FaceCulture: Giving You The People Behind The Music

Back in 2016 I had the chance to sit down with American rapper G-Eazy when he was on tour in Amsterdam. We spoke about enjoying the city, his album When It's Dark Out, his eclectic musical upbringing, dealing with haters, Everything Will Be Ok, the power of music, and a lot more. On a side note, I want to commend Gerald (his real name) for his professionalism. I had the chance to speak with him on...

Like many others I grew up with the music of Linkin Park. The combination of hip-hop and metal elements and a powerful voice that sang lyrics with substance were very appealing to a teenager trying to figure out life. Evidenced by the millions of records sold their music resonated with people, it was and still is a refuge for people who needed "Somewhere To Belong". I had the chance to interview t...

Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi was in Amsterdam to play a show at the Paradiso in December of 2018 and I had the chance to go backstage before the show for a little chat. Anyone who knows just a little bit about Lewis knows that he has a great sense of humor, is very easy to talk to, and doesn't take himself too seriously, while at the same time crafting these incredibly authentic, emoti...

Scottish singer and songwriter Derek William Dick, better known as Fish, rose to fame as the frontman for progressive rock band Marillion in the 80s, penning hits like Kayleigh and Lavender. After leaving the band Fish continued to turn heads with his solo work, culminating in his final (ever!) album Weltschmerz which is released this year. It was an absolute pleasure to talk to fish, as he was ve...

Back in 2018 I was invited to take the train up to Köln, Germany to interview Tuomas for both the Nightwish Decades album and for the debut of Auri, a band Tuomas had created with his wife and singer Johanna Kurkela and bandmate and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley. In my talk with Tuomas we journeyed through the history of the band, the various line-up changes, the music that came out of it l...

I was first introduced to the music of Glen Hansard through the movie Once, but it wasn't until researching him for this interview, and delving into the album Didn't He Ramble, that I got a real sense of what kind of songwriter he was. It's not just the storytelling, but the warmth, the sincerity, the emotion that draws you in. And in person, he was the same; he was open, genuine, contemplative ab...

Another one of my favorites from back in 2016. Matt is such a charismatic and intelligent talker and his openness about not only the music but how he perceives things in the world and his own emotions and feelings is really engaging. Oh, and the music isn't too bad either! We spoke about self-acceptance, not having one particular sound, music as catharsis, his appreciation for fans, and a lot more...

Another one of my favorites. Before we started the interview Corey and I were talking a bit. He couldn't have been more genuine and nice. Then, as I pressed record the mask went on and I must admit for the first minute or so it felt a bit strange  and intimidating. But as our conversation went on about his first introduction into metal, sharing pain and grief, doing things their own way, previous...

This was actually my very first interview I did for FaceCulture. It was my first week, and it just so happened that I was the only one available. It didn't hurt that I harbor a strong love for the blues, so it was decided that I would be thrown into the fire and interview global star Joe Bonamassa, one of the best blues guitarists I've ever heard play. The one thing that I remember most from this...

As I walked into the Gibson guitar offices in Amsterdam (one of our favorite spots to film for obvious reasons) Mike was sitting there just noodeling on some of the guitars. It is a special thing to see a truly professional musician playing a song from up close. I had interviewed Mike before, but I prefer this one because we immediately could talk about substantive things. We spoke about his Ameri...

This very intimate interview with Charles Bradley was one of the first that I edited when I started working for FaceCulture back in 2013. My colleague Martin Kuiper did the interview, and I was blown away by how raw and real this interview was as they chronicled through the immensely difficult and tragic life Charles had lived, from being homeless as a teenager to being wrongfully put in jail, to...

Sometimes the most fun interviews are the ones you didn't expect to happen. I was scheduled to interview Theresa Wayman from the American indie rock band Warpaint at the Best Kept Secret festival in the Netherlands. So I prepared accordingly, but at the last second she was no longer available so I got to talk with Stella and Jenny Lee instead. With my preparation mostly out the window I decided to...

Back in early 2019 we had a chance to sit down with New-Zealand artist Aldous Harding when she was in Amsterdam. From the moment we started the interview I noticed how deliberate she was in choosing her words. I truly appreciated that she took time to think about giving the most genuine answers to my, at times admittedly somewhat vague, questions. We spoke about the notion of having a purpose, fal...

Right before the lockdown took effect here in the Netherlands I had the chance to sit down with Tommy O'Dell from indie rock band DMA's. I've been aware of the band for quite some time; I know a bunch of people who are really into them and I spoke with Matt a couple of years ago. So I was actually quite curious what the band would come up with for their third album THE GLOW because I heard it was...

The first time I heard 'Lost On You' it left such an immediate impression on me. I loved the bluesy instrumentation and Laura's vocals are simply incredible, the tone, the natural vibrato, the whistle, everything just worked. When the opportunity arrived to sat down and Talk with Laura Pergolizzi I was quite excited. The day of this interview was a chilly September day, made even colder by the win...

I first met Luka and Stjepan back in 2014 and this is the second time I had to pleasure to sit down with them. What I love about these guys is that they are incredible musicians but don't take themselves too seriously either. They like to joke around a lot, and with their dry Balkan sense of humor it's tricky but really fun for a somewhat serious interviewer, as I am. We spoke about their album Sc...

Back in 2016 we sat down with Graham Nash, who 's been making a name for himself for several decadec, first with The Hollies, and later with CSNY and his solo work. The occasion was the release of his solo album This Path Tonight, but the conversation quickly veered off into other topics as well, like songwriting, his divorce and finding new love, the rise of Donald Trump, his relationship with Da...

Out of all of the interviews I have done over the years this one probably sticks out to me most. It was just after my internship at FaceCulture, we were at Lowlands festival in the Netherlands, and it sounds silly now (remember it was 2013) but we decided out of practicle reasons we'd only interview a single person from each of the bands that day. This is why Josh isn't in the interview. The music...

I had such a good time talking with guitarist, singer and composer Gregor Mackintosh, primarily known for his work with Gothic Metal band Paradise Lost, but also Vallenfyre and Strigoi. I'll admit I will never be the biggest metal connoisseur but to delve into the album Obsidian and the impact that Paradise Lost has had on the genre is fascinating. We talked about the title Obsidian, goth clubs in...

In deze uitzending van Behind The Music op Iedereen Live was niemand minder dan rapper en producer Big2 (Twan van Steenhoven) van The Opposites te gast. Het resultaat was een openhartig en vooral ook interessant gesprek over het verleden en de toekomst van The Opposites, zijn solo werk, producties voor anderen, wat het vaderschap hem gebracht heeft en meer! Zoals altijd bespraken we ook weer de le...

'Daar Gaat Ze' kwam uit in 1989. Ik was toen 3. Over de jaren hoorde ik het nummer natuurlijk nog regelmatig voorbijkomen, en het leuke is dat toen ik het nummer weer luisterde ter voorbereiding voor dit gesprek het me net zo raakte als dat het altijd had gedaan, alleen nu (met wat jaren aan levenservaring) snapte ik ook waarom. Het was een absoluut genoegen om met Kris en Koen te kunnen zitten om...

Sometimes when I go into these interviews I do not fully comprehend the impact the musician in question has had on the development of not only their style of music, but also on their listeners as well. Bob Mould definitely falls in this category. Not only his work with Hüsker Dü in the 80s, but also with Sugar in the 90s and now his solo work, has inspired countless musicians and fans all over the...

Blind Melon rose to stardom with their hit No Rain in 1993 and tragically the band theoretically ceased to exist after lead singer Shannon Hoon died in 1995. Few people knew Hoon was an avid camera-enthousiastic who filmed almost every aspect of his life right up until the day he died. This paved the way for the penetrating documentary All I Can Say about Hoon's life. So when Blind Melon guitarist...

Since my first interview with Tom en Tim in 2005 I have followed the band with interest. So when I had the opportunity to talk to them about their comeback album Cause & Effect in 2019 I was really curious how their relationship had evolved after the band's break up in 2013. And I couldn't resist to ask Tim about his thoughts about Tom's solo album The Wave ;-) By: Martin Kuiper Support the show T...

IedereenLive: Behind the Music met Eric van Eerdenburg van lowlands FaceCulture bedacht en produceerde rondleidingsvideo met festivaldirecteur Eric van Eerdenburg van Lowlands tot en met 2019 en ik heb Eric leren kennen als een aimabele man met een sterke visie op muziek en zijn festival. Donderdag 14 mei was hij bij mij in de uitzending van Behind the Music op IedereenLive. Eric sprak over het ni...