Today is about one of my favourite singer/songwriters. Considering the fact that I'm a fan of many artists, singers, songwriters or both, this might sound open-ended. Therefore I will state that I love his work so much, Daniël Lohues is in the top 3, amongst John Mayer and the Rolling Stones. Why is that? Lohues combines sincerity with a great musical talent and therefore writes songs that are moving, straight to the heart (or mind) and here and there entertaining. The instrumentation of his songs vary from a sole guitar or piano to a 3- or 4-piece band, but is always supportive to the message and structure of these songs. Lohues can be seen as a storyteller, who knows how to bring forward his miniatures or opinions dressed in superbly musical form. Having a childhood background as the organ player in his local church, Lohues not rarely makes use of semi-classical elements and church scales. Add up the sort of songwriting that resembles a lot to that The Beatles too used and be pleased with a whole collection songs that are accessible and at the same musically very interesting.
Good musicians not only play very well themselves, but also know to pick fellow artists to play with or form a band with. In brief, after having stopped to play with his pop/rock band Skik about a decade ago, Lohues pursued his wish to play blues music with American blues musicians. He sought and found in Southern US and locally recorded two albums. After, he started on a project of solo albums (appropriately titled, freely translated 'Alone'), that spawned four albums, each in the theme of a season, containing songs of Lohues on solely piano, acoustic guitar and mouth organ. After that, he again teamed up with some musicians to play songs that are musically, but not lyrically, a bit more comprehensive. I forgot to mention before that, except for just one Skik-album, he writes and sings in Dutch dialect language, which make his tone even more distinct. It is notable that, despite singing in a small dialect, he has listeners and fans throughout all of the country, showing his music must bring forward some kind of universal emotion and message all the same.
Here's one song of his latest release and second album with his two fellow musicians. I like the bright and ringing tone of the twelve-string guitar he his using here, accompanied by the growling sound of a double bass. The music should speak for itself, when not listening to the lyrics (if it is only for not understanding the language). There happens a lot and the song only takes barely two and a half minutes.
Artist: Daniël Lohues
Song: Van Vinden & Zuuken ('On Finding & Seeking)
Album: Gunder ('Yonder', 2012)
Genre: Folk
Listen also to: Allennig (1 up to 4), Hout Moet
