Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
The Pink Stones
I’ve lost track of the number of New West Records-artists that have recorded sessions for The Influences by now. All that matters right now is the newest addition: The Pink ...
Ireland, Sessions, TakeRoot festival
Adrian Crowley
Three years after filming his first The Influences session, Irish songwriter Adrian Crowley returned for another, during TakeRoot festival in late 2021. Yesterday we reached the 20.000 subscribers mark on ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Tyler Ramsey
Not unlike myself, Tyler Ramsey some years ago moved closer to nature with his wife and daughter. For me personally, I can tell you it was the best decision I’ve ...
Siv Jakobsen
In a serene and picturesque setting in the woods close to my house in Huis ter Heide in The Netherlands, Norwegian songwriter Siv Jakobsen delivered a breathtaking second live session ...
Adia Victoria
A lot of people sing the blues. Not many do it quite like Adia Victoria does. Her third record ‘A Southern Gothic’ blew me – and many others – off ...
Gitta de Ridder
Gitta de Ridder comes walking out of the caravan she’s living in while building a new home in Almere, trying to stop her dog Lucky from giving me an enthusiastic ...
Sessions, Down By The River festival, USA
Blitzen Trapper
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 ...
Jimmy Diamond
Jimmy Diamond is a completely new band. New music and other inspirations by drummer Ruud Gielen, bassist Floris Poessé and guitarist Jim Zwinselman as lead singer, who never really sang ...
Nadine Khouri
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.
Senora May
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 ...
Ruben Hein
When we filmed this session, after Ruben Hein’s sound check for a Beach Boys tribute in Utrecht’s TivoliVredenburg, his most recent album Groundwork Rising had yet to be released. An ...
Robert Ellis
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 ...
Andrew Combs
It was January 29th 2015, when I first met American songwriter Andrew Combs. I was in the upstairs room in Paradiso Amsterdam and Justin Townes Earle had just finished his ...
Arborist
Two years ago, Dutch comedian and radio dj Dolf Jansen asked me to film a show he was doing with a band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. That night, the band ...
Erin Rae
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 ...
Michael Cassidy
The first time I heard Benbecula by the Scottish songwriter Michael Cassidy was in Amsterdam when Ryan Joseph Burns played me a mix on his phone. It sounded incredible already. But ...
Tim Easton
About ten years ago, Dutch drummer Kees Schaper (from Tim Knol’s band) toured with American songwriter Tim Easton. A perfect chance for me to film with Easton I thought. We ...
Close Talker
Sometimes there’s little time between getting to know a band and filming a session. It only ever happens though if I immediately like the music a lot. The Canadian band ...
Israel Nash
The times have been good for Israel Nash. He’s focusing on the positive, rather than the negative. In this session he covered Neil Young and Radiohead. ‘I’ve always known there ...
Josh Ritter
‘The first thing you’ll notice at a Josh Ritter show is his smile. It’s a grin of elation, a grin of communion, a grin of gratitude. It’s the grin of ...
Fiskur
‘What I’ve learned from Scott is that kind of pride in songwriting; being able to put yourself into it, the drive and ambition for yourself in music.’ Fiskur’s Ross Clark ...
Man Of Moon
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’ ...
Jerry Leger
TakeRoot just announced its first names for 2019, featuring Brandi Carlile, Nikki Lane, Erin Rae, Caroline Spence and many others. In november 2018 I got to work with the lovely ...
Emme Woods
In December 2018 we hosted our third live show at the always lovely The Glad Cafe in Glasgow. Five local acts performed a couple of covers and originals in front ...
The Influences is coming back to Glasgow
On Friday December 14th, I’m bringing this project to The Glad Cafe in Glasgow for the third time, with live performances by Fiskur, Michael Cassidy, Emme Woods, Lenzie Moss and ...
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 ...
24 juni: 10 jaar Onder Invloed
In juni bestaat Onder Invloed tien jaar. Om dit jubileum te vieren, is er op zondagmiddag 24 juni een speciale editie van Onder Invloed in het Utrechtse Café de Stad, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Onder Invloed presenteert: Awkward I & Helge
Op zondagmiddag 19 februari is de derde editie van ‘Onder Invloed presenteert’ in Café de Stad in Utrecht, met optredens van Awkward I en Helge. De twee gelauwerde muzikanten én ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
Grasnapolsky, Live, Sessions, USA
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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) ...
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 ...
Bent van Looy
In the last four months of 2013 I saw Bent van Looy perform live three times: at Into The Great Wide Open at Vlieland, in Tivoli’s Spiegelbar and at EKKO, ...
William Tyler
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 ...
Port Of Call – Aoide Pt. II
Last year I published a session with the Dutch songwriter Port Of Call which has been watched very well and got a lot of good comments. I never published the ...
Clean Pete
Next week the debut album of Clean Pete will be released on Excelsior Recordings. The twin sisters Renee and Loes Wijnhoven have teamed up with Anne Soldaat, who’s also produced ...
Kevn Kinney
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 ...
Into The Great Wide Open, Live, Sessions
Meindert Talma
The first time I heard Meindert Talma‘s music, was when his album ‘Nu Geloof Ik Wat Er In De Bijbel Staat’ (trans: ‘I Now Believe What’s Written In The Bible’) ...
What a night!
What. A. Night. I’ve had the idea to only post those three words, because I have been having difficulties finding words to describe our ‘The Influences‘ night at The Glad ...
Color Reporters
He hoped to escape for a while without creating too much of a fuss, but although he had already made the decision in the summer of 2012 – a couple ...
Into The Great Wide Open, Live, Sessions
Theo Sieben
There’s nothing better than listening to musicians who are really outstanding instrumentalists and sing their songs with every bit of heart and passion they have in them. Theo Sieben is ...
Into The Great Wide Open, Live, Sessions
Leine
Earlier this year I published a session by Leine that was recorded in Amsterdam in 2012. In September this year, she played a live session for us at Into The ...
Onder Invloed presents The Influences in Glasgow
All right folks, listen up. I’m very proud to be announcing this. On Thursday 28th of November, Onder Invloed will host a night called ‘The Influences’ at The Glad Cafe ...
Basia Bulat
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. ...
Into The Great Wide Open, Live, Sessions
Tangarine
Tangarine were the first to play a session on the Sunday of our Into The Great Wide Open show. Twin brothers Sander and Arnout Brinks are known for their delicate ...
Into The Great Wide Open, Live, Sessions
Keaton Henson
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 ...
Three Blind Wolves
Last Thursday, Three Blind Wolves played a truly great show at Tivoli in Utrecht. It was their first show in Utrecht that I had nothing to do with, which was ...
Dead Fingers
If I’m completely honest, I didn’t know Alabama duo Dead Fingers for long when I heard they were going to be touring in The Netherlands this Spring. I knew enough ...