A short questions and answers
as conducted by Elenka Freikkar via e-mail, August 2004, Norway
Elenka: Welcome Freek! I’m so happy you are willing to have this chat with me!
Freek: My pleasure.
Elenka: What is your motivation to make music?
Freek: I have a strong urge to create. Creating is a part of day to day life and essential to me. Music is just one method of creating.
Elenka: What is the importance of titles in your work?
Freek: The titles of songs are an integral part and are often clues to certain things – it’s like a treasure hunt. I enjoy treasure hunts.
Elenka: What is the concept behind Beequeen?
Freek: I’m not quite certain there is a concept as such. Frans and I enjoy making music together. We have been active in this field since 1988. We’ve had our ups and downs, just like a real marriage. When Olga joined on vocals, a whole new world of possibilities opened up. At the moment I am very pleased with how Beequeen exists – like some sort of organic being almost independent from Frans, Olga and myself. It’s a bit hard to explain really.
Elenka: What is the difference between Beequeen, Brunnen and other solo projects?
Freek: The music of Beequeen is a combination of three different personalities. Other projects are just me solo without other input. Brunnen is a song-based project. The Beautiful Glassbottom Boat displays my love for the king of instruments: the organ. These days I concentrate on Beequeen as the progress we’re making has been very satisfying.
Elenka: I am looking for a copy of the cassette Cris en Mouvements released by Tranches De Vie, which has a track called Faustus Opus Magum by you. Where can I find it?
Freek: If only I knew. This was my first contributions to a compilation cassette and I was never sent a copy (or it never arrived). I tried to contact Tranches De Vie but they are all out for lunch indefinitely. If anyone has a copy of the cassette I would be thrilled to hear about it.
Elenka: What is the first record you ever bought?
Freek: Tarzans Nuts by Madness, which I still have. Originally I wanted to buy Embarrassment by Madness on single, but bought this one by mistake as I couldn’t remember the title when I got in the store.
Elenka: You collect records by Adam and the Ants. Why is this?
Freek: Because they’re great! Early 1981 I watched Top Pop, a Dutch music TV-programme, that aired 30 seconds of Antmusic by Adam and the Ants. It was a revelation; this was what I had been waiting for, somewhere between Punk, New Wave and the New Romantics - exiting and colourful music. The next day I went to town and bought Antmusic, my first Adam and the Ants record. This time I remembered to write the title down.
Elenka: What is the record you would never part with?
Freek: There are several, but I think I would never consider parting with my original 1969 pink label LP of Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake. Or my signed LP of Celestial Ocean by Brainticket. Or my tape copy of Dots On The Eye by The Legendary Pink Dots. Or perhaps my signed LP of Shadow Lady by Gudrun Hardardottir or the signed LP copy of She And She As One by Anton Heyboer. Or perhaps that naughty LP made by 70s Japanese porn start Ike Reiko, which took me years to track down. The list goes on.
Elenka: What are some of your favourite books?
Freek: Glad you asked! My all time favourite book has to be The Coming Of Joachim Stiller, a beautifully surreal story written by Dutch author Hubert Lampo in the late 50s. Translated in English, but best read in Dutch. Next up are My Wicked Wicked Ways, the autobiography by Errol Flynn and Beam Ends, his book about his adventurous sea travels in the late 30s. Other favourites include Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicles and Dance, Dance, Dance, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Salman Rushdie’s Haroun And The Sea Of Stories, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Colin MacInnes’ Absolute Beginners, most books by Douglas Adams and most later books by John Irving (especially Widow For One Year and The Fourth Hand). The scripts to the BBC’s TV series of Blackadder are brilliant too. I enjoy good surreal storytelling.
Elenka: What are some of your all time favourite TV-programmes or movies?
Freek: I don’t really watch a lot of television, but I love to go to the cinema. Some of my all time favourite movies are West Side Story, Ghost World, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko, Singing In The Rain, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the 1938 version of The Adventures of Robin Hood. The original TV series of The Avengers scared the living daylights out of me when I was a kid in the early 70s. I remember hiding behind the sofa. These days, I absolutely love watching the series. As I do Inspector Lewis.
Elenka: Should I want to surprise you with a record as a gift, which record would be appropriate?
Freek: I used to have a copy of the flexi disc Ai Jin by Gerogerigegege, which Yuntaro sent me, but sold it in a moment of total delusion. I’m tearing my hair out now of course. If you have one to spare, please contact me. Please. Please. Please me.
Elenka: If I would like to take you out to dinner, where would I best take you?
Freek: Any good Indian restaurant.
Elenka: What do you think about Scandinavia, say for instance Norway?
Freek: Unfortunately I have never been to Norway, but would love to go there and enjoy nature.
Elenka: Do you like being massaged?
Freek: I love being massaged, but……
Elenka: Are you a good lover?
Freek: I beg your pardon?
