Folk Radio UK is pleased to present ‘Alternate Reality’, the brand new single from Dutch-English singer/songwriter Gitta de Ridder. The track is taken from the her forthcoming debut album and having featured Gitta in an ‘Introducing’ article earlier this year (with editor Alex Gallacher describing her as being a ‘wonderful singer’ with a ‘remarkable voice’), it’s an album that here at FRUK we’re keen to get our hands on, so much so that ‘Alternate Reality’ has been chosen as Song of the Day:
I met up with Gitta earlier this month to talk about the single and the album. As we sat drinking coffee on the wettest of London mornings, Gitta explained that the single is a story about curiosity. “It stemmed from being in a relationship, in a position where you realize that there are other things going on outside that might spark your interest. I guess you can feel like the grass is greener somewhere else. I think it’s something that goes through your whole life, the idea that there’s a choice you haven’t made that could be leading you somewhere else”.
For this single, like all of de Ridder’s solo work to date, a live take sits at the core of the recording process…something that started last year with a single she recorded with Jeremy Stacey. “We just did a one take live recording and added some piano, which showed me that the live element was really important to me in how I wanted to work. So then when we did the EP (‘Come Find Me’ released in January 2015), we did the same, two days of rehearsing and then we just recorded the thing live because I just wanted that sort of vibe. But I feel the album is much more layered, it’s got a lot more depth to it. Even though the fundamental of it is really live…it’s just me and a guitar in one take, that’s how I’ve done all the tracks…I’ve layered onto it so there’s a lot of harmonies and a lot of chorally things. There are lots of little instruments…a crazy amount of little percussion things, melodica, child piano. Things like that, child instruments, which has been really fun actually.”
The album has been recorded entirely at Gitta’s home and with the exception of guest artists on bass and cello, she’s recorded the project entirely herself. “I started it as demoing” she explains, “trying to work out what I wanted to do when I went into the studio. I’d done a few tracks and sent them around to some producer and musician friends. They all said ‘Why would you re-record it? Just get it mixed and see what it ends up as.’ I was like ‘Surely I can’t get away with that, it’s just my home recording?’ Then I got it mixed by a few different people to see, and I thought, yeah…why not?”
The album is a culmination of years spent exploring music. Having grown up in a musical family, singing in a kid’s choir and playing violin, the young Gitta de Ridder was always destined to pursue a creative outlet. “I was always making things from clay, messing around crafting stuff, sewing things”. Her creative passion is evident in the work she’s released to date, including the wonderfully cute stop motion video for ‘Come Find Me’.
When it came to music however, de Ridder navigated a number of twists and turns before settling on her current sound. Influenced during her teenage years in Holland by Nirvana, Green Day and Marilyn Manson, she initially wrote and played electric guitar in a rock band (“surprisingly in English, even though my English was terrible!”) before later taking an interest in electronic music. This led to a two-year project with her husband making electronic music, but it left her feeling the need to break free from the genre and just focus on words and simplicity. She’s equally cautious, however, about attracting a label of ‘folk’. “For me it’s not about folk. It’s about the guitar and the voice, the simplicity of that…and the words. I guess because that’s classed as folk, that would be my category. I don’t write poppy pop songs, but I don’t write folk songs either…I’m kind of somewhere in between and I guess that’s because of my background. I’ve never only listened to folk music…I always loved these pop music things that were very commercial I guess, so you take that with you in some way if you’re writing.”
Aside from the simplicity, the other prominent aspect of de Ridder’s work is her lyrical interest in people and relationships. “I’ve tended to focus on the lyrics during the last year and a half…it’s just been about the words really. I guess it’s based on a feeling or something you see happen. It’s a lot about human nature and the way we deal with things and interact with other people. I’m quite interested in philosophy and psychology, there’s a lot of that…it’s quite an emotional thing. Usually I’ll have a lyric and then I’ll sit down with my guitar and then within a couple of hours I tend to have a song. Sometimes not…but most of the times it’s quick because I keep it so simple in the guitar and melody.”
In fact it’s her interest in people that keeps Gitta motivated as a musician. “It’s the beautiful thing of music that you get to travel and you end up having conversations with people you’ve never met and they have interesting stories to tell. I’m really enjoying the living room concerts because it’s so direct and you get to a have a conversation with people and you feel like you get to know them a bit. The fact that you can write something from personal experience and someone understands it and feels the same way about it in their own world…I think it’s amazing if you can make that connection. Last week I had a guy come up to me after a show wanting to buy the CD and he said ‘We loved it, you made my wife cry’. It’s amazing you can do that with some words and a melody. I think that’s the most valuable thing about being a singer…”
As we sit and chat, it’s clear that this ability to ‘connect’ with her audience is something that Gitta reflects heavily on. “I think it’s really important to stay with yourself and be honest about where you’re at…and also how you translate that to people. I think as artists everyone goes through a phase of shouting for attention, which actually does the opposite, it pushes people away. I’m learning what’s actually important and where the focus needs to be and why…”
I leave Gitta to get back to the process of talking to labels and planning a UK and Holland tour to coincide with the album release, currently set for sometime in 2016. As we stand up to leave, I ask Gitta if she’s excited about the prospect of releasing the album. “I’m terrified” she admits, “It’s one of those things…you play music from when you’re young, you release an EP…then you think this is not quite there yet, it’s not quite what I want to do. So you keep changing direction. This is the first time I’m on a path that feels right.”
Interview by: Rob Bridge
‘Alternate Reality’ is available to download today from bandcamp
Live Dates
Gitta De Ridder will be performing at the following venues between now and Christmas:
Oct 09 // Popronde Arnhem, Hijman Ongerijmd // Arnhem, Netherlands
Oct 10 // Popronde Haarlem, Toneelschuur // Haarlem, Netherlands
Oct 15 // Popronde Assen, Liff // Assen, Netherlands
Oct 16 // Popronde Tilburg, TIEN // Tilburg, Netherlands
Oct 31 // Cafeetje van Marja // Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Nov 01 // Popronde Hoorn, Local // Hoorn, Netherlands
Nov 05 // Popronde Emmen, Chez Nous // Emmen, Netherlands
Nov 15 // Popronde Hilversum, Il Divino // Hilversum, Netherlands
Nov 27 // Volver Live // Tilburg, Netherlands
Nov 29 // Grand Cafe Cornelis // Epe, Netherlands
Dec 06 // Sound of Songs, Servant Jazz Quarters // London, United Kingdom
This article is part of an ongoing new series of photo / interview features on Folk Radio UK from Rob Bridge, a photographer, writer and film-maker specialising in folk, acoustic and Americana music. You can contact him on twitter @redwoodphotos
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