Singer Hartog Eysman pours his heart out at every performance. Often compared to Damien Rice, Fink or Thom Yorke, every single word comes straight from the heart.
Hartog Eysman (Amsterdam, 1968) has a wide musical horizon. He started out playing bass in rock and crossover bands. Later he began to sing and write songs. Then he studied Vocals at conservatory. In 2001 Hartog became a teacher at the conservatory in Arnhem.
Singer and songwriter
Hartog mostly sings self written songs and lyrics. He started writing in the late 80’s. Nowadays he likes to write songs together with his duo partners (see below). The lyrics are his, though. He also likes to sing a cover song now and then, but only if he can really make his own version out of it – with respect to the original. In his songwriting he likes to create space for improvisation and reinterpretation.
Eclectic
As you can see below, Hartog has always been interested in many different styles of music. It’s natural for him to mix styles, or to push the boundaries sometimes with unexpected combinations. Poprock, jazz, indie, singer-songwriter, soul, electronic, are styles that he really dug into for years and they became a part of his own personal style. “In my head, different kinds of music come together to mix and mingle, exchange rhythms and melodies. I have all these associations. It’s almost like I hear more than one music at the same time.”
Different every time
“I can’t sing a song the same way every time. I want to reinterpret, to create it new at every performance. As if I just wrote it. Like, if the song would be a house, I’m still discovering new rooms and windows to look out of.
To play a song with a new musician or in a different instrumentation also changes the way I sing it. It’s all about listening. But also opening up to emotion and imagination.”
Improvisation has become a natural part of his singing. While exploring the sound and its emotional possibilities, Hartog’s improvising remains melodic and relatable.
