photo: Martina Malchionno
Dutch indie folk band I am Oak added the piano to their tool set for the new album Osmosis, an instrument that perfectly fits their dreamy songs. Band leader Thijs Kuijken has a sharp eye to explore before the outer and inner world, incorporating the landscapes he came across during his ceaseless traveling into soft-spoken songs. His reflections are captured in poetic vignettes, turning personal reflections into something with universal appeal.
Kuijken is well aware of the fact that his observations can be deceptive and memories can be false. But a good story is good story and fact checking might ruin it. Hidden Cove, a tribute to Andrei Tarkovsky's sci-fi movie Stalker, sums it all up. Seeing things that other people don't is a big plus from an artist's perspective. With Osmosis the band's ability to blend in and create something new has reached a new peak.
Osmosis is released via Snowstar Records. Release date: September 6.
- The Shore
- Between Worlds
- Hidden Cove
- Tundra
- Swells
- Kamikochi
- Cold Heath
- Stranger
- Wild Ferns
- Will I Wake
- Wondrous Way
- 09/05 De Drvkkery (in-store solo), Middelburg, Netherlands
- 09/06 Plato (in-store solo), Utrecht, Netherlands
- 09/07 Sounds (in-store solo), Venlo, Netherlands
- 09/07 Concerto (in-store solo), Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 09/08 Velvet (in-store solo), Leiden, Netherlands
- 09/14 North End (in-store solo), Haarlem, Netherlands
- 09/15 De Nijverheid (release show), Utrecht, Netherlands (w/ Astral Swans)
- 09/25 Het Depot, Leuven, Belgium
- 10/17 Kassette, Düsseldorf, Germany,
- 10/18 Musikbunker, Aachen, Germany
- 10/19 NUN Kulturraum, Karlsruhe, Germany,
- 10/20 Hafen 2, Offenbach, Germany,
- 10/21 Volksbühne am Kaulenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany
- 10/22 Knust, Hamburg, Germany
- 10/23 Tower, Bremen, Germany
- 10/24 BiNuu, Berlin, Germany
- 10/25 Altes Wettbüro, Dresden, Germany
- 10/26 Wohnzimmerkonzerte, Magdeburg, Germany,
- 10/27 Pension Schmidt, Münster, Germany
- 12/12 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 12/13 Stille Nacht, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 12/20 Vera, Groningen, Netherlands (w/ The Fire Harvest)
- 12/19 Muziekgieterij, Maastricht, Netherlands (w/ Tenfold)
- 01/11 Merleyn, Nijmegen, Netherlands (w/ Lian Ray)
- 02/01 Muziekcentrum, Dranouter, Belgium
HCTF review of Pictures of the Floating World
