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Marjan Debaene…
is one of the top five female singer-songwriters in Belgium.
She has been so for the last decade, since her first album, Growing Pains, was released in September 1996. That album, containing 17 acoustic-electric poprock songs, got some good reviews in specialized magazines and media in Belgium. Now after ten years and a second album called Humanoid, which was released in 1999 and which generated a huge tour in Flemish and Dutch cultural centres, Marjan is back again.

For the bigger part of 2005 and 2006, Marjan has been preparing herself for a new record. She has been arranging and producing the new material, which sounds more grown up and more edgy, with Alex Brackx. The album is due for release in the fall of 2006. In March 2006, Marjan released a new single ‘Charlie Chaplin’ which sounds very much unlike her previous work. It is a song that stands alone on the new record in terms of style and sound, but is so unbelievably catchy that you just have to move your body when you hear it. Keep Blondie in mind for this one...
A second single, Drive, was released in Belgium in August 06 and received airplay on national Radio 1 and several local radio stations. The album itself, entitled Wolfish Times, contains 14 new songs written between 2001 and 2005. The album tells stories of hurt, happiness, bad luck, good tidings, changes and love.

Marjan produced this record with Alex Brackx, who has been her permanent guitarist for a over decade. The sound they chose was an honest one, no artificial effects but just pure songs played by a small group of musicians, with Marjan’s voice in the center of the attention. Musical references are the early Sheryl Crow, Chrissie Hynde, Suzanne Vega, the Wrecking Ball album of Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin…

Marjan is currently touring with her accompanying band, featuring bassplayer Bert Embrechts, drummer Eric Bosteels and guitarplayer Alex Brackx to present this album in Belgian clubs and venues but the new album also generated very interesting supportgigs for Luka Bloom, Seth Lakeman and neeka.

And, to top all that, this album is helping Marjan cross borders. In February 2007, she was part of the Rockolates Tour in the UK . In the summer of 2007, she was the first belgian poprock artist ever to play in Bosnia-Herzegovina since the war (1992-1995). In the fall of 2007, Marjan are comiplayed her first gig in Reykjavik, Iceland. 2008 brought her her first French gigs and a second tour in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The video for her single 'Wolfish Times' made it to number 1 in the JimTV chart show 'Puur Belgisch'.

It seems like Europe is succumbing to Marjan's bittersweet vocals and songs...

Marjan is recording a new album in 2009.


Do you want to know what Marjan has been doing in the decade 1995-2005 Well, here's some history for you:

Born on November, 21st 1978, Marjan Debaene grew up in the village of Zillebeke, near Ypres in Belgium. After a carefree childhood, which involved music school and classical guitar-lessons, came puberty and that is when she started to write her first songs in English about…the growing pains she experienced during puberty.
A successful appearance at the Leet 86-festival in Ypres (1995) lead to her being contacted by the Folkfestival of Dranouter. At the age of seventeen, her first album was released. It was a collection of those early songs, suitably entitled 'Growing Pains'. After that she played in more than 30 Cultural Centres throughout Flanders, as a result of 'Trappelend Talent' (FEVECC). Her accompanying band at that time was Horn. Other concerts included openings for artists like Flying Pickets, Townes Van Zandt (†) and appearances on TV such as Kriebels (VTM), Tien om te Zien (VTM), De Zevende Dag (VRT), WTV. Marjan also started performing with Alex Brackx as a duo in several smaller venues and clubs.
In 1998, Marjan began to work on her second album with Alex Brackx, the lead singer of Horn, David Poltrock, Pieter van Buyten and Dirk Loots.
A more mature 'Humanoid' was released in March 1999 and Marjan toured around Flanders once again, with this band. Highlights were openings for Ani Difranco at AB, Brussels and for Al Stewart. Another highlight was the concert at Dranouter Festival 1999.
In April 2001, Marjan was part of the occasional band Hutsepot, for which she wrote a few Dutch folksongs, and went on tour with them for a week in Italy (Basilicata and Calabria). They also played 3 gigs at Dranouter 2001.
Meanwhile, Marjan was a student at KULeuven and graduated in September 2001. She is now 'Licentiaat in de Kunstwetenschappen' or Art Historian. In July 2002 Marjan graduated with distinction as Master in Cultural Studies. In the fall of 2002, Marjan teamed up with Alex Brackx once more. They began to work on some new material and composed a new setlist for livegigs. In January 2003, they produced and arranged four new songs by Marjan for the new mini-album 'Up all Night'. Two other extremely talented musicians contributed also: Erik Van Biesen and Eric Bosteels. This album is not distributed yet but it's available on this website if you're interested in buying it.
In the Spring of 2003 Marjan collaborated with Rik Denys, former singer-songwriter of The Boondocks and Babel: Denys&Debaene Stil in Babylon. Marjan and Rik chose their alltime favorite songs by their alltime favorite heroes/heroins and played them for selected crowds in small venues and clubs in Flanders. The heroes worshipped are David Gray, Frank Boeijen, Bob Dylan, Paul Weller, Richard Ashcroft, Tori Amos, Patti Smith, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris amongst others.
In September 2003, Marjan and Alex appeared in the Zonder Handen-item of the TV-show Man bijt Hond (VRT). The concept being that the viewers watch the live-clips and vote if the artist in question is allowed to return the next day for another live-clip. Marjan and Alex got to return five times (the maximum!).
2004 was a year of nice gigs in nice places. Marjan played her new material with Alex in small venues and clubs. In the fall of 2004, Marjan participated in a project honoring seventies songwriter and icon Nick Drake. She made a few guest appearances together with Gilbert Isbin. She covered four Nick Drake songs every night: Which Will, One of these things first, Way to blue and Free Ride.