Despite their debut album's big success, a few years later Johan consisted of only two members of the original band. At that point it seemed that the end of the band was near, especially because of the personal problems singer Jacco de Greeuw had at that time. But with the arrival of new band members, he started to write some excellent new songs, which you can find on the new album 'Pergola'. Time to talk to the front man: "I'm very happy I've closed that fucked-up period with an album I'm very satisfied with."

by norbert pek

What was your aim when you started to work on 'Pergola'? What was it you were trying to reach?

"There wasn't really an aim for 'Pergola'. For a long time it seemed there wouldn't be any record at all. After all, there wasn't a band anymore, and because of a personal crisis I didn't have the motivation to start all over. But when things fell into place again, I wasn't thinking about how to work differently, compared to the debut. I started from scratch again.In the past four years I've grown as a songwriter, at least I hope so."

What's your most important motive to keep on making music?

"It has become something self-evident, it goes without saying. It's a habit that really gives me a rush, at least when it works."

The press is unanimously positive about 'Pergola'. Did you ever expect that this would still happen?

"I never would have expected that there would be such a fuss about 'Pergola'. Of course, I knew we made a beautiful album. But I assumed that people had forgotten us in the meantime and the attention for 'Pergola' was going to be moderate. But that isn't the case at all. And that feels very good."

What's different about working with the new band members?

"The last Johan-crew was a group of friends who had been together long before the existence of Johan. That was also the feeling when we recorded our first record. No nonsense, just have a lot of fun and show the world how it has to be done. A kind of protest against all of the fucked-up music around. I think that's also the charm of our debut. Four and a half years later I try to raise this spirit again with a new group of people, and it works out quite all right, I think. We're with a group of friends again, with similar interests and taste. The only difference is we have better musicians, so the music becomes more interesting."

The lyrics on 'Pergola' are quite personal. Do you also have a song in which you tell the most important thing?

"On every song on 'Pergola' I tell personal things, but the whole story has been divided between the twelve songs. Of course there is also a lot of fantasy involved, but the things I find important have been built in. Every song is a combination between nonsense and reality. Hey, this is really deep..."

The song 'Tomorrow' sounds quite happy, but the lyrics show something else. What is the song about?

"It's a naive look at the end of the world."

Is there a clear timeline somewhere in the songwriting process involving the themes? Is 'I Feel Fine' one of the most recent songs you've written?

"Indeed, 'I Feel Fine' is one of the most recent songs I've written. You try to find out how far you can go in every song without becoming pathetic, but at a certain point it was time to modify. I just wanted to make a lot of noise and tell myself I had to stop attitudinizing. Because I feel fine."

What's the main thing you've paid attention to about the order and construction of the songs on the record?

"A song is a song. You don't think about the order in advance. This is something you start to think about when everything is ready. The only thing I knew was that 'Here' had to be at the end, and 'I Feel Fine' had to be in the middle. A good construction of the record is very important, but it's something that falls into place automatically. In the past, you had A- and B-sides on vinyl records. Back then, the order was much more important than now. Which imbecile ever invented the shuffle button for CD-players?"

On the record you descibe every state of mind very literally (e.g. "when insanity becomes a state of mind/how does it feel to be out there alone/with nowhere to run to and nothing to calm you down"). Why do you choose to say it so directly?

"Because I think it is much cooler to say things very directly. In that way everything is really sharp. It is often sad when you're being cryptic or vague when you try to put a state of mind into words. That's exactly how you can make it pathetic."

Do you feel you've left your bad period behind you? And is the album a good closing of it?

"Yes, I'm very happy I've closed that fucked-up period with an album I'm very satisfied with."

In how far is it still hard to sing and talk about that period? You could say 'Pergola' directly leads to this.

"I don't find it tough to sing about it because I've finished the songs. They're on a record, and in a certain way I can refrain from them. And it also isn't hard to talk about it. But sometimes I feel embarrassed because I can't imagine people are interested in my shit."

How are you going to work things out differently than at the time of the debut?

"To start working on a new album much, much sooner!"