1. You’re a musician for a long time and have played in several bands. Tell us some more about what you have been doing before Frozen Rain.

I’ve started my musical career as a singer and guitar player in bands that mostly played covers. Later I switched to keys. In 1988 I’ve put together a real AOR band called ‘Rhyana’. That was the best band I’ve ever played with and we had a great line-up with the Swedish vocalist Timo Hara. Our single ‘I have a dream’ got much airplay on the national radio stations but the beginning of the nineties were hard times for AOR. That was the main reason the band finally decided to stop. In 1994 I recorded some demo songs and was offered a record deal by Long Island Records. Sadly enough I didn’t have the chance to release an album then . The record company had to deal with lots of problems and finally broke up. After that set back I decided to do something totally different. I felt there was a great need for new songs for children. It took me six years to record 3 double CD’s with songs for children. I also wrote 3 music books for teachers to use in school. At this moment a big part of the Flemish primary schools is working with my songs.

2. Your dream to make an AOR album has been realized now and for me the recordings sound like a real band. You have decided to record the songs with several vocalists and musicians instead of working with a band. What led to your decision to let Frozen Rain be a project?

During all the years playing as a musician I met some very talented musicians who became good friends. Working on a project like Frozen Rain gave me the ideal opportunity to work together with all of them which wouldn’t have been possible when I played in a band. I also believe that bringing all the qualities of these musicians and singers together made the album much stronger. The making of this album has been a fantastic experience for me.

3. I know that there was a lot of planning and organization necessary with all the musicians involved, your day time job and not to forget your family. Can you tell us a bit more about your time schedule during the last years?

When I took the decision to make the AOR album I had always dreamed of I didn’t want to feel any time pressure to get things finished. That’s why I preferred to record the album in my own home studio. There also wasn’t a budget available to record in a big studio. In 2001 I started to write new songs with the Swedish lyricist Andy Flash. The year thereafter I recorded the first demo versions in my home studio that I was just building up and that was far from complete. When I finally was able to buy myself better recording equipment the real recordings began. The very first versions of the songs had programmed drums cause I wasn’t able to record good live drums then. I recorded all the keyboard parts, a temporary bass line and a vocal track sung by myself. When I had finished these basic tracks the other musicians recorded their parts one after another. One of the very first that added his guitar parts was no one else than Tommy Denander. Most part of the album has been recorded in my home studio but other parts have been recorded in the U.K., the U.S.A. and Sweden. About two years ago I was contacted by Daniel Flores who offered me to play the drums on the album. His offer came on the perfect time cause I was already thinking to have all the programmed drums replaced by real drums. There’s nothing better than live drums and Daniel did a terrific job. The past year I’ve been busy with the mixing of the album. Because of my work and family situation it wasn’t always easy to find the necessary time to mix. That’s why I’m glad I had some help from Steve Newman (Newman) and Jim Santos (Norway) for a few tracks.

4. There are a lot of guest musicians and singers on your record. Some well known ones like Tommy Denander, Steve Newman, Daniel Flores & Jim Santos but also names that will sound unfamiliar to most listeners. How did you choose these players and singers for the individual tracks and how was it working with them?

When I started to work on the album I never thought I would have the chance to work with some of my personal idols like Tommy & Steve so I don’t have to tell you how glad I am to have them on the album. Both have added a lot to the sound. Most of the other players are good friends I already knew before so I knew what they were capable of. I had a pretty good idea in what songs I wanted to use them. Finding the right vocalists was a more difficult thing. In this kind of music you really need to have a good lead vocalist. It took me two years to find the singers I was looking for. Some songs needed a powerful voice, other tunes had some very high notes that not every singer can sing. I saw singer Johan Waem the first time on television during the ‘pop idol contest” where he ended as one of the last 20 candidates. While hearing Johan sing I knew right away that he had the perfect voice for several Frozen Rain songs. I called Johan and he liked the idea of singing on the Frozen Rain CD. The recordings with him turned out fine and we had a great time in the studio. Ollie Oldenburg (ex-Zinatra) & Maurice Saelmans are two singers from Holland I discovered after putting an advertisement on a website for vocalists. Both have a very large vocal range which I needed in several songs. I hope to be able to work with them again in the future cause they’re both fantastic singers with a professional attitude. The two other lead singers on the album are from Belgium. Dirk Cauwels is a good friend I know for many years and Peter De Zutter I met thanks to a mutual friend of ours. On the album I also wanted to try out a duet. Just listen to ‘On the run’ where Ollie Oldenburg & Dirk Cauwels alternate all the time. I’m very glad with the way that song turned out.

5. How would you describe your music?

When I write music it always comes from the heart... The most important thing for me is that a song has a catchy melody, a strong chorus and a well thought-out song structure. When I’m working out the arrangement I always try to find a good balance between guitars and keyboards. Add on top of that all some expressive vocals and you have a good song in my opinion. Fans often tell me that my music makes them feel happy and they can hear the emotions through the music & singing which is very nice to hear for a songwriter.

6. The Frozen Rain album is finally out now. What about the future? Will you go on tour to promote the album? Will there come a second cd?

I’m afraid touring will not happen soon. At the moment there are no plans to go on tour. Frozen Rain is a project and if I want to go on tour I would have to put together a live band first and rehearse. Touring also costs a lot of money and time which isn’t easy for a new project like Frozen Rain and a new starting record label. Touring is also a bit difficult because of my work & family situation. So right now I prefer to use my free moments for writing and recording. But who knows what the future will bring...? Now that the album is completed I’m really looking forward to start writing new song material and work out some fresh ideas. For the songwriting I will work together with several musicians involved in the first album like singer Ollie Oldenburg, keyboard player Jurgen Vitrier and guitar player Erik Van Bers. But I also expect a lot from my cooperation with Rik Priem, a very talented guitar player with a great sound I recently met. If there comes a second album Rik will probably play a lot of the guitars on it.

7. Is there anything else you want to tell to our readers?

You can easily say that the Frozen Rain album is my ‘life work’ so seeing this album finally released gives me a good feeling. What makes me even more happy are the positive reactions I am receiving from all over the world. So I gladly want to end with saying thank you to everyone for checking out Frozen Rain.