Oh Dear

Isolde Lasoen is not only drummer with DAAN, but also a versatile musician, singer, TV personality and frontwoman of her very own band, whose career takes a new turn with a brand new and ambitious album. “This is 100% what I want, this record is 100% ME”, she says about ‘Oh Dear’, which is out on 8 March.

The seeds of ‘la nouvelle Isolde’ were sown in 2021, when Isolde had a big hit in Belgium with her take on Aphrodite’s Child’s cult hit ‘The Four Horsemen’. The success gave her the desire to work on a new (‘eccentric’ in her own words) solo album, without having to stick to the rules of mainstream music. The idea was to incorporate all her influences, everything she loves, in the record: from her education as a jazz drummer to a wide variety of genres, from vintage soundtrack, psychedelia and progressive rock to French music from the 70s. Less usually means more for Isolde, but in her music she embraces bombast, with rich orchestrations, elaborate instrumentations and compelling harmonies.

It’s pretty difficult to file the album under one particular genre, then. Or is it? ‘This record IS my style. Every song has its own Isolde-like little world’, she says about the album’s 10 tracks, ranging from jazzy, melancholic and groovy to poppy and everything in between. The songs have the cinematic feel of Morricone, Mancini, François De Roubaix or early John Barry and evoke the obscure baroque pop of David Axelrod, suffused with a hint of indie à la Goldfrapp, Air or Sebastien Tellier. The opening and title track is nostalgic and atmospheric indie that has Isolde written all over it. The moving and symphonic ‘Douce Mélancolie’, starring French cult artist Bertrand Burgalat, not only seduced Belgium, but also France, where it reached the biggest radio stations and the homepage of influential music magazine ‘Les Inrocks’. ‘Oh Dear’ is packed with treasures like these, and lush instrumentals like ‘Bed & Breakfast’ and ‘Capricorn Avenue’ sit next to brilliant pop gems like ‘Something French’ and ‘Batterie’, with an irresistible parlando by DAAN, evoking the spirit of Gainsbourg.

Isolde wrote, composed and styled ‘Oh Dear’ all by herself. She built every song – now more than ever – up from the drums, vibraphone and her own voice as an instrument, which has become a signature sound and forms layered melodic lines that often define the hooks of the songs. Together with producer Tobie Speleman, she has worked hard to perfect the sound of the drums, the driving force of everything she does in music. Wietse Meys wrote the sublime arrangements for strings and horns, and for the recording sessions of the album Isolde could rely on her beloved and talented musicians.

The stunning result will be released on 8 March and presented to the audience in Belgian and Dutch venues that will do justice to the album’s overwhelming effect. Isolde Lasoen has put her heart and soul in ‘Oh Dear’. This is HER album, and the album that will define her as a Grande Dame of Belgian music.