Behind SPLINTER from the Netherlands are musicians from the legendary bands Birth Of Joy and Death Alley, who, after the end of their previous bands, wanted to create their very own interpretation of retro rock with SPLINTER. Already the debut album „Filthy Pleasures“ showed that the quartet was serious, and with the recently released second album „Role Models“ SPLINTER go one better. We talked to singer Douwe Truijens about the process of making the record, political music and danceable rock songs.
You formed SPLINTER in 2019, your debut came out in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic. How did you manage to get the band through the crisis?
Yeah, it was quite a hard start for us… The most important thing to get through that period was that we had our own rehearsal studio so we could keep making music every week. And because we had just started the band, we were super motivated and inspired. So we wrote our second album before the first one was released – true story. We had a good time in our studio and it helped us to stay sane during the ridiculous lockdown times. Also, half of Leiden, the city where we rehearse, started hanging around our rehearsal space asking if we were rehearsing that week.
The first thing that catches your eye on your new album „Role Models“ is the gaudy cover. What is the story behind the banana man?
The story is basically as clear as the cover and the title of the album: our role models are nothing more than some fancy dressed fruits. Empty-headed, rather empty people who have only their image and a Colgate smile, but no content worth anything. Fun fact: I single-handedly „designed“ this cover with AI, using the prompt: „an Andy Warhol-style banana wearing a three-piece suit“ – it came out exactly like this.
Your sound can almost be described as anarchic and reminds me of wild, also political bands from the 60s and 70s. Nowadays you hear again and again that music shouldn’t be political, it should just be fun. How do you see that?
I disagree with that statement. I think music can be, and often inherently is political. Whether it should be political and how it should be political is another question. Also, the statement is a false dichotomy – it can be political and still be fun. Our lyrics are very political, but maybe that’s not the main taste that we give to it – it’s not that you have to swallow all the political messages. By the way, I like that you describe our sound as anarchic – it’s fair to say we were not limited by any rules or preconceived notions of what the sound ought to be.
You incorporate a lot of different influences in your songs and still manage to make them sound round. How do you go about songwriting?
It’s almost always our guitarist, Sander, who comes up with the basis of the song – the riffs and structures. Then I come up with the vocal lines and the lyrics, although sometimes Sander contributes as well. Then we take it to the rehearsal room and polish it up together. Sander is a walking musical encyclopaedia and he shows me a lot of things – both old and new. I have a strong punk DNA that will always come through in one way or another. We take from all these influences. But at the end of the day we want to make a song a bit logical and compact because we want people to be able to understand the music easily. Even though we’re a rock band, we’re not afraid to use pop song structures.
Especially songs like „Soviet Schoolgirl“ or „Bottom“ sound very danceable, sexy and also poppy, but without slipping into soft, boring mainstream. How do you manage to keep this balancing act in your music?
The trick is to write all your songs between 02:00 and 07:00 in the morning, then it can’t be boring. At least that’s what Sander does (laughs). But yeah, I think the main thing is that we try not to repeat too much what has been done before. And boring mainstream is exactly that: unnecessary repetition. So even though we’re not afraid to use clichés, we avoid just adding to the pile of mainstream monotony. It should be energetic or weird, it should get people excited or confused and raise eyebrows – or all of the above.
Who came up with the idea to replace the lyrics at the end of „Opposite Sex“ with „Meow Meow“?
It was actually Sander’s cat. And it’s not „replacing’ the lyrics“, it’s just the lyrics.
„Every Circus Needs A Clown“ reminds me of the hit „Radar Love“ by Golden Earring, only with a really good Hammond organ. Did the song and the band influence you for „Every Circus Needs A Clown“?
If I say „no“, you won’t believe me. If I say „yes“, I’m not telling the truth. The thing is, Sander wrote the song (including the lyrics) and we started jamming on it. Only at first we played it twice as fast. That didn’t work, so we played it slower. Then it sounded much better. And it was only months later, when I happened to hear „Radar Love“ on the radio, that I noticed the similarities. I called Sander to point it out and he said „Yeah, I know, I noticed that last week too“. So it was more of an afterthought. BUT! I wouldn’t be surprised if Sander was inspired without realising it – these things happen when you only write songs between 02:00 and 07:00 in the morning…
„Role Models“ was produced by Mario Goossens from Triggerfinger. How did this collaboration come about and what influence did he have on the album?
Since we had written the whole album without playing live (because of the lockdowns), we needed some external reflection on the new material. We decided that for the first time we could work with a producer. We quickly thought of Mario, not least because SPLINTER were on tour in the Netherlands with his band Sloper. He was right on – which was great. He came to the rehearsal studio for a couple of sessions and just listened to the songs and made suggestions on the spot. We used that to improve things that needed it, so he definitely influenced the record in that way. He also had a very strong idea of what he wanted the record to sound like and we gave him carte blanche to do that. And we’re very happy with that decision.
You have all played in well-known Dutch bands before, which is why „SPLINTER“ is often called a supergroup. Is that a term you can relate to?
Well, if you consider other notable supergroups, like Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Them Crooked Vultures, it’s clear that SPLINTER fits right in.
You are playing a show in Berlin in September, can the rest of Germany look forward to a SPLINTER tour soon?
Oh yeah, definitely. We have very warm feelings for Germany – despite everything – and it feels like our backyard. We love playing there (the Berlin show was absolutely great). So we’re working on some German dates in the spring and sooner or later there will be a tour where Germany will be the main focus.
Finally, the Metal1 brainstorming. What is the first thing that comes to your mind about these terms:
Fruit: Only on a pizza
E-bikes: 1. It’s not a bike 2. One of the most unnecessary modernity hypes. 3. Not worthy of my anger.
Harry Potter: Lovely guy. Grossly underestimated.
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31. Oktober 2023 Juan Esteban
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