Hendrik Lasure — De Val

In 2022, Hendrik Lasure released his first album under his own name, Het Wiel. Four years later, that record is followed by De Val: eleven idiosyncratic Dutch-language songs in which Lasure constructs a world that hovers somewhere between the everyday and the magical-realist.

Whilst Het Wiel looked back on childhood, De Val revolves around connection and the lack thereof. Melancholy and sehnsucht run like a common thread through the album, but Lasure wraps them up in poetic scenes in which the ordinary world is constantly slipping slightly out of joint. People throw stones into the moat of a palace, the evening sun colours the sky purple, and a chance encounter can suddenly open up a whole new universe

Musically, too, Lasure opts for the essence. For De Val, he swapped his familiar piano for a guitar whilst writing – a limitation that gave the songs their own distinct form and directness. Producer Koen Gisen helped to further develop that world, together with, amongst others, Meskerem Mees, Jolan Decaesteker (Ão, Mooneye), Aya Suzuki and Sep François.

The result is a sparingly layered album with plenty of space for Lasure’s characteristic singing style: somewhere between melody and poetic parlando. References such as Spinvis, Mount Eerie, Sun Kil Moon and PJ Harvey are never far away, but above all, De Val has a signature sound all of its own. Avant-garde cabaret, nu-pop or something for which no name yet exists: Lasure makes music for those who like to escape reality for a while.
 

LINEUP
Hendrik Lasure: voice, guitar & electronics
Thomas Jillings: clarinet & keys
Aya Suzuki: vibraphone & percussion
Marco Giongrandi: guitar & bass