Hala
People often ask me how I get musicians to record a session. The answer is simple: either I invite them nicely, or they contact me. Ian Ruhala of the Detroit, ...
The Influences presents Tim Baker
Tim Baker is a prolific dreamer. In 2022, the Canadian returned with his album ‘The Festival’, a sonic embrace, a call to love and a cry for connection. Come see ...
Jerry Leger & Yorick van Norden live in Utrecht
After a two year delay, Jerry Leger and Yorick van Norden finally played The Influences’ live show at Café de Stad in Utrecht this Sunday.
Christopher Paul Stelling
What do you do when filming a session before the show isn’t an option? You film it after midnight. With that solution, Christopher Paul Stelling and I walked into Utrecht’s ...
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 ...
Ryan Joseph Burns
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, ...
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 ...
Mikaela Davis
Mikaela Davis is a harpist and singer from Rochester New York, USA. She released a stunning record called Delivery in 2018. And she’s toured with The Staves and Bon Iver ...
Alela Diane
The first time I heard Alela Diane was live at the Motel Mozaique festival in Rotterdam, back in 2008. ‘The Pirate’s Gospel’ got a European release in 2007. Here was ...
Job Roggeveen
Job Roggeveen is an interesting and versatile artist. As a musician he played in several bands and started his own band Happy Camper, winning an Edison. As an animator, and ...
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 ...
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 ...
Anthony D’Amato
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 ...
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 ...
A New International
Musicians often ask me who they should listen to when we finish filming a session. Almost a hundred percent of the time I recommend the Scottish band A New International ...
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 ...
Marcus Hamblett
Marcus Hamblett is a man of many talents. Not only does he play guitar, bass, trumpet and keys, he also produces records and sometimes releases them. The chances you’ve seen ...
Carson McHone
The Austin-based songwriter Carson McHone visited us in Utrecht’s finest record store Plato with her band to record two originals and a dangerously addictive Teddy Thompson cover.
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’ ...
Buck Meek
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. ...
Liza Anne
‘Every time I go into making a record, I’m trying to time capsule what it feels like to be alive. ‘Fine But Dying’ was a whole new thing for me. ...
Douglas Firs
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 ...
Hannah Epperson
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, ...
Demi Knight & Ryan Joseph Burns
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Photos of our 10-year anniversary show
There is positively no way Onder Invloed’s sold out 10-year-anniversary yesterday could’ve been any more special. We even heard some brand new Moss and Bettie Serveert songs!
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Three Blind Wolves – The Bridge
Song premieres do not happen often at Onder Invloed (The Influences). But, after hearing the upcoming EP by my Scottish friends Three Blind Wolves, I couldn’t help myself. The EP ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
Onder Invloed sessions in 2014
Like every year, I’ve made an overview of what Onder Invloed did in the past twelve months. It’s a good time to look back on what has been done and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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, ...
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 ...
Small Houses
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 ...
Jason Falkner
The first time I heard of Jason Falkner was when I was talking to Anne Soldaat about five years ago. Soldaat was flying to Los Angeles to record what would ...
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 ...
Lukas Batteau
I met this guy at a local radio station where he played some songs. It was his voice I liked. And so, a couple of weeks later Lukas Batteau recorded ...
Tim Knol
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 ...
Photos of Onder Invloed at EKKO
Last night was really good. The musicians played well, the audience listened. That’s the way it should be. In between filming, I managed to take a few photos, that you ...
Broeder Dieleman – Genade
A little over a month ago, I published the session that Broeder Dieleman recorded in March. Since then, I’ve waited impatiently for a good time to post the extra song ...
Rachel Sermanni
Rachel Sermanni‘s music has been in my favorites ever since a friend from Glasgow played me one of her songs. From that moment on, I’ve been meaning to organize a ...
Broeder Dieleman
It’s amazing to see how well Broeder Dieleman is doing since the release of his debut album ‘Alles Is IJdelheid’ in December. He’s playing all over the country and has ...
Onder Invloed viert 5-jarig jubileum
Op 16 juni 2008 ging de website onderinvloed.com online en dus heeft het muziekproject Onder Invloed dit jaar zijn 5-jarig jubileum te vieren. Dat gebeurt in het Utrechtse EKKO op ...
Peter Katz – Dear
After his session in the autumn of 2012, Peter Katz also played one of his own songs, called ‘Dear’. When you’ve watched this video, make sure you check his covers ...
Jack Savoretti
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 ...
Ryan Joseph Burns – Sam
The very first day Scottish musician Ryan Joseph Burns ever set foot in The Netherlands, I took him and his band The Seventeenth Century to see Tim Knol play at ...
Thus Owls – Roots
When I organised the session with Thus Owls, I actually forgot to ask them to play one of their own songs as well. After recording three covers, Simon and Erika ...
Port Of Call
A couple of years ago I saw Port Of Call play as support act with Paulusma at EKKO in Utrecht. I couldn’t help but think of Neil Young somehow, even ...
Thus Owls
Remember that session with Simon Angell? The one where he covered Daft Punk on just his guitar? It’s now four years later, and this month I’ve put Angell in front ...
Onder Invloed sessions in 2012
It was a strange year, 2012. I didn’t record as many sessions as I would have liked, but the ones I did, made up for it. This post is above ...
U rocked
Today, Utrecht is losing one of its finest bars. After years of getting us drunk and making sure we had great nights of fun, U ROCK Cafe is closing its ...
Paulusma live at EKKO
Earlier this year I posted videos of Chop Wood, Marien Dorleijn (Moss) and Bertolf performing at the book release show at EKKO in January. Multiple reasons caused the videos of ...
The Black Atlantic live in Utrecht
Last Monday, it was the third Onder Invloed night at the Festival aan de Werf in Utrecht. After previous editions in 2010 (with Awkward I and The Seventeenth Century) and ...
Win tickets to the live shows
Next week there’ll be three Onder Invloed shows in a row. Davie Lawson and his Dutch band will play at all shows, accompanied by Dazzled Kid and Rebecca Sier at ...
Bertolf live at EKKO
I made the final corrections on the book in the middle of the nights of a week when I was in the South of France, in November 2011. I was ...
Marien Dorleijn (Moss) live at EKKO
Second on the line up of the book release party was Moss singer Marien Dorleijn. It’s not the first time he played an Onder Invloed night, and hopefully it won’t ...
Chop Wood live at EKKO
The book release night at EKKO was amazing. I won’t tell you that twice, so take note. Norbert Pek hosted the night, the musicians from the book played great shows, ...
Paulusma live at Festival aan de Werf (2)
Sometimes I search through external hard drives, without a specific purpose. Most times I’ll find some old recordings of live shows or sessions from previous years. Maybe it shows that ...
Maarten Kooijman live at EKKO
I was filming on a boat on the sea of Terschelling. Around me, the band members of Johan were playing some songs, enjoying the sun and watching the view. It ...
Best of Onder Invloed in 2011
It’s one of the more difficult tasks in between eating three Christmas dinners in a row and having to answer for not going to any overexpensive party at New Year’s ...
Boekpresentatie in EKKO
In januari verschijnt het eerste boek van Matthijs van der Ven, getiteld ‘Onder Invloed’ bij uitgeverij L.J. Veen. In het boek verhalen Nederlandse ...
Ryan Joseph Burns
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 ...