In Wonderland Hooverphonic

• 1In Wonderland04:39
• 2I Like the Way I Dance03:04
• 3Badaboum03:17
• 4Cocaine Kids03:17
• 5Deep Forest03:23
• 6Thin Line03:13
• 7Hiding in a Song03:09
• 8Praise Be03:02
• 9God's Gift03:32
• 10Moving03:38
• Total Runtime34:14

Info for In Wonderland

Coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the band, Hooverphonic’s ninth studio album In Wonderland offers a collection of singles sung by several vocalists.

Twenty years already… Since 1995, the Belgian band has never ceased to make cinematic pop music that some still insist on calling trip-hop although Alex Callier, the group’s creative mastermind, prefers the term retro futurism. After listening to the band’s latest opus, no doubt that this word will stick.

Throughout its two decades’ existence, Hooverphonic has acquired a legendary status in its motherland. Indeed, the hit-making band is nothing less than a cherished national cultural institution in Belgium. The recent success of funky Badaboum, to which sensuous French singer Emilie Satt (Madame Monsieur) lends her voice, contributes to this reputation.

The band spins around the creative heart of the group: bass player and producer Alex Callier and guitarist Raymond Geerts. Over the past twenty years, Hooverphonic was joined by ever-changing line-up of vocalists including Liesje Sadonius, Kyoko Baertsoen, Esther Lybeert, Geike Arnaert and Noémie Wolfs.

Alex enthuses: “Until now, we always made an album for a Cinderella. We were always trying to find the right slipper for the right princess – the right song for the right voice. So we decided to turn the rational around and to look at a wide variety of slippers”. Thence the male and female voices on the album. Alex continues: “Sometimes you write songs that aren’t right for a woman, so this time we thought: why not use a man?”

"Hooverphonic has always been an album band," says Alex. "Our albums were made as the soundtracks for non-existent movies. Each one had its very own atmosphere, sometimes dark and psychedelic, sometimes glamorous and playful. Some had a sixties Audrey Hepburn film vibe, whilst others were reminiscent of James Bond flicks. In Wonderland is completely different.”

“We’re sixties fanatics. Back then, singles were more popular than albums. Then came The Beatles’ 1966 Revolver, which drastically changed the game and became the first concept album, not just a collection of singles. In the era of Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music, we’ve gone back to square one and once again, singles are more important than albums. In Wonderland was conceived as a collection of five singles, with as many universes and flavours, with an A side and a flip B side.”

“In the sixties, A-sides were more marketable whereas B-sides were more abstract, more audacious. In terms of popularity, the B-side sometimes even surpassed the A-Side. That’s the concept we played with on In Wonderland because sometimes, you don’t go to the airwaves with the A-Side.”

Who are the voices on the album? London-born singer/cellist Janie Price AKA Bird provides the vocals on title track In Wonderland and I Like The Way I dance; singer songwriter Felix Howard sings God's Gift / Moving, whilst Litlo Tinz accompanies aforementioned Parisian Emilie Satt on Badaboum / Cocaine Kids. Belgian Haitian Christa Jérôme (Marc Moulin, Starflam) sings Deep Forest / Thin Line while Amsterdam based Tjeerd Bomhof, who contributes to renowned Voicst, Dazzled Kid and recently Dazzled Sticks, sings Hiding In A Song / Praise Be.

“It’s a true European amalgamation!” Laughs Alex. “The songs were recorded in different locations, including a small Norwegian island, a town near Milan, a London living room and our Belgian studio. All these tracks are collaborations and the singers all co-wrote their tunes, which are all drastically different. Partnerships broaden your horizons; they keep you fresh and on your toes whilst allowing you to evolve. Standing still is like going backwards. Interbreeding with other artists will draw you out of your comfort zone”.

Example: “Badaboum bursts with soul influences, a style Hooverphonic had never broached. In Belgium, Badaboum is proving hugely successful, although listeners don’t immediately realize who’s behind the hit! We have Litlo Tinz to thank for these influences. Tjeerd systematically injects a groove in his tracks whilst Christa delivers a hybrid, warm, delicate yet dark sound. Similarly, when Felix Howard picks up a bass guitar, the sounds are instantly much groovier than those that I’ll come up with. Overall, In Wonderland is a much groovier piece than past albums.

Alex: “I’m a retro-futurist. I love to combine the past with today’s high-tech. That’s what fascinates me. I think that Badaboum is a mixture between a disco track and a Hitchcock soundtrack, a bizarre clash between a dance beat and melancholy strings”.

Hooverphonic’s orchestral approach hasn’t changed one iota. Ever since Alex Callier first came across Serge Gainsbourg’s Manon in his father’s record collection, strings have never ceased to tug at his heart. “Everything completely changed for me that day” (…) “David Bowie’s string arrangements in his early days also deeply influenced me”.

Strings are the red thread of Hooverphonic’s work and can be found in early tracks Mad About You and Eden, The Night Before and Anger Never Dies and now Badaboum. This goes to explain why Hooverphonic need a 17-person band when playing live! “It’s very dramatic and emotional to see a typical pop band on stage with 10 strings! Strings can make a grown boy cry and will give you goose bumps”. On In Wonderland, nine songs out of ten have strings.

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