Wanheda Lead Guitarist Jan About The New Album, "Dusty Trails"
"I‘m a Big Ennio Morricone Fan"
Wanheda have a new album ready to be released on November 22nd. With "Dusty Trails", the band from Leuven, Belgium, leads us to a place where stories develop from their melodies and opposites inspire each other. I had the chance to talk to lead guitarist Jan Verduyckt and ask him everything that came to mind after listening to the six songs.
Here is what I wrote on Bandcamp about "Dusty Trails":
"Sensitivity and persuasiveness, gravity and lightness: Wandheda has it all. With their new record, the band from Leuven is once again relying on complexity. And the concept works very well. The post-rockers deal with heavy topics in a very sensitive way. When listening to the six songs, you go through all the ups and downs of life, exploring dark plains that we can all much too quickly drift into in our world of temptations and fears. Favorite track: Beneath the Vulture's Gaze."
And now, it's time to listen to the album and enjoy my Wanheda interview!
Anne: Hi Jan! It's been two years since my last interview with you guys—wow, time flies! It's so great to welcome you as a guest again! How are you doing? How are things?
Jan: I'm doing good. Very happy to answer your questions! Our new record is almost going to drop, and we still have a lot of concerts coming this year. Next year, in February/March, we are planning a little European tour. So we have some busy and exciting times ahead!
Anne: Congrats on your new record! "Dusty Trails" turned out really great! Are you happy with the outcome of your work?
"We're happy how the record turned out"
Jan: I think, in general, we are very pleased with how the new record sounds. There are always some points/details that, I think, could have been better, like the songwriting or the sounds and effects of the instruments. But that's because I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to music, or I had a certain idea about a piece of the music that didn't come out the way I wanted. Also, we are with six guys in the band, and everybody has an idea of how his instrument must sound. But it's always a learning process, and we take these lessons with us to future projects. But, overall, I think it's a very, maybe even our most natural and organic-sounding record. So I'm very, very pleased about that.
Anne: Who came up with the idea to add the Western parts to the record?
Jan: I think I did. There was a time I was listening a lot to "American Venom" by Woody Jackson. This song is used in the game "Red Dead Redemption 2", which really has this big built-up with cool trumpets combined with these psychedelic-sounding lead guitars. Which can never be a bad combination. I was also watching a lot of old Western movies with Clint Eastwood. So maybe that influenced me as well and gave me the idea to provide the record with some kind of Western feel. I also always had the idea of covering "Lady Caliph: Nocturne", a composition of Ennio Morricone, who is known for making music for spaghetti western movies. Although this song is not a soundtrack for this kind of movie. We covered the song, and it's also on this record.
I love the sounds of the trumpet. It can sound cool, mellow, jazzy, sad like you're winning a war. So, it's no surprise we used this instrument before, but this time more in a Western way. Which can especially be heard in the opening song of our new record.
Anne: What is your relationship to the music of Ennio Morricone?
Jan: He has some of film history's most iconic soundtrack pieces. I'm a huge fan. A friend of mine introduced the piece "Lady Caliph: Nocturne" to me. It's one of his lesser-known songs, but it's so beautiful. You should definitely look it up if you don't know it, yet. Also, the collaboration between Ennio and Yo-Yo Ma for this song is so beautiful. I used it as the ringtone for my alarm clock for a very long time.
Anne: Would you like to tell me more about the topics your songs deal with this time? Overall, the album seems less dark than "Desert of Real" from 2022.
Jan: I also don't think we really chose a heavy topic for the record this time, or at least we didn't write a big essay about the concept. We chose some lines from Western movies for our song titles, and they all have to do with this lonely, confused "cowboy" who has many big dreams, like flying like a vulture over the desolated plains and eventually even exploring outer space and reaching the sun. It's sort of like a Don Quichotte story, but instead of a knight, it's a cowboy this time.
The moral of this story is that dreaming is a very good thing, but don't set too many goals or unreachable goals. This will just make you lose your mind or get stunned, making no progress in life in the end. I would like to mention two songs about this topic. "Vienna" of Billy Joel, which is a nice reminder to sometimes say to yourself, relax; it's okay to not always be focused on in life. Then, there is the "Time" of Pink Floyd, which is on the other side of this topic. It talks more about people doing nothing in life and not trying to become a better person, and suddenly, ten years have passed, and you're very close to death. I believe being in the middle of the spectrum is the most healthy.
Anne: Even though the topics of the songs are not always easy to digest, there's always a lot of light in your songs. Was it challenging to get the right balance between the heavier parts and the airier parts in between?
Jan: I don't usually have a topic in mind when I write these songs. I just like the songs to flow nicely without being too predictable. I also always liked bombastic music. So yes, many songs have soft and heavy parts. We also have a lot of band members with some kind of past in metal music. Also, the rhythm guitar player Jan Boucké plays a 7-string guitar, and we play in a lower key—C#. So, all the ingredients are there to make heavy music. Though I must say most of my musical inspirations are much softer, they are primarily melancholic-sounding music. I guess that's why we have a lot of variation in our songs and even our records. I use a lot of different musical influences, and I like to incorporate them all in our music. We are also not really aiming to be "a post-rock band", though I can see why we are often labelled as one. And, of course, every Wanheda member brings his bags with tricks and influences, and that's really how the Wanheda songs come together.
Anne: Would you also say writing and playing songs about things that make us feel helpless and tend to overwhelm us at times is some kind of valve in your life for you? You know, is it like a way to deal with this stuff more easily and efficiently?
"Writing music helps to deal with the sad things in the world"
Jan: In a way, yes. I think that with the topics of our previous record and this new record, I want to make people aware of certain things. All these things concern us as a species, and I feel like many of these things are out of my control, but by writing songs about them, I can make a tiny contribution to helping people or the planet. So in a way, it definitely helps to deal with all the crap that is going on in our world.
Anne: What's your favourite song on "Dusty Trails"?
Jan: For me, it's "Beneath the Vulture's Gaze". I think it's the most "movie soundtrack-sounding song". It also starts immediately with a heavy part, which is something we don't do frequently. And I just really like how it flows and evolves during the whole length of the song.
Anne: What inspired you the most when you wrote the six new songs?
"Music is the most inspiring thing"
Jan: My biggest inspiration is always other music I listen to. I already talked about Ennio Morricone and Woody Jackson. But I also still listen to bands from my youth like Radiohead, Muse, The Offspring, Linkin Park and so on… But the artists who really have my attention now are mostly older bands from the sixties and seventies. Of course, Pink Floyd was already a tremendous influence on me, but I'm increasingly intrigued by the sound and playing of that time.
There was a lot of experimenting, I mean in music—also in other things (laughs)—but they still used real instruments. And they really knew their instruments and the theories behind songwriting and playing. So I have this idea to try and learn every Pink Floyd and also The Beatles song, so I can become a better guitar player and a better songwriter. And you never know. Maybe we'll hear more about this oldies' influence on a future Wanheda record.
Anne: Did you record the new songs at Masterplan Music again?
Jan: Yes, we love recording with Stijn Debontridder. When something works, why not do it again? Stijn gives us the time, cool ideas and the love we need. He also has a lot of patience with the goofy people who are part of the Wanheda madness.
Anne: What has changed for Wanheda since I interviewed Jan (Boucké), back in 2022?
Jan: Well, we have a new drummer! Nico is our newest Wanheda family member. He brings with him a lot of experience, motivation, and joy to the band. He is also a drum teacher and has a lot of musical projects, so he is someone who just really breathes music. We are very excited to have him on board.
And, of course, we have some daddies now in the band. Now, half of the band has one or two kids. So I guess we are getting older (laughs).
Anne: If there was one thing in the world, you could change. What would it be and why?
Jan: I would want God to be more tolerant, so religions could do the same. But then again, it's religion that makes God.
Anne: Thanks so much for answering my questions, Jan! It's been a pleasure talking to you again! I wish you all the best and much success for your release! Talk soon!
Jan: Thank you so much, it's been my pleasure!