Singer, songwriter and theater maker Stan Vreeken has another busy summer ahead of him, including a performance at De Parade.
It will indeed be busy for Stan Vreeken. First of all his next EP will be released on June 17, containing the song series Endlings – soulful pop songs about the last specimens of extinct (animal) species. In addition Stan will perform his latest music theatre show OEIRAPOEROE no less than seventy times at Dutch theater festival De Parade. Finally, the six songs from that performance – six dark variations on the love song – will be released as a concept EP.
ENDLINGS (EP)
In 2019 and 2020 Stan Vreeken performed his own music show Lonesome George. De Volkskrant (****) called it a “moving miniature of songs and monologues about ‘eindelingen’ (endlings in English). For example, Lonesome George was the last Galapagos giant tortoise to ever live. Martha was the last migratory pigeon ever. And Ayapaneco is a language in danger of extinction.
Playful and soulful
This EP had been on the shelf for a while. But because of the well-known pandemic troubles, it took a while before the production could be completed. Meanwhile everything is finished, and Stan presents Endlings to the world with great enthusiasm. He produced the five songs together with drummer/multi-instrumentalist Mats Voshol (Matsu Fox), who was also responsible for the mix. It has become a playful and soulful EP on which Stan approaches themes such as transience and extinction in a way that is characteristically cheerful and wistful for him. The single Lonesome George was already released on April 22. The entire EP appeared June 17 on all major online streaming services and will be released through boutique distributor LAB-Music. Stan released the same material during the lockdown as a live video recording.
OEIRAPOEROE (PERFORMANCE AND EP)
After earlier successes with SLUMBERLAND and Lonesome George, Stan Vreeken is back at theater festival De Parade. This time with the musical performance OEIRAPOEROE. The Oeirapoeroe – a bird – is also known as the ‘King of Love’. He only sings once a year and when he does the whole world is silent. Whoever hears him is said to live a long and happy life. But it is also said that you only hear him sing when you die. OEIRAPOEROE is a soulful pop concert, a fairy tale and a declaration of love all in one. Stan wrote the concept, the text and the music of this brand new musical performance – assisted, of course, by his regular companion: actor Jorn Heijdenrijk. For the music Stan was inspired by the enchanting melodies of a mysterious songbird from the Amazon region, about whom the most tragic (love) myths are told: the uirapurú. Stan Vreeken is again assisted musically by a great band consisting of Mats Voshol (drums), Dave Wismeijer (bass) and Floris van der Vlugt (saxophone, clarinet and keyboards).
OEIRAPOEROE plays at De Parade on:
- july 7-11 in The Hague
- 28 July to 2 August in Utrecht
- 19 to 23 August in Amsterdam.
After the summer the music from OEIRAPOEROE will also appear online.