15 Décembre 2023
From HOLLAND •
'the things you do/the things you leave behind' by Dutch indie-folk songwriter Roofman is the latest single of his upcoming album '8 songs from the bathroom', recorded in the bathroom of the Clouds Hill studios in Hamburg. As described in recent single 'a day or 5', last year Roofman decided to use the days between Christmas and New Year's for writing the new record."I always forget what I’ve been doing in between the two holidays, so writing songs during and about those particular days would give me something positive to look back on and, more importantly, an activity more productive than just waiting for a new year."
Roofman about the new single: "This is one of those rare songs that just wrote itself. While creating the melody, all these words just started to pop up and made a story. It’s about becoming what you do and about how that might affect the people and things you’ll leave behind in the end."
Wistful folk songs, which always have a certain indie fragility. Thijs van der Meulen alias Roofman has this special charisma that makes people listen to him. His melancholic songs, which he sometimes breaks with humorous announcements, have great melodies and are, in the best sense, intense. "The joy of sadness," as he calls it, seems to touch people.
"Writing the songs is a spiritual act for me," Thijs says, alluding to the fact that the melodies basically come naturally. His lyrics are about everyday life, mixed with the bigger dilemmas a man in his early 30’s needs to deal with. He’s not one to wallow though, but has the strong will to make something creative out of melancholy. "I like the warm pain, the good sad mood," he says. In tranquility, that's where the power lies.
Over the past few years, Roofman has shared the stage with a.o. Walter Martin (The Walkmen), Noah Guthrie, J.E. Sunde, Cari Cari, Eric Steckel and Matt Perriment and performed shows in the UK, Germany, France, Hungary and Spain next to his home country The Netherlands. Roofman released his debut album ‘Still The Mess I Was’ – recorded at the analogue heaven that is the Clouds Hill recording studio in Hamburg – in February 2023, followed by the 'ATL EP' – recorded in the basement studio of guitarist Rhett Shull in Atlanta – in October 2023. New album ‘8 songs from the bathroom’ is expected in March 2024.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
20.12.2023 | Cinetol, Amsterdam NL* (tickets)
28.01.2024 | Night 'n Day, Manchester UK** (tickets)
29.01.2024 | The Bodega, Nottingham UK** (tickets)
30.01.2024 | The Louisiana, Bristol UK** (tickets)
31.01.2024 | St. Pancras Old Church, London UK** (tickets)
02.02.2024 | Joriskerk, Venlo NL** (tickets)
04.02.2024 | Der Aa-Theater, Groningen NL** (tickets)
05.02.2024 | Ebertbad, Oberhausen DE** (tickets)
06.02.2024 | DAI, Tübingen DE** (tickets)
08.02.2024 | Patronaat, Haarlem NL** (tickets)
09.02.2024 | De Doelen, Rotterdam NL** (tickets)
10.02.2024 | TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht NL** (tickets)
11.02.2024 | Knust, Hamburg DE** (tickets)
12.02.2024 | Badehaus, Berlin DE** (tickets)
15.02.2024 | Mergener Hof, Trier DE** (tickets)
16.02.2024 | Café Central, Weinheim DE** (tickets)
17.02.2024 | Supersonic Records, Paris FR** (tickets)
30.03.2024 | TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht NL /album release show (tickets)
*w/ Midas
**w/ Noah Guthrie
DIFFUSION DECEMBER, 15, 2023