The Influences went to Kilkenny, Ireland and invited local musicians to join them in the tower of the monumental Kilkenny Castle to record sessions. And they did. One of them ...
Aestrid feels like more than just a band. The Utrecht-based rock band is more of a pact between three good friends who help each other through whatever life throws at ...
The Tallest Man On Earth and The Influences started almost simultaneously. His debut album Shallow Grave was released in 2008, the year this website started. Ever since, I’ve been following ...
This Summer, I met VanWyck’s Christien Oele and guitarist Reyer Zwart at the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam, where they recorded I Was Innocent (from her latest album) and covers of Allison ...
In May this year, Anthony D’Amato toured Europe supporting Keb’ Mo’, so we met up in Eindhoven, talked about our lives, looked for good train spots on his route, and ...
When you take a peek at Gill Landry’s Instagram account, you’re bound to see many gorgeous landscapes and still images of his surroundings, wherever that may be at that time. ...
A lot of the times when I’ve just finished filming a session, I can’t stop smiling. At Take Root festival, the smiling began as soon as Cedric Burnside walked into ...
Filming with Blitzen Trapper was a dream come true for me, honestly. They’ve been one of the bands I keep listening to for well over a decade now. I remember ...
Tom Cunliffe’s record ‘Template For Love’ is great, so we met up in Utrecht to film Bruce Springsteen and Paul Anka covers and two originals.
British songwriter Sam Brookes covers Father John Misty and John Martyn for The Influences and played ‘Ekarma’ off his new LP Black Feathers.
I’m extremely glad to finally share the session in which Nadine Khouri played ‘You Got A Fire’ and covers of Sparklehorse and Leonard Cohen.
During Take Root festival 2018, Los Angeles-based songwriter Gold Star recorded two songs from his latest record ‘Uppers & Downers’ and a raving cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘I Found ...
One of the songs I might have played most in the past years, is ‘1922’ by Phil Cook from his album Southland Mission. I soon found out it was a ...
Caleb Elliott and I spoke about staying hungry for music, discovering fairly late there’s more than just classical music and the important people in his development; his high school orchestra ...
Back when traveling and going to shows were still things people did, I met up with Kentuckian artist Senora May in Utrecht. Her self-released debut ‘Lainhart’ has been a very ...
I have so many fond memories of the first session Robert Ellis recorded for The Influences years ago, I jumped at the change to do it again. In the fall ...
I’ve been filming sessions for this website for twelve years. In all those years, there isn’t a singer I’ve heard more peers express their admiration off than Erin Rae. The ...
Ever since my friend plugged their song The Road, I’ve been listening to Scottish indie rock duo Man of Moon. During their European tour with Django Django, we recorded ‘Sign’ ...
American songwriter Buck Meek has very quickly become one of my favourite musicians – both his solo and Big Thief records are on the top of the rotation over here. ...
Bart Hoevenaars isn’t a stranger in the Dutch music indie scene. In the early zeroes he released two record with postpunk bank MONO and toured Europe multiple times. After, he became known ...
Douglas Firs is a Belgian band that has been around creating great music for years now, but it was on their most recent record ‘Hinges Of Luck’ where they really ...
John Martyn has somehow never before been covered in The Influences sessions. Until now, because Jon Allen recorded an addictive version of ‘May You Never’ for us, as well as ...
Los Angeles-based songwriter Gregory Ackerman covered Jack Johnson and Neil Young for The Influences. ‘I’m inspired by anyone who is writing music that people can really connect to – music ...
When Ryan Joseph Burns came to Utrecht from Glasgow earlier this year, I set up a meeting with the Dutch country singer Demi Knight. After a quick rehearsal, they recorded ...
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 ...
‘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 ...
‘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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
‘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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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: ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 covered Lissie and Loudon Wainwright III for The Influences in this session, filmed before his show in Amsterdam.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Montreal based Thus Owls have just released their third album Turning Rocks and to celebrate, Simon Angell – also known for playing guitar with Patrick Watson – has sent ...
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) ...
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 ...
If you don’t know the Dutch booking agency Belmont Bookings, you should check their roster, because it’s an overload of great acts to go and discover. One of them is ...
If I’m honest, I didn’t know anything about Jeremy Quentin, a.k.a. Small Houses, until I received an email and started listening to his songs. Usually I’ll have been following musicians ...
In 2012, Tim Knol toured in the United States, together with the American songwriter Kevn Kinney of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ fame. Earlier this year Knol founded his own record label ...
On the promotion tour for her third record Tall Tall Shadow, out now on Secret City Records, Canadian songwriter Basia Bulat made some time to record a session in Amsterdam. ...
I’ve had two weeks to think of a sufficient way to describe the weekend we had at the Into The Great Wide Open festival on Vlieland, but I’m afraid I’ve ...
It was in May 2008 that I saw Tim Knol perform live for the very first time. It was at EKKO in Utrecht, where I talked to him earlier that ...
Paul Tasker is one of the guys who introduced me to Glasgow, now one of my favourite cities around. Tasker, one of the best guitarists I know, is currently working ...
It’s been an incredible year for OnderInvloed.com. The second year of our existence, we recorded sessions with wonderful and talented musicians. Live shows in Utrecht and Amsterdam, OI-recordings on the ...
Halfway through the very first Onder Invloed Live night at UROCK CAFE in January, my friend Cat introduced me to this guy sitting at the bar. I remembered seeing him ...
‘Happy Traum’ and ‘Weeps’ are probably the two albums I bought the most times; I keep giving them away to friends. Two albums by Daryll-Ann, without any doubt my favourite ...