»Ijsschots Veenlaag Mist« (Morc Tapes) is an upcoming solo-album by Bruges-based psych folk musician Steve Marreyt (Strövels, ’s Lands Welvaren, Distels, Luster, ex-Silvester Anfang) under his moniker Edgar Wappenhalter. The album is a tribute to Dutch poet Sonja Prins (1912–2009), which explains the Dutch titles. However, this is not »poems set to music«, Marreyt uses the poems more as an inspiration, not as a foundation. Besides this, »Ijsschots Veenlaag Mist« features guest vocals by Annelies Monseré and artwork by Olivier Schrauwen.
skug: How are you? What have you been up to lately?
Edgar Wappenhalter (Steve Marreyt): It’s basically family life, a teaching job and a couple of bands these days. And of course I’ve been writing poetry. My first »real« book is getting published early next year.
This new album comes as a bit of a surprise to me. Why did you want to make a new record? For how long have you been working on these new songs? Is it all recent work?
Ha! It’s good to hear that it came as a surprise. I really enjoyed working on the Distels album with Annelies Monseré and playing on some of her songs. I think those experiences were the trigger for me to want to record a new solo album again. I live in a rather small house, so I don’t really have a room in which I can record music and exclude the sound of my kids yelling and crying. Last year I had a really good schedule at school. My classes ended at 10.10 am on Mondays, which meant I had the house to myself for a couple of hours, so I put all my instruments in a corner of our hallway and decided to use my Monday afternoons to play and record music. Another reason why it took so long to record a new album was that my cassette 4-track died, and I had some bad luck buying a new one online. I ended up buying a digital 8-track, which frustrated me at the start, because I couldn’t record the songs the way I used to, burying everything in tape hiss and letting my instruments blend the old-fashioned loner bedroom folk way. It took me a while, but I’m okay with digital now. So, yes, it’s all relatively new. Most of it was recorded in the first part of 2024.
What kind of album did you want to make with »Ijsschots Veenlaag Mist«? Did you have a certain idea in mind of what you wanted to do before you started to make this album?
I just started recording some songs and improvisations like I have always done. I had a brief obsession with dungeon synth. My wife bought me a little keyboard for my 40th birthday, so I started recording some »Frodo dwelling in the woods« keyboard stuff as a joke. Then, around the same time some Dutch tankies started reviving the Dutch poet Sonja Prins. Since I have a soft spot for anything anti-capitalist, especially when poets are involved, I started reading her poetry and her biography »De Eeuw van Sonja Prins« by Lidy Nicolasen. I decided to set some of her poems to music, and from that moment onwards the idea of an album dedicated to Prins started evolving. She was such a fascinating person, saving her first money as a teenager to publish a literary magazine focusing on the international avant-garde, dedicating much of her life to the communist party but leaving it when they refused to criticize Stalin, she survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp … Then, in the 1970s she became a recluse, living in a cabin in the woods of Baarle-Nassau for the rest of her life, writing poems about her chickens. She would have been a national hero if it weren’t for her political beliefs, so I guess I wanted to contribute to the revival in my own personal way. Because her life and work deserve some attention beyond the small circle of group-masturbating intellectuals in Amsterdam.
I like the album cover by Olivier Schrauwen. »Hubert« by Ben Gijsemans and »My Boy« by Olivier must be my two favorite Belgian graphic novels.
I haven’t read »Hubert«. Thanks for recommending. I’m a huge fan of Olivier’s work. I think he’s one of the greatest Belgian artists of our generation. He was the only person I could think of who could do an album cover for this of which I was sure I would love it. It turned out great. The artwork really lifts the album to another level, I think. But hey, I’m a fanboy! You should read his new graphic novel »Zondag«. It’s amazing.
What have you been listening to lately? Do you follow new releases?
I try to follow up a little bit, but I’m less dedicated than I used to be. I still check Soundohm and The Hum now and then to see what’s new, or what Discreet Music and Knotwilg are posting, and what Aguirre took in.
Do you still buy music as physical objects?
I don’t buy as much anymore, at least not new stuff, because records have become way too expensive. I love checking out what’s in the bins of the local thrift store, though. I bought Fungus’ »Lief Ende Leid« there at the start of the summer and it has been on heavy rotation since, together with Blod.
Which role does music play in your daily live? Do you listen to music every day?
I do listen to music every day, although it’s heavily regulated by family life. My wife and children don’t like my free jazz records, so I often turn to the quiet stuff we all like. So it’s been a lot of Jake Xerxes Fussell lately, but I’m glad they can also digest my Dead Moon moments.
Do you play music daily?
I don’t play music every day, but I’m involved in a couple of projects these days, so I do play on a regular basis.
