Friday lunch with something hypnotic – a set by Eefje De Visser, recorded at this year’s Lowlands Festival on August 22nd.
Eefje De Visser (pronounced Ayyyffye) is a Dutch singer-songwriter I first heard during the halcyon days of My Space. Her voice, her style and her whole approach was instantly attractive and she has since become a major figure in Contemporary music from The Netherlands. Her standout set at Lowlands has been described as “a human sea of flames”, and her popularity has established her as a headline artist, which was something she had been working at for some time.
That she doesn’t sing in English is totally unimportant – that she has a gift of other-worldly expression is universal. And the sonic tapestry she wraps herself in is unmistakably brilliant.
What of course bothers me is that she has established herself strongly in her native Netherlands and most of the rest of Europe, but not in America. I know it comes as no surprise; it’s costing us a lot as far as innovation is concerned – even after all this time, we have a hard time embracing what’s been happening in the EU countries – and it’s been taking an effort and a propensity to dig and “browse” and freely step out of our comfort zones to go exploring. You’d think that the time we all spent being locked up during COVID would have done wonders for our curiosity and understanding. Guess not.
But that’s no excuse not to be transformed by the music of Eefje De Visser. She is brilliant and she has the gift to transform. And her band fully supports her; gladly helping steer this amazing adventure.
Okay – the set is an hour – the time it takes most people to eat lunch. You can do that – just sit down, grab what you’re eating and dive into something beautiful and mind-altering.
This is what Friday is for. Press play and dive in. You don’t have to thank me, but you DO have to visit her website and pick up her latest album – just a thought.
