ERUPTION ARTISTIQUE

Q: What inspired the song “HIHA The Acid Alpaca”?

The song is mainly inspired on the Beat poet; Pete Brown. I have always creative periods, where I listen to specific artists that inspire me while I am working on a song. When I was writing HIHA the Acid Alpaca it was the band: Cream. The surrealistic and abstract words of Brown made me feel completely open and free again. His artistic freedom invited me to do the same as he did.

Q: The lyrical process of “HIHA The Acid Alpaca” is pretty abstract and playful. What was your creative process in respect of writing the lyrics?

When I am digging into an inspiring artist or movement I always try to read as much literature (and watch many documentaries) from, and about, this period. While working on this track I mainly read the works of Joan Didion. Her new journalism on the 60’ was amazing to absorb.

Q: You refer to yourself throughout the chorus as a “little Horse.” What does the horse mean to you, in context with the song?

The song is all about this ‘tragic metaphor’. It is about an Alpaca that really wants to be a beautiful horse. The Alpaca knows this isn’t going to happen and is trying to disappear/ vanish in narcotics. There is also this Venus in Furs aspect. The Alpaca prefers to be a Little Horse. The Alpaca is so in love with the concept of horse and the idea of transformation that it prefers to be humiliated…He Kiss and Crawl

Q: Explain what you mean by “completely ponypacked”. It’s such a weirdly interesting choice of words.

The Pony part refers to the little horse. In the Netherlands a ‘ponypack’ is something where they put your narcotics in. It is a white envelope with the sign of a pony inside. Another narcotic slang thing is of course “horse”. The fact that a woman (lady) sings she is a (little) horse, refers to the slang for heroin: lady horse.

Q: This line, “I can’t be seen with other Women / I can’t be seen with you”, feels mysterious. Like, if there was an underlying meaning or story behind those lines, it would be cool to know.

The Alpaca is not feeling sure at all. The Alpaca is afraid to be seen with beautiful horses, probably is in love with a horse, but is too afraid to ride with them. He feels he is simply not good enough to be one of them. They will make fun of him or maybe hurt him.

Q: More of “HIHA The Acid Alpaca” being symbolic or literal? How do you think surreal imagery should be perceived by listeners?

I’m not a native speaker. I’m from the Netherlands. Dutch songs with Dutch Lyrics were horror to me (and still are). Since I was a child I became obsessed with listening to English lyrics that I didn’t understand. For me this gave a song something mysterious. The lyrics and poetry Jim Morrison wrote were extremely attractive to me. I had my own visions and ideas popping up when I was listening. This was pure poetry and creative freedom.

Q: The lyrics are light-hearted but often dive deeper into topics of identity and freedom, for example. How much did you try to aim for this balance between fun and meaning while writing?

To be honest…I really don’t know the answer to this question. I think it just felt right. It’s a little bit of humor, but also a tragic metaphor for life in general. I think I always like to camouflage insecurity with humor.

Q: How would you want the listener to feel when listening to “HIHA The Acid Alpaca”?

I always hope my music will make people feel good. That’s the most important mission. I think this is what art in general should do. It must bring people to a better (higher) place.

Q: Where in your songs does your personal experience come into the lyrical content?

I’m pretty happy with my life, but I truly hate the feeling that you don’t belong in a specific group of persons. The feeling I have when I look to people when they act if they are from another planet can make me anxious. Music has always been my escape plan. I just start singing a song in my head and everything disappears. Since I write my own music this mechanism is working even better. That’s one of the reasons I focus so strongly on catchy hooks. Singing those hooks in my head gives me peace of mind.

Q: Do you write the lyrics first and then the music, or do the melodies guide your lyrical content?

I always write the chorus first on my guitar. Mostly I have a vague idea about a certain expression in my head. This can be a horse screaming ; HIHA, or a Vicar that starts dancing after he sees a beautiful woman. When I’m happy with the chorus and the words on it, I start investigating. The expression is always (directly or indirectly) based on a writer or movie or book. So when I know where to search I start digging in the subject and hope to find words for the other lyrics.

Q: Your lyrics often read like surreal. What artists or writers have influenced your style of songwriting?

I love reading Beat Poetry (and the biographies of those poets) . I think many lyrics are coming from those artists.

Q: Do you think that “HIHA The Acid Alpaca” captures the overall feel of your music, or is it more of an experimentation song to you?

I think my other lyrics are a little bit less surrealistic. But because we have a female and male singer I always love to play with that. One moment a girl is singing to a boy and the other moment the girl is singing to another girl. Or a boy to another boy. This is my direct homage to the concept of love. Not to force myself to be progressive, but because I truly think love is the most powerful thing in life (together with Art).

Q: Are there more songs in your discography that have abstract themes across the board, as you did in “HIHA The Acid Alpaca”?

I’m now re-writing an old song called Vicar Pop. The song is going to be completely different and also the lyrics are going to be different. The song is for one of my best mates. It’s a love song. Where the main character shakes up the world like the ancient Gods were able to do. He is in every eye of every storm and forces people to celebrate beauty and life. Religion is not working in this song, but the Messiah can be found around every corner.

Q: How do you feel your audience connects with some of the more surreal elements in your lyrics? Have you ever gotten interpretations from listeners that surprised you?

I think the listeners are quite accustomed to the surrealistic and vague lyrics, because our visuals are even stranger and more surrealistic. Eruption Artistique & The Smackbar is a band making Psychedelic Indie Rock, but also an Art project that makes surrealistic visuals. You can check them out on our Youtube page and Instagram account. We spend as much time creating the visuals as we do on making songs.

Q: The title is the name, “HIHA The Acid Alpaca.” That’s a pretty crazy title. How did that come about? What does it mean to you?

The demo version of the song was originally called: HIHA. We loved to do something with complete opposite animals for our visuals. The strange and not so beautiful Alpaca versus the ancient beauty of the horse. While filming for HIHA The Acid Alpaca, we walked with Alpaca’s through the woods. When I looked in the animals eyes, I could only think: damn you are an ugly little horse.

Q: Do you feel like your music is more storytelling, or are you trying to create a mood and take the listener on more of an experiential thing?

Absolutely about the mood. I’m not a good enough writer in English to tell a good story. I’m not like Lou Reed. I’m a history teacher in Rotterdam and there I can tell enough good stories. My music is my fantasy and escape plan: strange is good enough. I do hope our music will end up one day in a movie story. It would be so awesome to hear our music in a (Arthouse) movie. This would make me really happy.

Q: What kind of creative freedom do you find in writing such abstract, playful lyrics compared with some more straightforward songwriting?

To stay in the cliché: it feels like freedom and expression. Many times I’m not able to deal with my feelings and ideas in my head. This is the way to put them in place. And I also think that a ‘poetry’ kind of lyrics better suits our music and visuals.

Q: Do you feel like your lyrics are something that evolves from project to project, or do you work at keeping a consistent style?

For me making music is one of the coolest things to do in life. Writing lyrics is part of that. I do it seriously, although I know that we are a small Indie band with a small group of listeners. Creating art is serious business. The fact I call it art has nothing to do with snobbism, it has everything to do with the deep LOVE and respect I feel for music . I know this is not the answer on your question, but I liked to end with these words. Cheers