Interview with River of Souls (Netherlands) Vocalist Burt de Greef

November 27, 2020

Interview with River of Souls (Netherlands) Vocalist Burt de Greef

By Mick Michaels

The Cosmick View: Hello, Bart and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
Bart de Greef: Thanks for having us!

CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
BdG: Doomed Heavy Death would be our best genre description. Furthermore, our music is guitar oriented with a focus on the musical journey on which we combine styles if necessary. The vocals vary from low grunts to more clean but raw sounding vocals. Or as a reviewer once put it: “A fine flow of molten metal that solemnly waltzes forward on a dark stygian stream until it reaches its destination.”
Check out the track “Of Pit and Snare” of our new album “Usurper” on YouTube for a taste of our sound and style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsYZXQHps34

CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
BdG: This connection can already be made from just releasing your music and get people to really listen to it. I remember listening to Iron Maiden as a kid and feeling a very close connection to the music, the atmosphere, the lyrics and even the band members after reading interviews and seeing them perform on live videos. Our albums are composed in a way that they are best listened to from the beginning to the end in one session. That is how we try to make the first musical connection. Live shows have to do the rest.

CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
BdG: First of all we create our music out of a personal artistic urge to do so. But from there on fan interaction becomes an important part because where would we be without people enjoying our music, giving us their opinion about it and of course coming to our shows.

CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
BdG: Our fanbase is not that huge so this is something we have yet to experience, LOL. But I think interacting with fans in real life, especially directly after a show, really adds value in various ways. Always great to meet new people, share experiences and just have a good time. When it gets too personal you just adjust and learn from the experience I guess.

CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
BdG: I feel that in some cultures and countries music is more important than in others, and treated in a different way. In modern culture songs are often treated as disposables and are maybe also created as such on purpose. On the other hand, traditional, indigenous music mixed with folklore can have great meaning for certain groups of people…far greater than the next fleeting cheesy pop hit. This is also true for more obscure and often less popular subgenres of Metal. By being more “underground” a special feeling is created among listeners, a bond maybe, which can transcend cultures and countries and create a new culture in itself in a certain way…

CV: Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
BdG: I can’t speak for Americans, but here in the Netherlands foreign bands tend to intrigue audiences more than indigenous acts..which is sometimes strange because we have so many really good bands, old and new, originating from our own little country as well. Luckily, foreign acts are often combined with Dutch acts at live events here, which is really important to balance the exposure and keep things diverse. I also really like it when I go to a show and one or two bands are new to me. I discovered some real hidden gems that way.

CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
BdG: I don’t think so. What makes an artist? It’s the music that counts and when it is exposed to the audience it has to survive on its own and prove its worth, no matter how it came to life in the first place.

CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
BdG: Artists who follow trends do so wittingly but setting a trend is not done on purpose I believe. It’s just creativity spinning in a new direction and lucky enough to do so at a right time and place.

CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
BdG: If appeasing fan tastes is the only drive for creating sub-genre music than I don’t think that will add much value to the music scene, but tastes will differ of course. It will definitely make it harder to get noticed for other, more original or musically more “interesting” bands. Sub-genres can also enrich the scene as well, as long as the music itself has enough “soul”, or better, a whole river full of souls…

CV: What can fans except to see coming next from you?
BdG: Koen, Mathijs and I are currently writing the first outlines of a few tracks for an EP. We have plans to do a live session in the rehearsal room once the recording gear is all set up. But most of all we look forward to do some real live shows again. Hard to tell what will happen in the near future....

CV: Thanks again Bart for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
BdG: Thank you for the support!

Check out River of Souls at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riverofsoulsband/
Official: www.riverofsouls.nl
Bandcamp: https://riverofsouls.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4YTY52z5Uietm2rBUhhvel
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChSwGREYDEUw9AMhk0dE_Nw

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.