Belgian act Brandies Band have released their new album, Yeats to Music, on which they put the poems of the great Irish poet to melodies. We asked singer Kris Van den Branden the BIG questions . . .
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Their interpretation of When You Are Old was released as a single to mark the centenary of Yeats being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Brandies Band recently released their album Yeats to Music. It features ten contemporary songs based on poems by WB Yeats. If you wonder why a Belgian band set poems by an Irish poet to music: As a student, Kris, the singer-songwriter of Brandies Band, attended a course on Irish poetry by the brilliant Irish professor Brendan Kennelly, who challenged his students to set Irish poems to music. Kris was the only one daft enough to take on the challenge.
Brandies Band are called Brandies Band, not because they drink that much, but because their Belgian surname sounds a lot like "Brandy".
To celebrate the centenary of Yeats being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Brandies Band have released Rise and Go Now and When You Are Old as singles, and they will play several Yeats to music concerts in October and November (in Belgium and the UK). They would love to come to Ireland to play a show there.
How would you describe your music?
Our lyrics are just great (sure, they were written by Yeats!). Our songs are inspired by the vocal harmonies and the great melodies of Beatles songs, though, obviously, we would be the last to say the quality of our songs comes anywhere near anything the Beatles released…. after 1965.
Who are your musical inspirations?
The Beatles.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Not counting my mother's choir concerts in church, Bob Seger in Brussels.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Running on Empty by Jackson Browne.
What’s your favourite song right now?
I wake up every morning with a different earworm in my head. So, my favourite song is different every single day. Today it’s Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen if you really want to know.
Favourite lyric of all time?
The one-sentence lyric of The End by the Beatles: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make".
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
No, I am sorry, that wouldn’t work for me. Another earworm every single day, you see…
Where can people find your music/more information?
On our website. On YouTube: we have posted several lyrics video clips of our Yeats songs (e.g., Rise and Go Now, Red Hanrahan’s Song About Ireland or When You Are Old by Brandies Band). Our album Yeats to Music is available on all digital stores.
