David Keenan, the songwriter from Dundalk in Ireland, is one of the most inspired and inspiring songwriters I’ve gotten to know in the past few years. Ever since that acoustic ...
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 ...
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 ...
Do you still know what day it is? I don’t, half of the time. I do know it’s Thursday though, because I’m posting a new video. About a year ago, ...
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 ...
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 ...
New York City-based songwriter Anthony D’Amato has been on a streak in the past seven years and released three full-length records and two ep’s. And now also two sessions for ...
‘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 ...
‘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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
‘The first time I really listened to Bob Dylan changed my life.’ The Canadian folk band The Deep Dark Woods produces some of the loveliest modern folk songs I’ve heard ...
There aren’t many feelings better than discovering new music and getting fully emerged in its beauty. When it happens, nothing else matters. Hannah Epperson’s ‘Slowdown’ did that for me. So, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
‘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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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: ...
”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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
Last week brought some terrible news, including the passing of Leonard Cohen; the writer of Hallelujah, probably one of the most covered songs in history, and so many other magnificent ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
Probably one of my favourite musical discoveries of the last year and a half, is Jack Savoretti; the English singer from London with Italian roots. I saw him support Jake ...
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 ...
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. ...
Every once in a while, I listen to songs I’ve never heard before and get that impressed that I have to listen to as many songs of that artist as ...
It would seem you don’t need an introduction to Ryan Joseph Burns anymore on this website. He’s been featured a lot of times, not without reason though. In March this ...