DOGWALKER

An almost mystical experience happened to a young Belgian in the summer of 2002. Living in Strasbourg for 2 years, guitar player Joris was visiting one of France’s best festivals “les Eurockéennes”. That year, the epic scenery around Belfort was the perfect location for the perfect concert. The sun was setting on this magic place, surrounded by water, when the Scottish band Travis took the stage. “Why does it always rain on me?” Travis singer Fran Healy wondered. Gorgeous melodies filled the air that night, hopeful joy and melancholy switched positions to make it an incredible night. This was the kind of experience that makes people want to start a band… Returning from a U2 concert at Croke Park, in Dublin, Ireland, and entering a bar, singer Nikolaas had the same experience. It was 2005, and the Killers had just released their first smash hit album “Hot Fuss”. In every bar around Dublin, “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody told me” were played over and over again around that time. The Irish, already euphoric from the epic U2 concert at their hometown, couldn’t get enough and went totally wild on Guinness and The Killers. It was then that Nikolaas realized that this kind of frenzy was something special. Returning from Strasbourg, Joris teamed up again with Nikolaas, who he had been in a band with before during their student-life. Nikolaas, impressed with the Killers-revelation in Dublin, had already started to write some cool tunes together with his long-time friend and guitarplayer Egwin. All that was needed now was a drummer. Gino, a cool guy that had been a semi-professional music player for almost all of his life, responded to an add that the band put up in a music magazine. “Drummer wanted for band to write own songs – main influences: the Killers, the Stranglers, Aha, Keane, Travis, Crowded House”. This was all Gino needed to join the band. For him, this was the perfect storm: the swirling synth-touches of Aha, the dreamy melodies of Travis and Crowded House combined with the cranking guitars of the Killers and that little piece of obnoxious attitude that the Stranglers displayed. He didn’t hesitate one second and phoned the band at once: “Tell me when I can begin, I shouldn’t come to an audition as you’re not going to find a more motivated player than I am, and I don’t want to be in any other band more than this one…” Gino joined once for a jam and kept his promise. The 4-way marriage was completed and the Kortrijk (Belgium)-based band was off to the start of an adventurous odyssey. The only thing the band did at that time was rehearsals, rehearsals and rehearsals. In search for the perfect balance between synth-based pop and the more edgy part of rock music, the band kept on writing and fine-tuning new songs, over and over again. To complete the team, a keyboard player joined to add dreamy layers of keyboards and to create the soundscapes that were ultimately to define the sound of dogwalker. In 2009 the band got together in Brussels at the legendary Jet Studio. The oldest recording studio in Belgium, more commonly known as “the Jet”, had been host for earlier recordings of Rolling Stones, Edith Piaf, Vaya Con Dios,… In this true vintage surroundings of rock’n’roll history, dogwalker recorded 4 songs. David Poltrock, most known from his work with Belgian ambient-pop band Hooverphonic was at the recording desk. The band released two singles from these recordings: “Summer Has Gone” was released in late 2009 and immediately aired by the 2 major Belgian radio stations. The easily recognizable intro into this song and the sing-along chorus were crowd-pleasers, as well live, as on the radio. In 2010, “The Calling” was released. This was a song about doing what you should do, about the magic feeling one gets when going towards one’s goal, without looking back or having any regrets. Meanwhile the writing process continued. Nikolaas shared some ideas with the band and they kept working on them. The results were recorded at La Chapelle Studios in the south of Belgium. The band was in search to get perfect popsongs. Through changing settings, changing equipment and changing gear, they worked towards the ultimate sound. The work continued until in the spring of 2011: all parts fell together with the recording of “the Storm”. This melancholic pop-rock work of art was written with the idea that one does not need to be afraid of change in any aspect of one’s life. Some turbulence in life can create new opportunities and opens up new possibilities. Who else then an international top model could be in the video supporting “The Storm”? Through a common friend, dogwalker met with Jade Foret. She absolutely loved the brilliant song, the lyrics and the “feel” of it. That’s why she was more than happy to team up with the band and to take the video to a whole new level with her incredible performance… Dogwalker is based in Kortrijk (Belgium) Nouveau Pop!