I have to come clean straight away. This album review is way overdue. In 2021, Wouter Kuyper sent me a copy of his – then – latest project, BmB, asking if I would want to listen to it and maybe review it if I liked the album. I did like it, but before I got around to writing the promised review life got in the way and I started my review sabbatical. A couple of weeks ago, Ge vindt wel een taal found its way back into my CD player and I fell in love with it once again. High time to finally make good on the promise I made Wouter 4 years ago.
The album starts with De nachtegael / nachtegaelgavottes, a suite of gavottes des montagnes, and it’s really interesting in many ways. First and foremost, the lyrics are in Flemish and they feel really recited, as if singer Luc Plompen is singing out a poem. Highly unusual in the balfolk world, but also really cool. Luc’s voice is perfect for this kind of sung recitation: it’s full of emotion, cuts trough the music and is slightly hoarse. Perfect to captivate any audience. The music is kept really simple: the notes seem to flow quietly while Luc is singing, but they dance like a butterfly in the sun when Luc falls silent. The song sounds slightly klezmer-like in its playfulness. A really cool start to this album that sets the tone perfectly.
The playfulness is kept in the second song, Is dit wel niet een vreemde gril. I love the Flemish language. It’s a version of Dietsch, the language we Dutch people are named after, but somehow Flemish developed into a richer, more poetic version in comparison. You can feel centuries of culture and history in it. It’s also pronounced softer, more pleasing to the ear than Dutch, and it suits the music very well. Is dit wel niet een vreemde gril sounds so playful because of it. Again the notes seem to dance around just like a group of butterflies in the sky.
Déjeuner sur l’herbe is the first instrumental song, a waltz in 3, and a lovely duet between Nick van Uden-Luteijn on accordion and Wouter Kuyper on bagpipes. Ge vindt wel een taal is a balfolk album, but it works equally well as a pure listening album. It’s the perfect album to dance to, but also to relax to after a long day of work, or to start your day happy and in a good mood.
Les vignerons / Le ménage a trois is in French and although I don’t understand the lyrics, they still give me that warm hug the whole album is giving me. It proves that Luc is the perfect singer for this delicate, ever so slightly melancholic, but oh so playful music which oozes authenticity. It feels old yet modern at the same time. On one hand, you have the poetic approach that makes it sound rich in history. The sound of the bagpipes gives me instant medieval vibes. You feel like you’re in a medieval court swirling and laughing at a feast that will carry on all night. On the other hand, the accordion pulls you into the now, as does the production. The sound is so crisp and clean, perfectly done. The music keeps its open, simplistic feel during the whole album. You don’t need much to make beautiful music. A voice, an accordion a chalumeau or some bagpipes , that’s all you hear in most of the songs. No drums, no bass, no special effects, nothing. Just the power of those rich instruments filling up the room and your good mood. Simple, really impressive and so lovely all at once; a brilliant album, as I have come to expect from Wouter Kuypers – who you off course also know from his other balfolk project, Wouter en de Draak.
Another strength of BmB is that they keep the listener interested by adding little surprises. A recorder comes in at track 5, the BmB-wals. Marching drums walk in at track 7, Prince d’Orange (making this the first time I noticed any kind of percussion on this album). Bagpipes suddenly take the lead on Kievit and just when you are easing into the end of the album, thinking you have heard it all, Niki van der Schuren joins Luc with the most perfect Yorkshire accent to change the whole feel of the album for a moment. A fun clash of English pub folk and the timeless melancholic troubadour folk that BmB have been playing all along. And I haven’t even touched the perfect harmonies from the three gentlemen you hear on Lou diziou bè / bourrée a Ribeyrolle. It makes Ge vindt wel een taal into what it is: a very enjoyable, well-made record.
The order of songs is also perfect. We go from a waltz to a tricot, from a jig to a polka, from a mazurka tot a bourrée. The rhythms change constantly to keep you interested: from slow but light to fast and cheerful, but always with this reminiscent, timeless feel and with that ever-so-slightly melancholic feel that is so typical for the sound of the accordion, chalumeau, bagpipes and recorder and that is also an intricate part of the French and Flemish language.
Throughout the entire album I could see balfolk dancers swirl and turn before me when I closed my eyes, but I could also see those butterfly notes dancing, making this a wonderful album not only for dancers, but for everyone who enjoys good music. Have a glass of wine, settle somewhere in the sun with a good book, or just sit on the couch an close your eyes. This is the perfect album to calm you, yet bring you into the best mood possible. Ge vindt wel een taal is a beautiful CD that absolutely deserves its moment in the spotlight with this CeltCast review – even if I’m 4 years late.
Cliff
editor: Iris
Pictures 1,3: Kees Stravers (FB)
Picture 2: Obed Brinkman (IG)
Video: BmB at Cadanza
You can find BmB here:
- Website: https://www.bmbfolk.nl
- Facebook: @BmBfolk
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WouterKuyper (channel of Wouter Kuyper)