Anouk (with band)

1 (solo) performer

Indoor

Singer (female) , Well known artists

1 hour

In consultation

NL

The most popular rock singer of the Netherlands at your party? That's possible, make an application and book Anouk quickly and easily!

Anouk can provide an exclusive performance at your party. She will sing her best hits for 1 hour live, subdued acoustically or completely loose with a band. Please indicate in the request what your preference is

It all started in 2015, when Anouk jokefully sang a birthday song for her boyfriend Dominique. She loved it so much that she released Dominique as a single. "On which people said, 'Joh, you have to make a whole Dutch-language album I found that quite a challenge, all the more so because I had become musically a little bored." It became a challenge. In previous years the songs flowed effortlessly from her pen. Now that she was composing in her own language for the first time, it suddenly didn't happen by itself. Looking back, she can laugh about it. "There were times when I thought: What the hell did I do?!"

Above all, she had to look for the right tone. "Sometimes the lyrics were too poetic, that doesn't suit me at all. You sometimes hear beautiful Dutch songs, but then I think: What the fuck are you saying? On the other hand, it shouldn't sound too simple. It has to be believable, in a way I talk." In hindsight, she's glad it didn't go by itself this time. "The whole idea was that I had to challenge myself again, that I really had to trigger myself. And I did."

Once the songs were written, her pronunciation was the next challenge.
After more than twenty years of singing in English, she now had to discover her Dutch singing voice for the first time. "At first I thought: how stupid this sounds! Sometimes it was too flat, sometimes too neat. You really have to find a way in, so I could listen to it myself. That took a while."

We got the first teaser of the new album in May 2017, when Anouk sang a compelling version of Wen D'r Maar Aan at DWDD's table. The second came on the first spring day of this year, when she sang her single Lente live on RTL Weer, a stunt she still remembers as a naughty girl. "Yeah, that was really hilarious. And very sporty that they were open to that on RTL."

In the end, the autumn release of her first Dutch-language album couldn't have been better timed. With its melancholic atmosphere and beautiful strings, Wen D'r Maar Aan is a beautiful album where you can see the leaves falling from the tree. Songs like Kom Terug, Red Mij and Zwart Is De Lucht are about lost loves, loneliness, depression. "I love that melancholy. It also goes very well with the arrangements."

The themes of Wen D'r Maar Aan contrast with the cheerful photo shoot Anouk made earlier this year, together with friend Dominique and her six children. There, her life seems like one big party. "It is, but it's not the same every day. I have quite a past that I can relate to. I'm in a very good period right now. Everything's pretty quiet, which is really nice. I have a sweet husband. But
i'm not every day like on the cover of the Vogue and I'm quite susceptible to depression. I always have to keep myself strong."

By singing in her own language for the first time, you as a listener might think that these songs are closer than ever to Anouk herself. But she denies it. "No, that's absolutely not true. Almost all of my songs are personal, only the Dutch language comes in a bit more direct." That certainly applies to rules like "I've had it with your shithead", with which she mercilessly deals with an ex. But which one?
That's what the media started speculating about right away. Anouk laughs loudly: "It's not about one person. If only it were."

The fierce clip of The Is Ready, full of angry women who take revenge on their bad exes, caused divided reactions: insulted men, cheering #metoo women. But Anouk's used to that sort of rant. "It's been like this for 23 years and so far it hasn't hurt me. Rather a bit of controversy than all that babbling. You can never please everyone. Some people love that I sing in Dutch, others prefer to wait for the next album" Anouk shrugs her shoulders, for her only one thing counts: "As long as I can listen to it myself, it's okay. The only thing that matters to me is that it's musically good and above all that you feel it. And I did that, this is a really cool record."

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