FVMusicBlog

This week we were lucky enough to catch up with Rabauw following their superb release ‘Kennis is Herstel‘. Enjoy the full interview below.

Hi Rabauw, how did you first get together?

About two years ago, the guitarist and I, the singer, started to work together. After my former band Sterk collapsed, The guitarist and awesome singer-songwriter Micha Sprenger became an award-winning blues guitarist here in Holland, winning several prizes with his blues band The Damned and Dirty. We became friends before Corona jamming in a local pub.

Now we wanted to do something different and make a long cherished dream come true; making a Dutch language rock album.

We quikly wrote some songs as our work flow is awsome. We started to look for other band members and found them in the following year. So the band has been together for a year now. We have recorded 5 songs. The album will be released at the end of thus year 2024.

Who influenced your superb latest release, ‘Kennis is Herstel’ latest release?

The influences vary. As do our bandmembers. Our sound cam be described as De Dijk, Bløf, The Scene and Trockener Kecks. All great dutch rockbands who influenced us early on.

But our sound is a bit louder we feel. More stronger than the average dutch language band. Drawing from Kamatcha, Truck Fighters and riffs and hooks from early 70, 80 and even 90’s (alternative) rock bands. Creating our own heavier sound combined with strong and sincere lyrics drawn from real live.

‘Kennis is Herstel’ is a brilliant alternative-rock single; what draws you to the genre?

We want to make strong, emotional, catchy music. With lyrics that touch and riffs you can dance to. And what is better than writing and singing in your own native language? That is how you express yourself best. It has to grab and touch.

The genre is not for everyone. It is Dutch. So you have to like it. And if not, then don’t. We stand behind our sound and lyrics taken from life. They are about something, about struggling with things in life, about dealing with the loss of a loved one or about our own struggles with smaller things in life.

Who would you most like to collaborate with?

Oh, that’s a good question. Some artists I want to work with have already stopped or are no longer around. But I would like to work with De Dijk. Unfortunately, they have stopped. I would think Blõf is cool or Wies, a new Dutch-language rock band.

Furthermore, I would like to work with someone who can take our music a step further. If you can dream out loud, I would now call Dave Grohl or something. He is a multi-instrumentalist, and I read in his book that he is a very open and somewhat spiritual person. That seems cool to me. I think you can learn a lot from someone like that.

What’s your dream venue to play?

Our dream is, of course, to fill a stadium like Wembley. But for a Dutch band, that is, of course, a utopia. But Paradiso in Amsterdam is really a dream. And Tivoli Vredenburg. Just a tour through the Netherlands and Belgium along the different stages, clubs and local pubs. Because that is just super cool. And, of course, rocking at cool big festivals like Pinkpop and Lowlands.

That would be great and a dream come true. Dream big and work hard. First, the cool small venues, and then we’ll see where the ship runs aground. We are looking forward to it in any case!

Other than music, what are you passionate about?

I am a teacher at the ISK. That means an international transition class. Here, I teach newcomers, mostly from war zones such as Ukraine and Syria. That is very rewarding work. Bringing safety into the classroom so that these vulnerable students can get back to learning. Education is the key to conflict resolution. Knowledge is recovery. That is really something I am committed to with great pleasure.

I really whistle when I go to work. It is sometimes hard and complicated, but the children are the reward. I wouldn’t want to miss that for anything. I also teach improvisational theatre lessons. That is really cool, too. In improv, short for improvisational theatre, there are very valuable lessons to be learned that I can also use for music and life: say Yes and build on.

Accept and associate with the other. That makes everything better. Music, theatre, teaching and your own life. If we all did that, I think the world would look a lot better.

What changes would you like to see in the music business?

Haha. That’s another good question, and they’re going to play us everywhere, of course! Independent bands have always had it hard. But now you can just release a song yourself. That used to be harder. Then you really had to make a record or CD. Now you dump it on the streaming services: a child can do the laundry.

The only thing is that really everyone can and does that: I believe between 1000 and 2000 songs are released per day per day. Try to stand out from that. That’s the trick. So you have to have a plan. The music has to be good and a bit different. Otherwise, you won’t stand out. You have to work on your own sound and what you want to convey. We’ve worked hard on that over the past year.

We don’t just dump our music on the internet. We carefully wrote and developed the songs and then recorded them. That takes a lot of time and energy. That’s also fun. And then you still have to sell it. That’s why I’m doing this interview, among other things. It’s about constantly paying attention to your songs and believing in them.

So, I don’t believe that you can and should want to change the industry. It’s constantly changing, like all things are changing. You have to change your perspective on things and go with the flow of those changes. That’s the hard part. Whoever can learn to surf the waves the best is the winner. haha

What would it be if you could choose one thing for fans to take away from your music?

That it really touches them. That it does something, no matter what, to you. And we are already getting that back. So that is fantastic. It really grabs you and does something for people. It makes them happy or sometimes sad.

Our lyrics sometimes go deep and touch a sensitive chord. Sometimes, it is about the loss of a friend or even the death of a loved one. That is all real. No beating around the bush. Sharp lyrics. Sometimes raw and coarse. Sometimes, they are more sensitive. And even when they get angry, it is good or something. It does something to them. Not everyone thinks it is equally cool or awesome.

It is in Dutch, so that takes some getting used to or is not done for some people. English is more rock and roll. It may create more distance, and Dutch listeners may like that. In your own language, it comes in harder and closer. That can then touch in a good or perhaps difficult way. But that is good. Then something happens. And, of course, they say…wow… that’s damn good music. But I could only pick one 😉

Have you started working on your next release?

Yes. We recorded five songs in total, and they will be released as singles in turn. We would like to grow towards an album. That is the dream. We have now released two singles: Onkruid and Kennis is Herstel. These are already on all streaming services and are well received.

Onkruid has already been played twice on national radio, at 3FM and Radio Veronica. So that is already very cool. And more singles are coming. So keep listening to Rabauw and follow us on socials: @rabauwrocks for more nice catchy songs and where we play if you are in the area.

FVMusicBlog August 2024

https://www.rabauw.rocks
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