Awkward I
Awkward I is one of The Netherlands’ finest songwriters around. He recorded this new session, including a mind-blowing cover of Judee Sill: ‘What I particularly love about her compositions is ...
Judy Blank
‘When I see The Wood Brothers play, I know: this is it. Seeing them makes it easier for me to not care about things. Fuck that shit, I’m doing what ...
Anna Burch
‘Writing ‘Quit The Curse’ was so fun, cathartic, and also the most important thing I’ve done in my life.’ Anna Burch debuted on Polyvinyl Record Company with a catchy yet ...
Down By The River festival, Sessions
Jerry Leger
Jerry Leger’s records stand side by side to John Lennon’s in my living room. It’s only fitting because Lennon’s the first association I got from ‘Coat On The Rack’, the ...
Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins’ voice is a thing of wonders. So much power and soul. Words sung with so much feeling. But it’s too easy to focus on just that. Especially since ...
Ryan Joseph Burns
Ryan Joseph Burns couldn’t believe his eyes, when we entered the Soesterduinen, a stunning nature reserve just East of Utrecht. It’s a surreal sight at first. As you’ll know by ...
The Dead Tongues
‘There’s so much that I love about Charlie, but one thing that really struck me is how it feels like every time he sings and plays, he’s all in.’ The ...
Twain
‘I tend to look up artists that are powerful without explanation or for mysterious reasons. And the kind that are able to speak truths that are commonly understood but never ...
Jim Lauderdale
It’s not that often I film sessions with a winner of multiple Grammy Awards, and a writer of songs that were recorded by Elvis Costello, The Dixie Chicks, Blake Shelton ...
Roald van Oosten
After sitting directly in front of him, focussing on filming him the best I know how to, I’m happy to report Roald van Oosten’s voice and songs still manage to ...
Christopher Paul Stelling
Christopher Paul Stelling has quickly become one of my very favourite folk singers from the last decade. The American already recorded a session for The Influences some years ago and ...
Kim Churchill
Meeting Churchill in Amsterdam, I saw a polite, very determined and self-assured musician, who knows what he wants and how he wants to get there. No shortcuts allowed. I like ...
Emma Gatrill
‘Listening to Björk and Emilíana Torrini always reminds me of how many sonic possibilities there are out there.’ It’s no wonder Emma Gatrill covered their songs in this session for The Influences. ‘I have ...
Courtney Marie Andrews
I’ve been fascinated by Courtney Marie Andrews’ talent as a songwriter and a singer since the instant classic ‘Honest Life’. Now, with her equally daring and striking new record ‘May ...
Jasper Schalks
‘John Prine is the finest lyricist I know, up there with Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt. Every sentence he writes hits the spot and it’s admirable how much Prine ...
The Mastersons
About a year ago, I met up with The Mastersons in my hometown Utrecht. They were about to release their strong new album Transient Lullaby and were touring Europe with ...
Michaela Anne
Sometimes a voice simply forces me to keep listening. Luckily, combined with Michaela Anne’s songwriting that’s hardly an ordeal. Anthony D’Amato told me to check out her most recent record ...
The Secret Sisters
If you’d asked Laura and Lydia Rogers some time ago, they’d have told you that there might never be a third The Secret Sisters album. They really didn’t know if ...
Tift Merritt
Stitch Of The World is her sixth album and it’s everything you could ever want. Tift Merritt’s voice is stunning as always, her songwriting more urgent than ever. In short: ...
Fiskur & Ryan Joseph Burns cover The Milk Carton Kids
In late May this year, we organized mini festival Caledonia. Like A New International, fellow Glaswegians Ryan Joseph Burns and Fiskur got on a plane to play. As they already ...
Siv Jakobsen
”Jolene’ is such a stunning piece of music – the lyric is incredible and really draws me into the atmosphere of the song. It makes me feel like I’m singing ...
I Buried You So Deep
Back in 2013, Small Houses covered ‘I Buried You So Deep’ in his first session for this website; a song by his fellow Americans of Frontier Ruckus. That band recorded ...
Ron Gallo
Every now and then I get asked the question: ‘You only record acoustic singer songwriters, don’t you?’ My answer: No, I don’t. There have been full band sessions since the ...
I Won’t Back Down
‘I’d always been a fan of Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’, but with a professional bully in the Oval Office, the urgency of those verse lyrics hit me harder ...
Frontier Ruckus
Up until a couple of years ago, Frontier Ruckus was just a band that I had heard of. Without stopping to take a moment and really give them a listen. ...
Gregory Page
Gregory Page recently released his new record ‘So It Goes’ and it’s as charming as its creator. “Please make me look like Clooney”, was all he asked after recording covers ...
Ryan Joseph Burns
As I’m writing this, I’m sitting at gate D25 at Schiphol Airport, waiting for my flight to Glasgow. Tomorrow, I’ll be filming the launch of Ryan Joseph Burns’ stunning debut ...
Tenfold
Tenfold is the moniker of Dutch singer songwriter Tineke Hussaarts. Last year she released her second EP ‘Before We Go Somewhere’, which she recorded at Alamo Race Track’s studio. The ...
Christof van der Ven
Christof van der Ven originates from a small town in The Netherlands, but now resides in London. He toured as the support of the likes of The Staves and Bear’s ...
Alasdair Roberts
Last November, I had a short visit in Glasgow to film with Doghouse Roses and asked Alasdair Roberts if we could meet up the following morning and film a couple ...
Brooke Sharkey
Last month Brooke Sharkey and I met in Amsterdam and filmed a couple of songs at the Backstage Hotel. She treated us to beautiful covers of Tom Waits and Lhasa ...
Helge
Helge Slikker has been pretty busy over the past few years, composing for theater and film. I still have fond memories of the session we filmed in the early days ...
Elephant Stone
I went to Glasgow for a couple of days in November. The morning after I flew back, I managed to get myself out of my bed and on a train ...
Doghouse Roses
Last November, I was invited by the Scottish alt-folk duo Doghouse Roses to attend the launch of their third record Lost Is Not Losing in Glasgow and to film a ...
Tangarine
I remember seeing Tangarine play in the finals of the Grote Prijs van Nederland in 2010, along with Case Mayfield. I remember thinking the wrong person won, but most of ...
Onder Invloed sessions in 2016
As almost every year since the start of Onder Invloed (The Influences) in 2008, last year has often managed to surprise me. After many sessions I found myself listening to ...
Paul Tasker
There aren’t many better folk guitarists around than Paul Tasker, however subjective such a statement might be. He’s often compared to his great hero and influence Bert Jansch or named ...
Emil Landman
Last year Emil Landman packed a bag, his guitar and some microphones and travelled across the world. Whatever he saw and experienced was turned into song and later recorded at ...
Robert Ellis
In June of this year, Robert Ellis released his latest, self-titled record on New West Records and I found myself listening to it over and over. The singer from Texas ...
Jenny Berkel
Jenny Berkel’s got one of these voices that you’ll end up recognizing instantly and there’s a timeless quality to her songs that often have poetic lyrics and original instrumentation. Listening ...
Paul Tasker
Paul Tasker has been one of my favourite guitar players for a good amount of years and still manages to surprise me whenever I hear him play. Earlier this year ...
Chatham County Line
The great thing about Chatham County Line is that they combine the typical bluegrass sound with a more traditional element and an impeccable songwriting talent. Everything about this band just ...
Kacy & Clayton
It’s hard not to think of Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention when listening to Kacy Lee Anderson’s voice, but luckily there’s a lot more to Kacy & Clayton than just ...
Three Blind Wolves
Earlier this year Three Blind Wolves’ singer Ross Clark jumped on a train to Utrecht on a day off from touring with a play in Luxembourg. In the short time ...
Cale Tyson
Born and raised in Texas, but now a resident of Nashville, it is no surprise Cale Tyson sings country songs. But, he does it very very well.
Son Little
Aaron Livingston can hear the different places he’s lived in his songs and he doesn’t shy away from political topics, although written from his personal perspective. The LP has very ...
Alistair Ogilvy
Until about a year ago, my life was a little worse than it is now, if only because I had not yet gotten acquainted with folk singer Alistair Ogilvy’s music. ...
Small Houses
It’s a small crime that nowhere near enough people know Small Houses’ latest LP ‘Still Talk; Second City’ yet. Nowhere near enough people are enjoying this record by Jeremy Quentin ...
Yori Swart
About four or five years ago I was a judge for one of The Netherland’s biggest alternative music competition ‘De Grote Prijs van Nederland’, in the singer songwriter category. One ...
Lori Lieberman
Back in 2010 I met Lori Lieberman for the first time, in Amsterdam where we filmed her first session for this site. Five years later I invited her back for ...
A New International – Sammy (Ramses Shaffy)
It was a rainy night in Glasgow when I hijacked Biff Smith’s computer to play him some Dutch songs. Knowing the A New International singer’s love for French music, I ...
Eerie Wanda
There used to be a time when certain Dutch people would look down on Dutch bands, and considered any band from abroad to be automatically better and more interesting. Obviously ...
Ryan O’Reilly
Ryan O’Reilly covered Lissie and Loudon Wainwright III for The Influences in this session, filmed before his show in Amsterdam.
Iona Macdonald (Doghouse Roses)
Iona Macdonald was one of the first Scottish persons, plus one of the best singers I ever met. She’s gearing up to release the third album with Doghouse Roses, her ...
Oh Thunder
Almost a year ago, there was a big harp in the water tower that had to be carried down some stairs before one of our sessions at the Grasnapolsky festival. ...
The Young Folk
Early in 2015 I met The Young Folk from Dublin and filmed a session with them in Amsterdam. Later in the year we got to hang out a couple more ...
Onder Invloed sessions in 2015
While we’ve started a new year already, let’s look back one last time on the sessions that’ve appeared on Onder Invloed (The Influences) in 2015. It’s been a year of ...
Pronto Mama
The first video I saw of the Scottish band Pronto Mama was a perfect cover of Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out at the BBC. That, plus my persistent friend Jamie ...
Demi Knight
Although still only 19 years old, Demi Knight says she has discovered her own style and sound. The country singer from Tiel – who in everyday life listens to the ...
Midas
Back in 2010 Onder Invloed hosted a stage at the first ever edition of the Grasnapolsky festival in Bunnik. Since then, the festival has exploded into a way bigger version ...
Steve Wynn
This session was set up rather last minute, and early on a weekend morning, but nonetheless very nice to film. Steve Wynn didn’t really seem to mind the early hours, ...
Yorick van Norden
Yorick van Norden is the kind of guy who can tell you in which key McCartney played a certain song during a certain show decades ago, or who was the ...
Phil Cook
Early in 2014 I filmed a session with Michael Taylor a.k.a. Hiss Golden Messenger, because I had become addicted to his records. Learning more about his music, I found out ...
Bertolf
In November it’ll be four years since I joined Bertolf Lentink in Carpentras in the south of France where he recorded his third, self-titled record. Filming and witnessing that process ...
Bewilder
If you’re a regular visitor of Onder Invloed, you might remember the solo session Maurits Westerik recorded in a church all the way back in 2008. Since then, his band ...
GFJF
I remember seeing Tenement Kids perform live on Dutch television some years ago and playing their self-titled record the morning after. I remember liking it and listening to it a ...
Small Houses
Ever since Jeremy Quentin, aka Small Houses, recorded his session for Onder Invloed two years ago, I’ve become a frequent listener of his music. Just about anything he’s released is ...
Christopher Paul Stelling
After stumbling upon a video on YouTube of Christopher Paul Stelling playing one of his songs live, I was rather impressed by the vigour and drive the Brooklyn-based songwriter radiated. ...
Anne Soldaat
It was over six years ago when Anne Soldaat recorded his first session and although he’s performed at several of our live shows and was featured in the book Onder ...
The Young Folk
The first person to introduce me to the Irish band The Young Folk was Davie Lawson, who you might know of one of his hundred sessions for Onder Invloed. Not ...
Nana Adjoa
Nana Adjoa is a young musician who’s played bass in quite an impressive collection of bands already, one of the latest being Janne Schra. It wasn’t until last year though, ...
Paulusma
It was still in the early stages of Onder Invloed’s existence, when Paulusma recorded his first session. Since then, he’s performed at multiple of our live events, including the book ...
Stephen Steinbrink
When I was talking to Grasnapolsky promoter Jelte Heringa about filming sessions during the festival, the first act on his line up he talked about was Stephen Steinbrink. I didn’t ...
John Paul Keith
Last year I had the pleasure of meeting and filming with John Paul Keith, whose albums have made a lasting impact on me over the past couple of years. Especially ...
Love Like Birds
When Elke De Mey confirmed to record a session for Onder Invloed at Grasnapolsky, I was really pleased. The Love Like Birds’ EP from 2011 had impressed me a lot, ...
The Staves
It started as a rather sucky day when I went to Amsterdam to film this session. It was the first really sunny day in a while, but my head was ...
No Ninja Am I
Back in 2010 Onder Invloed hosted a stage at the first ever edition of the Grasnapolsky festival in Bunnik. Since then, the festival has exploded into a way bigger version ...
Kinbrae
If you’re a regular visitor of this website, you might have seen Scottish twin brothers Michael and Andrew Truscott before as members of the incredible, but no longer existing band ...
Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra
Back in 2010 Onder Invloed hosted a stage at the first ever edition of the Grasnapolsky festival in Bunnik. Since then, the festival has exploded into a way bigger version ...
Peter Broderick
It’s hard to keep up with the productivity of Peter Broderick, who’s released over fifteen records, EP’s and cassettes in about seven years, one of them being a website that’s ...
My Bubba
My bubba is another one of those acts that I’ve seen and read about for a couple of years, and when I heard their latest records Goes Abroader, it was ...
Daniel Romano
The first time I heard a Daniel Romano song? I can’t remember exactly, but I do recall that by the time the last note was played, I had made up ...
Allah-Las
Ever since Allah-Las released their self-titled debut album in 2012, I’ve been listening to their music a lot. Driving in a car in summertime just isn’t the same without their ...
Three Blind Wolves
Three Blind Wolves were the final band on the bill of our The Influences night at the wonderful The Glad Cafe in Glasgow. The Wolves and me go back a ...
Biff blogs #2: Utrecht
Biff Smith is the lead singer and songwriter of the Scottish band A New International, formerly known as The Starlets. He’s one of my favourite songwriters and currently preparing to ...
Courtney Marie Andrews
Whenever musicians that I like announce shows in The Netherlands, I tend to keep an eye on who their support act will be. Especially when they’re bringing someone with them ...
Alasdair Roberts
It’s taking me crazy long to edit all these wonderful sessions some of Glasgow’s finest musicians performed during our The Influences night at The Glad Cafe in November 2013. But ...
The Wood Brothers
‘When I die, I wanna be sent back to try, try again.’ (From: Neon Tombstone) It’s one of many beautiful sentences in the lyrics by Nashville-based group The Wood Brothers, ...
Ryan Joseph Burns
Last night at Paradiso in Amsterdam, I saw Ryan Adams play live for the first time. Somehow I never got to see him before, although I’m a big fan of ...
Hanna Leess
On the same day I filmed Parker Ainsworth‘s session at the old Tivoli Spiegelbar in Utrecht, Hanna Leess – who was touring with him – also played a session. Lucky ...
A New International
Those of you who have visited this website more often, have probably heard of A New International before. If not, then certainly you’ve heard of The Starlets, which was the ...
Parker Ainsworth
Every week a lot of musicians get in touch asking for a session. Although I have to turn down most of them, I do like getting these emails and listening ...
Moss
Early in 2009, Moss’ lead singer and songwriter Marien Dorleijn recorded this solo session, and ever since then I’ve hoped for a full band session. God knows why it took ...
Hiss Golden Messenger
One of my more recent musical addictions, has been the music of Hiss Golden Messenger. Having released a lot of albums since 2008, it wasn’t until February this year that ...
Duglas T. Stewart (BMX Bandits)
He formed BMX Bandits with Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) back in 1986, saw Kurt Cobain wear a ‘Bandits’ t-shirt, has released over ten records since – including hit single Serious ...
Blue Grass Boogiemen
The first time Blue Grass Boogiemen and I spoke about filming a session must have been about four or five years ago. Somehow it didn’t happen earlier than late 2013. ...
Paul Tasker
Last Sunday he ran the London marathon (well done!), but even more than his feet, Paul Tasker knows how to use his hands. On a guitar, that is. The (former) ...
Biff blogs #1: ‘Vrijgezellenfest’
Biff Smith is the lead singer and songwriter of the Scottish band A New International, formerly known as The Starlets. He’s one of my favourite songwriters and currently preparing to ...
Les Johnson And Me
On November 28th 2013, a dream came true for me. Really. Ever since the start of Onder Invloed in 2008 I knew I wanted to organize an event abroad sometime. ...
Jay Nash
Back in 2010 I filmed a session with three American songwriters; Joey Ryan, Jeff Klein and Jay Nash. In September 2013 Nash was touring again in The Netherlands and we ...