| marjan_debaene_bio2015_nl.pdf |
| marjan_debaene_bio2015_eng.pdf |
NEW ALBUM - THE SOUND OF THE BEAT
Eleven songs about the things of life.
About racing against the clock.
Marching in line.
Rowing to the sound of the drum.
Songs about everybody's search for Wonderland.
The pursuit of love and happiness.
The only sensible guidance in times of chaos and crisis.
In 2015, almost ten years after the previous album, Marjan has once again recorded a bunch of songs, that she compiled in an album entitled The sound of the beat. This album, interspersed with storytelling, folk rhythms and rootsy arrangements, brings Marjan back to her roots.
In Belgium Marjan effortlessly bridges the gap between Milow and Admiral Freebee, with her accessible and honest songs, based on poppy melodies and timeless arrangements. And as a Belgian female artist she is as good as alone in doing so.
Fact: half of the budget for this record was collected with crowdfunding, thus telling a nice community story in the margins.
Marjan Debaene realized this fourth gem to crown her twenty-year musical career as a self-made woman with limited resources.
But above all, she is back with a vengeance.
About racing against the clock.
Marching in line.
Rowing to the sound of the drum.
Songs about everybody's search for Wonderland.
The pursuit of love and happiness.
The only sensible guidance in times of chaos and crisis.
In 2015, almost ten years after the previous album, Marjan has once again recorded a bunch of songs, that she compiled in an album entitled The sound of the beat. This album, interspersed with storytelling, folk rhythms and rootsy arrangements, brings Marjan back to her roots.
In Belgium Marjan effortlessly bridges the gap between Milow and Admiral Freebee, with her accessible and honest songs, based on poppy melodies and timeless arrangements. And as a Belgian female artist she is as good as alone in doing so.
Fact: half of the budget for this record was collected with crowdfunding, thus telling a nice community story in the margins.
Marjan Debaene realized this fourth gem to crown her twenty-year musical career as a self-made woman with limited resources.
But above all, she is back with a vengeance.
TRACK BY TRACK
The state of Absurd, The Road to Wonderland, On the road, are all little songs about great feelings, arranged in a sometimes treacherous happy instrumentation of banjo, accordion, (double) bass, piano, guitars and drums. A starring role is played by Marjan’s voice, which at the age of 35 - and at the time of the recording even six months pregnant - still sounds as powerful as ever.
For The Wild West and The Sarajevo Tunnel tapped Marjan inspiration from her own experiences, respectively as an adolescent teenager in Flanders Fields and later as a touring artist in war-torn Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Even more than on her previous albums Marjan proves she masters evoking atmosphere through subtle arrangements as a producer and arranger. In opening track Sun's Glow the to Leuven relocated West Flemish art historian calls in the drought of the Dust Bowl, in The Ghost of Seville the shimmering heat of scorched hills and Spanish flamenco sounds through.
But make no mistake, The Sound of the Beat has certainly room for screaming guitars, pumping basslines and pounding drums as shown on I want it all back. Marjan rocks on this album as usual. Echoes of Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Martha Wainwright, KT Tunstall and Mumfurd and sons sound through in f.i. Oh my Love, It’s about to go down and even Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac are never far away. Marjan knows her classics and uses them subtly as a wildcard when needed. The lyrics of title track The Sound of the Beat finally read as a creed, a letter of intent by Marjan as a musician but also as a human being. The backup choirs towards the end support this statement vocally.
For The Wild West and The Sarajevo Tunnel tapped Marjan inspiration from her own experiences, respectively as an adolescent teenager in Flanders Fields and later as a touring artist in war-torn Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Even more than on her previous albums Marjan proves she masters evoking atmosphere through subtle arrangements as a producer and arranger. In opening track Sun's Glow the to Leuven relocated West Flemish art historian calls in the drought of the Dust Bowl, in The Ghost of Seville the shimmering heat of scorched hills and Spanish flamenco sounds through.
But make no mistake, The Sound of the Beat has certainly room for screaming guitars, pumping basslines and pounding drums as shown on I want it all back. Marjan rocks on this album as usual. Echoes of Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Martha Wainwright, KT Tunstall and Mumfurd and sons sound through in f.i. Oh my Love, It’s about to go down and even Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac are never far away. Marjan knows her classics and uses them subtly as a wildcard when needed. The lyrics of title track The Sound of the Beat finally read as a creed, a letter of intent by Marjan as a musician but also as a human being. The backup choirs towards the end support this statement vocally.
BIO
Marjan is not a prolific writer. She lets her songs ripen and waits patiently for a beautiful story to present itself to her. So too was the case with her last, self-produced and self-released Wolfish Times established in 2006. The album garnered critical acclaim and stars. Meanwhile her solid live reputation, thanks to a reliable live-band consisting of Bert Embrechts (DLS band, Boudewijn de Groot), Eric Bosteels (Gorki, Hooverphonic) and Alex Brackx (Horn, Rumtown), earned her numerous performances at home and abroad.
Marjan Debaene's songwriting talent is like a good wine, it gets better with age. As a 17-year-old in 1996, she released her first critically acclaimed folk album Growing Pains (MAP Recods). It soon earned her a permanent place in OOR's pop encyclopaedia. Her second throw – Humanoid (MAP Records), a more poppy production by David Poltrock (Hooverphonic, De Mens, Tom Helsen…) - saw the light in 1999 and launched the latter as a producer.
Marjan Debaene's songwriting talent is like a good wine, it gets better with age. As a 17-year-old in 1996, she released her first critically acclaimed folk album Growing Pains (MAP Recods). It soon earned her a permanent place in OOR's pop encyclopaedia. Her second throw – Humanoid (MAP Records), a more poppy production by David Poltrock (Hooverphonic, De Mens, Tom Helsen…) - saw the light in 1999 and launched the latter as a producer.
FACTS AND FIGURES
November 21st 1978: Marjan Ingrid Jacqueline Debaene is born in Ypres (Belgium)
1994: first concert at a free podium called 'Jong Talent on Scene at JOC Ypres' on november 26th
1996: Growing Pains, Marjan's first record, is released by MAP Records. on september 26th. Produced by Ghislain Slingeneyer
1997: Marjan tours Belgian Cultural Centers and festivals
1998: Marjan records her second album with producer David Poltrock
1999: Humanoid, record number 2, is released by MAP Records. In November Marjan supports Al Stewart on his belgian tour
2000: Marjan sang backing vocals on two songs together with Geike Arnaert for the album Nacht bij nieuwe maan by Babel
2001: Marjan tours Italy with the folk band 'Hutsepot'
2002: Marjan graduated at KULeuven University. She is an Art Historian with a post-graduate Master in Cultural Studies
2003: The Up all Night EP is released by Superjane Music, Marjan's own record label and Marjan and Alex Brackx return 5 times on the popular tv-showitem 'Zonder Handen' of Man Bijt Hond (VRT). Marjan tours with Rik Denys for the 'Stil in Babylon' - project.
2004 - 2005: Tribute to Nick Drake tour with Bruno Deneckere, Gilbert Isbin and others
2006: Wolfish Times, the third album, is released by Superjane Music. Produced by Marjan Debaene and Alex Brackx
2007: Marjan tours in England and also in Bosnia-Herzegovina as the first Belgian artist since the Balkan war. She takes songwriter Bruno Deneckere with her
2008: Marjan and Bruno tour BiH again and Marjan's video for the single 'Wolfish Times' is number 1 a couple of weeks in a row on the JIM-tv chartshow 'Puur Belgisch'
2009: Marjan is very pre-occupied with opening a new museum in Leuven called M (for which she works since 2006)
2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013: Lots of concertplaying and songwriting for the new record occurs.
2014-2015: Album recordings
May 1st 2015: Album release The sound of the beat
Marjan has played over 360 concerts in Europe. Countries toured include Belgium, France, England, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Bosnia-Herzegovina and even Iceland.
1994: first concert at a free podium called 'Jong Talent on Scene at JOC Ypres' on november 26th
1996: Growing Pains, Marjan's first record, is released by MAP Records. on september 26th. Produced by Ghislain Slingeneyer
1997: Marjan tours Belgian Cultural Centers and festivals
1998: Marjan records her second album with producer David Poltrock
1999: Humanoid, record number 2, is released by MAP Records. In November Marjan supports Al Stewart on his belgian tour
2000: Marjan sang backing vocals on two songs together with Geike Arnaert for the album Nacht bij nieuwe maan by Babel
2001: Marjan tours Italy with the folk band 'Hutsepot'
2002: Marjan graduated at KULeuven University. She is an Art Historian with a post-graduate Master in Cultural Studies
2003: The Up all Night EP is released by Superjane Music, Marjan's own record label and Marjan and Alex Brackx return 5 times on the popular tv-showitem 'Zonder Handen' of Man Bijt Hond (VRT). Marjan tours with Rik Denys for the 'Stil in Babylon' - project.
2004 - 2005: Tribute to Nick Drake tour with Bruno Deneckere, Gilbert Isbin and others
2006: Wolfish Times, the third album, is released by Superjane Music. Produced by Marjan Debaene and Alex Brackx
2007: Marjan tours in England and also in Bosnia-Herzegovina as the first Belgian artist since the Balkan war. She takes songwriter Bruno Deneckere with her
2008: Marjan and Bruno tour BiH again and Marjan's video for the single 'Wolfish Times' is number 1 a couple of weeks in a row on the JIM-tv chartshow 'Puur Belgisch'
2009: Marjan is very pre-occupied with opening a new museum in Leuven called M (for which she works since 2006)
2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013: Lots of concertplaying and songwriting for the new record occurs.
2014-2015: Album recordings
May 1st 2015: Album release The sound of the beat
Marjan has played over 360 concerts in Europe. Countries toured include Belgium, France, England, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Bosnia-Herzegovina and even Iceland.
FRIENDS
Marjan regularly participates in other musical endeavours that don't bear her own name, such as the Tribute to Nick Drake-tour in 2004-2005 (with Bruno Deneckere, Gilbert Isbin and others) or the Dichterbij Yasmine - tribute concerts in 2010 and 2011. She loves to sing and play live from time to time with fellow musicians by the likes of The Belpop Bastards, Rik Denys, William Souffreau, Bruno Deneckere, HT Roberts, Chris Mazarese and many more. She also sang backing vocals (live and on record) for bands such as Babel, Dr. Kloot Per W, Spencer The Rover, Herman, Boogermen, Iet mé ziel, etc.
© Superjane Music - 2015
