Words by Sean Moeller//Illustration by Johnnie Cluney
Jason Forrest gets excited about things and the good thing about that is that he usually gets excited about the coolest things, the things that you would have chosen to get excited about even if he hadn’t already done it for you. He’s in the service industry, that one – the Georgian now living out his electronica dreams with his wife in Germany, and as such Forrest does something about exciting things. This year, he released the debut record from About – better known as Rutger Hoedemaeker – on his Cock Rock Disco imprint and it’s a real peach. Full of plot twists, sliced together acrobatics and unimpeachably impressive beats and hooks, Hoedemaeker made a record that, as Forrest puts it “makes some old school Michael Jackson seem like he’s faking it” and as we would put it makes everything Fatboy Slim and Moby do seem rudimentary. It’s as if Nile Rodgers or Prince knocked themselves too hard in the head, went berserk and started to experiment with loops and noises, operating on too many pints of ale and with a bent that violence and love can go hand-in-hand as happens on “Strike You As the Enemy,” singing, “Regurgitating alcohol/I shouldn’t spray guts on every wall.” That’s got to be love, right? There are moments when “Bongo” flashes its Postal Service side, but then you hear the tubas booming in the background, the flickering of electricity shorting out and get into a rampage of ska-like up-tempo surging, you realize that there’s more touch, care and cajones here because it’s all done by one man. It’s a singular vision that gets splintered off into a dozen different directions, but remains as poppy as Forrest proclaimed it to be back in March when he was chewing through a pizza and regaling us with the wars that he’s put his blood-caked laptop through over the years. Hoedemaeker pools together influences that he might be embarrassed to talk about in front of grown ups – ones that have to include acts as dangerously close to kitsch as John Denver, Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates (though Daryl and John shall be defended til the ends of the earth from these parts) – and then slaps some sinister kilowatts to them, adds some frolicking computer-generated riffs and gives them alter egos that make them nothing like “Rocky Mountain High” or “Jenny From the Block.” And here’s a spoiler – Radiohead head thinks he’s as cool as Forrest does. It’s got to count for something. – Sean Moeller

The Daytrotter interview:
First of all, what are you up to these days? I know it took you a long time to complete “Bongo.” Do you think it’s going to take the same amount of time to finish the next one? Do you make it take longer than you have to or is everything necessary in your mind? Is it easy to get distracted from making music in Amsterdam?

Rutger Hoedemaekers: That’s a lot of questions to start with, haha! So what am I up to? Well, writing and playing mostly. I’ve started working on the second album late last year, got some songs finished already, and I hope to have it out late 2007 or early 2008. So no, I’m not one to let out a record each year, but it comes with the methods I use. It doesn’t take too long for me to write a song, but creating the arrangement with all the little details is what will eat into my time. Still, I believe pop music is an art that has lost most of its intellectualism, whereas art music has lost the fun. Bringing them closer together takes time. As for Amsterdam… no, I guess I don’t get distracted to easily, I’m kind of a boring guy who only wants to work.

Do you let the city take you sometime? Are you songs at all reflections of the place you live? Can you hear your songs in clubs in Amseterdam?

RH: I’ve only lived in Amsterdam for three years now, and even though I adore this city I haven’t developed the type of affection (or disliking for that matter) that allows me to write about it. I doubt that I ever will. It’s just not the way I write. I won’t write about a love or friendship that way either. That goes for both music and lyrics.

Are you planning on coming over to the United States to tour this fall with Jason? I believe that’s what he said. Would that be a first for you?

RH: Yes and yes! I’m certainly trying to get some dates, probably on the East coast for the most part. Never been to the U.S., and I’m looking forward to coming over a lot!

How did you first meet Jason? He’s been a big help to you, hasn’t he?

RH: Sure, he popped my cherry! Hahaha! Who better to release a debut album with? No seriously, he’s a great guy, and I’m very happy with the odd position I have on the label. No other act makes anything remotely close to pop music, and it has worked to my advantage quite a bit so far.

How did you suffer four collapsed lungs during the making of this album or is that a farce?

RH: No farce, just plain old bad luck. Times four. It slowed the songwriting down, and without it I would not have spent 3 years creating Bongo. It made me more determined though, and that’s good!

Marg (Van Eenbergen) does some incredible lead vocals on this record. How’d you get so lucky to attain her services?

RH: Hey, I’m a nice guy. I asked politely.

Is your music too much for some people to handle or understand? Or do you see there being an increased appreciation for electronica-based music?

RH: I think the problem is to be found in a different direction; without nuance, I think popular music can be divided into guitar-based and electronica-based. Those who particularly like one of the two often have a problem with my music, those who think anything musical is great often don’t. That aside, I realize I have not made a Coldplay-type easy listening record, but other than that I’m very happy with the responses.

What’s with the three animal faces on the cover of the record. One of them makes an appearance in the video for “Think Niles Drink” as well. Which animals are they supposed to be and have you taken on the alter ego of that dog-faced boy mask?

RH: I think all of those are actually featured in the video. It’s not me though, the actor, but a friend of the director (Mirka Duijn). I don’t think the animals are supposed to have any special meaning, other than just looking cool. The girl who designed the cover for “Bongo” (Nanna Koekoek) used these old 70’s band photos and replaced the heads with animal faces. I don’t use the masks at all on stage, but I do have a big print-out of two of the animals stuck to my laptop.

What’s the greatest new thing you learned today?

RH: Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead has my record!

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