dEUS on tour Official Podcast

Sorry for the delay dear readers. And thank you for your patience.
Took me some time, this time…but I had to feed the fishes…or something.

Ha ha… Hum Hum Festivals… So many good memories. Of loads of them. From the teenage kicks aka puberty and bleeding ears to the professional mayhem that can occur during a quick change-over (you’ve got 15 minutes (to fame ?), boys, always shouts the big man from the left stage corner…wearing shorts), to the greatest musical experiences and accidental discoveries that can happily and accidently take place. That’s why we’ve got ears, don’t we ? And taste. And why we are there, to put it simply. From truly disgusting food to improvised BBQ with other musicians (and tents burning, by the way) to never ending talks and laughs with many other from out-of-space(s) band members. And more, if there’s affinity. Still is, if you stay open. And use and abuse of your social skills. So many festivals travelled. Experienced. Tasted. And sometimes approved. With or without dEUS. Muddy it used to be. Still is in the UK though. But everywhere else ? It has become so well organized. An event, they call it.

dEUS did a lot of them a couple of years ago. And even more so over the last decade. Countless ones.
Let’s get back to their one and only holy gig during their sabbatical live year 2009 … – GIGS, sorry : Yes, they played twice, two nights in a row in the comfy of the Marquee, 2 completely different sets, about 28 songs were played…-by the way who has ever played 28 songs in a festival I ask myself ?…Except The Ramones, of course. Maybe. And Mauro, I guess, but that must have been at some kind of arty festival. Probably. And the Buzzcocks. And. And. No, not Adam and the Ants. They didn’t even have enough songs I guess.

Stop it. Rewind.

So our very own little d’s did it in style I dare say. And write. A few friends joined them on the first night. Credits are…there, somewhere, if you look through this… and finally deserve it. Old songs and new songs were played. Mashed up, as another famous Belgian band would say.
The second night was more direction intimacy. When songs truly matter. Where deep meets high.
Both nights, were, objectively, soulful, powerful, sexy, clever, sharp…and groovy. If you ask me.
Both nights were with extra musicians and forces on stage. A gorgeous feminine choir of four joined the party. And a multi-instrumentalist added his touches and sometimes personal views on the existing music. Printed them even. Credits, are also available. If you dig for it not so deep down. Here, somewhere, again.

I honestly think, after those two nights, that very few other bands can offer so many great tunes, different tastes, different shapes, different feelings, different approaches, different cleverness, different grooves, different melodies, and….evolving talent …other than dEUS.
Of course a few others are on my A-list, and luckily. Otherwise it would be very gloomy.
No names. Everybody has rights to the secret gardens.
And it’s great to play a home match. Twice. You know, between friends, new and old ones kind of feeling.

But I also think that dEUS needs new horizons. To expand them. New audiences to play their music to. New challenges. New history. And affinities.
From now on when I think of festivals, and dEUS, I think, for instance, of Coachella, Lollapalooza, Big day Out, Rock in Rio, Summer Sonic, Fuji Rock, Tomorrows Parties, Finch …countless others, an endless list. Katmandu would also do. Hong Kong too. Vostock would, and Ushuaia too.

Name it dear readers. And interested/ing human beings.
They’re your countries. And powers.
Read it. Share it. Peer it.
Knock on promoters doors.
And make it happen.

We would love to. You would be delighted. I swear to gOD.
Let it be. We’ll be your proud guests.
Let’s shake the planet. In 2010. Or 2011.
We let you decide.
As long as we meet.
And finally greet.

Thanks Pukkelpop. Thanks to all the artists involved.
Thank you.
And hope to see you all soon.
Somewhere on our still blue and beautiful planet.
But let them work for a while. In the confines of their studio. In the confines of their lives and their Art.
Music is a virus.
And let the end of Oasis not be an excuse.
We’ve got much better in present history.

Take care.

Vp.

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - dEUS during / after Pukkelpop 2009 [09:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - dEUS during / after Pukkelpop 2009: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

U should know something: One of my Favorite games is …to Fell off the floor, man.
If you take it easy, if you Slow down. And wait until the passion arises. As the Dark sets in. All the beautiful memories back to the << when Nothing really ends >> days come back to life. Might even have a new one. On their own.
I’m sure you know. You’ve been there. You do finally touch the sky, and climb on the set of the horizon.
Then, only then my dearest Morticiachair, you might get to the true meaning of the Magic hour. The I gave love moment that it is.
Indeed, Sun Ra might have created it. Or was it: Oh, your God ? Because even the Roses are enjoying an internal Pocket revolution when the sun comes down. I swear it’s true. I’ve been told the story by my old mistress: Magdalena. She never lied to me. And has never been like everybody else. I mean, you know, the Everybody’s weird feeling one might get during some If you don’t get what you want moments we’ve all had to go through in different situations.
Let’s see who goes down first must have thought the Architect that created the Turnpike, when the sun came back. With a vengeance. It seems that he didn’t really get the Instant street that was passing him by a few hours before. And created a motorway instead. At a very Bad timing it was. To say the least.
Did he have too much Suds and soda, or did he Serpentine through some serious Mexican fever ? One thing is sure: he had no Paper bones.
He was made of flesh.
He’s never been a Smoker’s reflect… or lost in translation.
His favorite sentence wasn’t it, if I remember right:
Do you know What we talk about (when we talk about love)?

I’d say mystery.

But for the ones who will be there tomorrow at Pukkelpop, I’ve cleared a bit… of a set-list mystery. Right now. Up here.
And a stage and musicians fantasy. If you quick time that is. Right down here. Please.

Don’t be lazy.

And let’s have a blast.
This week-end.
Until time blasts…actually.

Vp.

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - dEUS before Pukkelpop [03:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - dEUS before Pukkelpop: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

dEUS Demo days #2.
And Michael J. died today, by the way.

I don’t really read them in English.
Books that is.
Hum.
Sometimes gossip, architecture, design… comics magazines. TV guides, politician speeches…. Even gloomy scientific tricky news that gets the opportunity to be widely published is good for me. ABCD.
All that beautiful math and senses can be found in, let’s say, Shakespearean love letters. But books ? No. Never. Well, almost never. Don’t ask me why. Maybe I’m just lazy. Maybe I’m scared of losing some true meaning of words. Maybe I’m lefty brainy dead.
Probably.
But I do remember a book I read ages ago. In American -wanna be smart- English. I still know it by heart. Almost. Even though I haven’t physically seen it … since Man created Women, or something.
Don’t shoot me lovely/cute/sexy/clever Ladies. We all know the truth behind this sentence. Ohhh yes.
As I said, I vividly remember a book. gOSH ! One book.
A Henry Rollins book this was.
Get in the Van. And in there, at some point, when you almost called it a day, letting your dreams go by, was a story going something like this :
<< Last night we played Seattle. Show was real good I thought. One of those that leaves me fucked up and incoherent. Before we played, this boy came up to me with this nice looking blond haired girl. He gave me a Magic Marker, lifted her shirt and said, << Sign her >>. I looked at her body. She was very fine, perfectly muscled. I looked in her eyes and asked , << where do you want it ? >> << Where do you want to put it ? >> she replied smiling. I gouged her in the face with the marker. She did not << want it >> there. I moved to her stomach and drew a swastika with the word << fool >> underneath. The boy walked away. She said, << Can I have a hug >>…I said…

Hold it there for a second. Please. The end of the story is not gonna be told. It’s up to you, dear readers. Up to your creative minds and spirits. If you know, great. If you don’t, even better…that means you can imagine what you want the story to be. To become.

What the hell does this have to do with a dEUS podcast do I hear you all say ? Well, I think, that, depending on the ending you have decided to deal with, you might experience a pretty close true << vibe >> of what a musician might feel during a studio recording session. Who will he be ? The mistress, the man, the lady, the wife, the lover, the student, the architect, the whatever.
Or will he just stay true to himself ?
Having had the commonly agreed privilege << for a band's soundguy >> to hear the new dEUS demo stuff let me tell you: they have chosen .They have decided. They dare to stay …themselves.
Whatever that means ha ha ha…

Wait… hear. See… decide. Wait some more… enjoy. Somewhere in 2010 the truth will be revealed. Will it be Henry’s ? Will it be a lady’s dream ? Will it be some cute guy ’s nightmare?
Let’s just pretend that it will be quite unique…as everything this band has delivered in the past.
Gimme me a match, please.
Or Gimme the heat.
Anything, but an Emir Kusturica gig. Or a white belly. Or a headline spot at a the Vatican city festivalitis arthritis.
For those of you living (and actually not leaving it, yet) around the low countries you know we have a date : Pukkelpop, somewhere end of Augustus. In Belgium. If politicians still don’t mind it to be named that way.
Some truth could be revealed there. Hopefully it will be, and even become a virus. And some past beauties will be unleashed, brought back to life as well. If you’re smart. If…maybe. But if, as seen on TV as they say commonly, Mister Obama himself can catch a fly, I’m sure dEUS can imagine and create new species. Just for the sake of it.

15 years. 15 ways to celebrate. And see through the future. That’s the main thing for artists. That’s why/what they live for. That’s why we love them. Past… present.
Past… present ?
I know that, right now, Tom is dealing with a deadline going through his never ending teen mind: he has been asked to write an article about Michael Jackson’s death last night.
Will it seal some kind of future ?

Hum…wouldn’t bet a horse on it.

Please enjoy demo days # 2…until the end right… ha ha ha… you might see through a (small) lens … A futuroscopic one that is.
Welcome to the future.

Best regards,
And hope this makes any sense to you.
U, tell me, please.

Enjoy.
Thx.

Vp.

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Demo Days #2 [02:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Demo Days #2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s been raining. For days. Weeks. Night and day. Winter never ending. Spring they officially dare call it.
Damn, has the cool guy above our heads become mad ? Or a Taliban ? Or a frog ?
Does he want us all << poor >> Europeans to exchange countries ? Something like: com’on Africa, you move up, we go down ? We’ll share the sky…and the stars if you’re lucky.
What’s good about being a musician is that you, for the sake of your art, pretty much spend your days and nights …in the comfy of a covert place. When you’re in a creative process that is.
I didn’t know what to expect when I took the train to Antwerp.
Direction Vantage Point studio. Even the guy sitting next to me didn’t bother looking outside. Too scary to count the rain drops maybe ?
But, he was reading. And reading a biography. << Beneath the underdog >>, by the great Charlie Mingus.
Ding Dong.
Isn’t it strange ? Doesn’t that make absolute sense ?
Do you remember << Theme from Turnpike >> ?
And me going to meet the Antwerp fab five.
I’ll let you decide.
Anyway, as I said I didn’t know what to expect. But what I saw erased in a millisecond any fear I could have had in my mind.
What I experienced was an explosion of creativity. Motivation. And talent.
It is still amazingly impressive, even for a << guy in the business for so long >> to be confronted by musicians blasting out ideas, people active …and reactive, sensitive, sharp and clever, working on about a dozen ideas per tic tac clock.
Holy spirit come home Mauro used to say in one of his previous lives.
I can tell you: they got a spirit. And a home.
The dEUS clan is alive. And kicking.

Please enjoy a teaser of what is to come. Or even better: become.
An inside look into creativity. Friendship. And, yes, maybe, simply humanity.

Shuuuut…more to come. Real soon.

Stay tuned Folks.
And tasteful unknown friends.

Yours,
Vincent Philippart.

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Demo Days [1:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Demo Days: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Two months and a half, day by day, since the last Vantage point gig.
We finished the tour in our home town village aka Belgium. And we started it again, a calendar year later, in Rubens country.
In dEUS’ very own city. I think it was their first indoor gig in Antwerp since…hum, Belgian trappist beer was invented or something.
A while ago, for sure, anyway.
2 months and a half ago. You’d think some people would take some quality tea time break after such a heavy year …and serious partying.

Well think again.
Tomy pretty much completed the new Magnus (with CJ Bolland…and Tim VanHamel) opus while we were still recovering from the New Year’s blast we had (took me a month and a half this time, pfffff).
I know Mauro did about 50 gigs with different projects, from free jazz to monstrous DJ sets, via the Grooms and through a lovely hell, I guess. One of which saw him spreading his poetry in front of an audience for the first time. His very own book should pop up pretty soon.
Bang on your favorite literature store, or door. Flanked by the great Ramsey Nasr, I wasn’t too convinced at first but I’m sure the project evolved smoothly after the opening night.
Sorry Mauro, wanted to ask you for tickets for a later performance, but life kept me away from the meaning of…stage life, I guess. Loved your poetry. Truly. And both characters.
Stef stood on the producer chair for the new Pornorama record. And did the same, while drumming, on his new project (again, featuring the one and only Tim VanHamel, apparently back from…never been gone. Thank gOD) : the Disco Drunkards. And of course took care, between two holidays, of his lovely new born little sunshine.
Klaas was, I guess, looking for action. Or reaction. Hum hum. No. No. This is not one of Andersen’s << Garden of Paradise >> stories, nor a fairy tale happening, but he also became a proud father (my space generation, that’s how you call us, innit ?) for the…third time. Nice one Bros.
Alan, in the meantime, did play some very complicated, greatly skilled music. Talented musicians we needed, when scoring in front of a very << know about >> music lovers, and other connoisseurs. Musicians uber alles. Or is it united ? Nice one anyway.
After that he decided to put a new life in his used but still perfectly shaped strings on a few Brazilians beaches, for weeks. Poor turtles, I know he loves chasing you.

Now you know what happened.
But this one is about the future.
You’ll see musicians working, friends joking, and life lovers in action. Even if sometimes, movies, and podcasts, don’t truly reflect …the action. This one suggests, more than shows. That’s why this one is, I think, for the true fans.
You’ll get a glimpse of a very own extravaganza show here in country Belgium. Humo’s Pop Poll. Which is huge here. The magazine. A very influential TV weekly. Just so u know. Dear (sometimes) lucky people of other latitudes. What/where ? Who cares.
They won pretty much everything here. Best Album. Best band. Best single.
You’ll also have an inside look at the creative process of…creation.
But mostly of their first << after Vantage point >> show.
Is there such an << after >> thing? Music lives forever. So drop it Man.

Do you believe me ?
Humm…who knows.
Please have a look at …55 hours with dEUS.
And ?
Well. Who said: truth is a virus ?
Follow the wind. Birds are coming back. And winter is hell.
And this one is way too long.
Have a Triple Westmalle beer.
Or a triple Karmeliet if you ask me.

More, soon.

And long live the future.

Damn right.

Vp.

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Humo's Pop Poll 2009 - full [21:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Humo's Pop Poll 2009 - part 1 of 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - Humo's Pop Poll 2009 - part 2 of 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download