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Towards the end of the last Century, a deluge of musical talent was uncovered in Belgium.
Band after band exploded onto the music scene, taking the rest of the world by storm. And it was
within this thriving musical environment that Arid was formed.
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Although they were always captivated by music, Arid were relatively
'late-starters' when it came to discovering the joys of musical performance
for themselves. In fact, it wasn't until they were in their mid-late teens
that they picked up their respective instruments and started to play.
But before diving into the music industry most of them dipped their toes
briefly into the world of commerce. After completing his education, David
worked in a Marketing company, while Jasper tried his hand as a layout
artist at a Printers. Meanwhile Filip studied at the Film School in Brussels
to become a Sound Engineer as well as serving a three-year stint in the
army.
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In the mid-90's, David's passion for music inspired him to form his first
band - an instrumental outfit called Voltashop (a name which was later
changed to AridOvac, and eventually evolved into Arid).
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Voltashop was primarily a rhythm-oriented band. David explains: "at that
time we had no singer to make it interesting so we had to change rhythms and
play a lot of riffs".
David and Filip were long-time friends, so when Voltashop's Bassist decided
to move on, David immediately thought of Filip as the ideal replacement.
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Meanwhile, Jasper was singing with his own band called Kaya - playing in the
local pubs and developing a taste for making music. But he soon found himself
restless and frustrated by the other bandmembers' lack of focus, and decided
to seek out like-minded musicians who would take the music more seriously.
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At the same time David was on the lookout for a singer to complete
Voltashop. Acting on a tip-off he'd been given to check out "a band with a
fantastic, amazing singer", he went to the pub where Kaya were performing
and was immediately impressed with Jasper's exceptional vocal talents.
The two 'clicked' immediately, but Jasper was almost scared off when he saw
the intimidating surroundings of Voltashop's rehearsal room. He recalls: "It
was a dark and really hostile neighbourhood. And they rehearsed with only
one red light, and this drummer with lots of tattoos..."
Jasper's reluctance to play with the band almost led him to turn down an
opportunity to perform with them in public for the first time in the musical
contest at Gentse Feesten (a local Festival in Gent). But fortunately David
persuaded him to join them.
At this stage Jasper had only rehearsed a handful of the band's songs with
them, so he was forced to improvise the lyrics to songs he wasn't familiar
with. He recalls: "It was really funny cos I was singing all these songs - I
didn't even know them. They were gonna start the song: 1, 2, 3...and I was
like... "Da, da, da"! And then I was guessing - what is this song gonna be
like?"
So it was against all odds that they were still awarded second position in
the contest.
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Encouraged by their success in the Gentse Feesten contest they decided to
enter the 1996 Humo Rock Rally - Belgium's most prestigious rock contest.
They made it to the final and their song Keeping up with the Jones's gained
a place on the Rock Rally CD produced for that year. The jury report states:
"It was like being struck by lightning!" At this time record company
Double-t Music (now part of Sony Music)
expressed an interest in the band, but despite being impressed with Jasper's
voice, they were not yet convinced by the band as a whole.
And so Arid went into a period of intense rehearsal, honing their musical
talents and writing their own new material. Jasper and David formed Arid's
songwriting core - with Jasper writing the lyrics, and the two of them
working together on the music. They found that forming the skeleton of the
song as a pair, and then working out the arrangements together with the rest
of the band, was a wholly successful formula for them. The music came
together intuitively and spontaneously - the songs almost wrote themselves!
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During this time the drummer they had been working with returned home to
Italy, and Steven Van Havere - who had been drumming for six years in
the well-known Flemish band Gorki - joined Arid.
Almost two years later, towards the end of 1997, Double-t were advised by
one of their A & R scouts that Arid were now "transformed almost beyond
recognition" and should be seen once more. This time Double-t were
completely blown away, and a week later the contract was signed!
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In 1998 Arid recorded their debut album Little Things Of Venom. After being
courted by a number of internationally-renowned producers they eventually
chose to work with David Anderson (Fine Young Cannibals, Edwyn Collins, Al
Green), a young British producer who they felt had an empathetic vision for
the album. They were determined to make everything sound as pure, sober and
unaffected as possible, with the real sound of real instruments - no
effects, no samples.
The album was recorded at Brussels' ICP Studios complete with guest
appearances from the likes of David Dewaele (Soulwax) and Piet Goddaer
(Ozark Henry) and was mixed at London's Lansdowne Studios.
Before the album was even released in Europe in the Spring of 1999, Arid
were snapped up by Columbia Records - one of America's biggest record
labels.
The title Little Things Of Venom was "something that just popped into my head one day",
explains Jasper. One of the major themes of the album is balance: "the knowledge that
in something good there's something bad".
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He insists: "It's not a depressing album, but it's about coming to terms
with the fact that life is made for joy and for bad things. Things aren't
always what they seem."
Little Things Of Venom turned out to be a thoroughly enchanting album.
Jasper's vocals are achingly beautiful, elegant and pure - rare qualities in
today's music scene.
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The songs themselves are anthemic - full of emotion, melodic and well
crafted, and the lyrics have a unique poetry about them. Combine all this
with unorthodox tempo changes such as those employed in the song 'Life' and
you have a real gem of an album.
Not surprisingly, the press were enamoured with the album and consistently
praised the depth of emotion expressed in the music and lyrics. Daina
Darzin, music critic for MTV online, enthused about the "remarkably
evocative and mature songwriting" and concluded "Arid is a remarkable young
band with one hell of a future".
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At the beginning of April 1999, Arid were whisked over to New York City by
Columbia Records to play a showcase gig at the Mercury Lounge - a great
opportunity for the New York press to experience a little of that Arid magic
for themselves.
Then in the Spring of 1999 Arid were introduced to a larger audience in
Belgium and The Netherlands by opening on a few key shows for the successful
Belgian band, K's Choice. They soon gained a reputation as a captivating and
thoroughly engaging live act which, together with the success of Too Late
Tonight (their first single release in Belgium), helped secure them a place
at the important Torhout -Werchter Festival in Belgium.
A steady stream of shows and festivals followed, keeping Arid busy through
the Summer and Fall of 1999. Then in December they embarked on a mini-tour
of Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain, opening for Suede. But perhaps
Arid's biggest touring breakthrough came at the beginning of 2000 when they
were hand-picked by US rock band Counting Crows to open for them on the
extensive European leg of their tour.
Meanwhile, record sales continued to soar, with the success of Too Late
Tonight mirrored in subsequent single releases, Believer, Life, Me and My
Melody and All Will Wait. And Little Things of Venom achieved Gold Record
status with an impressive 25,000 sales.
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In April 2000 Arid's debut album was released in the US. Here it was titled
At the Close of Every Day as Columbia Records were concerned that the title
Little Things of Venom would make the band sound too much like a heavy metal
outfit to the American audience.
Arid continued with their busy touring schedule through the Summer of
2000, playing to overwhelmingly enthusiastic audiences at many of the major
European Festivals.
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Jasper was also cast as the 'lead' in the 3-D movie Haunted Castle. Produced
by Ben Stassen and the Los Angeles-based company nWave, the $10 million
dollar movie is the first music-driven, computer-animated 3-D film in
history.
Haunted Castle closes with Arid performing in the first-ever live concert performance in
3-D, recorded at the AB Club, Brussels in April 2000.
Haunted Castle premiered across North America in February 2001, and is now
showing in most continents throughout the world.
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Arid's second album was produced by Mark Howard (U2, Chris Whitley, Eddie
Vedder) and recorded at the beginning of 2002 at The Paramour Studio, Los Angeles.
All is Quiet Now is a kaleidoscope of colours; a place where complex layers
and ethereal vocals live harmoniously alongside raw jam-session riffs and
contemporary soundscapes. Its hauntingly alluring melodies and impassioned
climaxes are kindled by infectious rhythmic patterns and unconventional
structures.
Arid's hallmark elegance, but with an edge.
'All is quiet now' was released in Benelux on 13 May 2002.
Prepare to be enchanted once more!
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