm atmosphere where everyone would sing along with me. I wanted to connect with others through my music, and I didn’t want this to be lost when singing to bigger crowds. However after persuasion I agreed to record a track with Willi.

Vande Kerckhove: And that’s when you first recorded your track “Eenzame Kerst”?

Hazes: Yes, Indeed.

Vande Kerckhove: But it was only the song “Een Beetje Verliefd” that made your breakthrough?

Hazes: Yes, due to some tension between me and my record label I teamed up with the producer Tim Griek in 1980 and later on we released “N Vriend”. And after “Een Beetje Verliefd” my career launched and I made my breakthrough.

Vande Kerckhove: You made quite a big impact on the Dutch music industry, why do you think that is?

Hazes: Simple—in my songs I discussed daily situations and adversities with which any person can easily connect with. These themes varied from topics such as heartbreak, loneliness, depression, and struggle to lighter themes describing the beauty and flaws of things that we experience daily. My aim was to connect with the audience, and by choosing relatable topics to sing about I was able to touch the audience as they could strongly relate to my lyrics.

Vande Kerckhove: For which audience would you say your music was intended?

Hazes: For everyone. In my songs I use pretty basic language, so that people from all audiences could easily sing along as well as my themes being clearly interpreted by my audience. For example in my song "Zij gelooft in mij" (she believes in me), which is one of my biggest hits, is a very easy to sing along with. The lyrics of the song are quite simple and the rhymes are also quite basic, not too complicated to memorize. The audience only has to know the chorus which goes like "want zij gelooft in mij, zij ziet toekomst in ons allebei, zij vraagt nooit maak je voor mij eens vrij, want ze weet, dit gaat voorbij". This is so easy to sing along with so that no matter where you're from, you can sing along with the lyrics. I strongly believe that every individual can at least connect with one of my songs as well as sing along with them.

Vande Kerckhove: How do you think that your music affects your society?

Hazes: In spite of my music being sang in Dutch, anyone who possesses a basic understanding of the language can easily interpret the messages I want to send across. My aim is to connect and unite all these people together; no matter what class or background they’re from. Because my songs are about daily and relatable topics I believe that this makes these diverse people unite as one as they all relate to my music, together.

Vande Kerckhove: What do you want to achieve further in your musical career?

Hazes: So far I am delighted with the success I am having with my music. I do not plan on letting this success lift my head up in the clouds. Despite the pressure of being successful, I want to continue to make music that connects to people and unites the audience together. If my audience can sing all together the lyrics from A to Z during my performances, I know that I have succeeded in connecting and uniting the audience together.



3rd of May, 2000

4 comments:

  1. Very well put together and great use of transitioning from question to question, although you could improve by adding an ending such as thanking him for the interview. Great work linking what we learned in class to this interview!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The structure of your interview was quite nice, it flowed well and read easily. The content of the interview was also high quality, as it gave us a look into the background of this artist, as well as information for what his music is about and who it is for. Even so, I think you wrote the parts of the artist more in your style of speaking, and formal. Try to put yourself in the mind of someone else having a conversation. Overall great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Overall a good post. I liked the interview and it was interesting to read about a Dutch singer too. I find it great that you showed the connection of the singers music and his vocabulary use to the people that listen to him. Your content was good and there are a good number of questions aimed at the singer as well.

    However you never really dove deep into the specific language use from the singer. You could have talked about specific terms that have been significant of the singer and specific uses of terminology and why the singer chose to use such. You could have also structured the introduction better by making that not a question and answer situation but instead an more basic introductory text. There should also be an ending or some sort of way for us to know that this interview has ended or is just taken from a part of the interview itself.

    The style of language you used was great, and I found that content interesting. But try to make the organization of the post flow better and have an ending of some sort. Good Post Fere!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This was an enjoyable read. Hazes sounds like a very interesting musician and you capture his voice effectively. Although you make reference to his language use as simple could you perhaps use specific lyrics to provide greater insight?

    ReplyDelete