awkward i

awkward i is the musical umbrella of Djurre de Haan. De Haan grew up in the northern parts of Holland. In the city of Groningen De Haan recorded his music in his bathroom, and other damp small spaces, for some five or six years. When the confines of the bathroom proved to be too small, he used an empty garage instead. The natural reverb that sugarcoated this environment made De Haan want to start experimenting with the landscape for his music.

awkward i is the musical umbrella of Djurre de Haan. De Haan grew up in the northern parts of Holland. In the city of Groningen De Haan recorded his music in his bathroom, and other damp small spaces, for some five or six years. When the confines of the bathroom proved to be too small, he used an empty garage instead.

The natural reverb that sugarcoated this environment made De Haan want to start experimenting with the landscape for his music. Like the bathroom, Groningen, although a vibrant and energetic college town, gradually felt more like a forest robbed of all its secrets. De Haan tried to escape the obstructing familiarity by moving first to rural Pennsylvania, and next to similar surroundings in Michigan. Ironically, he ended up, again, in Holland, Michigan. The years in the US proved to be very determining, seeing that they gave De Haan an opportunity to explore the English language thoroughly.

De Haan had always been looking for stories in history and in whatever types of texts he could find, studying literature, wherever he was. Looking back on it now, De Haan realizes that this was “always with the intention of recycling things into my music, not my degree.” Again like bathrooms and cities without secrets, De Haan decided that studying language and literature at university was just a tool on the road to somewhere else, not some final destination. He moved to Amsterdam and started looking for, and finding, all sorts of musicians. Four of them were in a band called Alamo Race Track (Excelsior Recordings, Fargo, Minty Fresh).

A lot of musical cross-fertilization was going at this time among many musicians in the Amsterdam-area, but De Haan started working most intensely with the guys from Alamo. Finally, De Haan cut all ties to his past, parental advice and academe, and decided to join Alamo Race Track in September 2007. He plunged himself into a joyride tour through large parts of Europe and the US. The sudden burst of movement and energy that resulted from being on the road for long periods of time artistically benefited awkward i. In the summer of 2008 now band-member Diederik Nomden (Redivider, Daryll-Ann, Johan, Paulusma) convinced De Haan that it was about time to record an album.

During the recording sessions, cellist and bassplayer Jelte van Andel (Ghosttrucker) joined awkward i as well. Others came, went, and contributed (such as the Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Silje Nes, and Brooklyn-based songwriter Dawn Landes) but in the end Nomden, Van Andel and De Haan remained awkward i. In December 2008 Excelsior Recordings decided to release awkward i’s album “I Really Should Whisper” (September 2009). Before any deals were cut or any records were made, awkward I managed to be invited for several important showcase-festivals such as Eurosonic/Noorderslag, SWSX, and NXNE.

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