Chris Brennan - vocals/guitar
Olaf Janssens - piano/vocals
Luc Van Haver - guitars
Mark Somers - bass
Robert Van De Laar - drums
Influences
Scott Walker, Wilco, Elliott Smith, Velvet Underground, Radiohead, The Beatles, Small Faces, Patrick McGoohan, Family, Bert Jansch, Leonard Cohen, James Jamerson, James Blood Ulmer, James Last, Elmore James, Jessie James.
This Machine & Me began life as a duo in the Summer of 2005 when English singer/songwriter Christopher Brennan hooked up with Belgian guitarist Luc Van Haver and they began writing songs together. Two like-minded spirits, the blueprint was to write songs which not only told a story and which occasionally made a foray into the darker recesses of the human mind, but combined the whimsy of classic late 60s pop and traditional English music hall with the freedom to explore any other genre that happened to take their fancy.
Having spent the best part of a year writing material, the two then proceeded to recruit other musicians, a sometimes long and arduous task. Enigmatic pianist and multi-instrumentalist Olaf Janssens (ex-Satellite City) soon found himself onboard playing keys, followed by guitarist / saxophonist Mark Somers (ex-Street Legal and sometime Billy Jenkins cohort), on bass. By the Spring of 2007, drummer Robert Van De Laar had swelled the ranks and the line-up was complete. The group immediately went into their own recording studio and recorded and produced 4 tracks, including the evocative ‘View From A Hill’ and the darkly comical ‘Swamp Song’.
The band try to keep it simple, creating music which has as organic a sound as possible and which combines ‘strong, heartfelt melodies and beautiful lyrics’ with a dynamic, ‘captivating rhythm’ section. Each of the personalities involved in the group put something of themselves into the songs and this certainly shines through:
Chris: “The wonderful thing about ‘This Machine & Me’ is that everyone involved all get along so well – we’ve developed a great friendship and bond – something that I have never experienced at this level personally in a band before. I love spending time with these guys and the feeling seems uncommonly mutual. I really think this helps in the development of the music – we gel so well, the whole writing process is a pleasure from beginning to end – everyone knows exactly what to do and how to do it – it really feels like a match made in heaven, and I feel blessed that I got to be here with everyone involved in this project.”
Hey Chris, been a long time - hows things? when can i get my hands on the TMaM album??????
ps
SATR will be playing a one-off acoustic gig in Ølstykke Sealand, Denmark on Aug 4th - a long way I know but would be fantastic to see you there and hook up for a few beers (or more than a few!)
Thanks for your friendship! Please send us any music or other entertainment that you would like to see featured on the RED BANANA, and keep checking back to our webzine for updates!!!
xx "On a traffic light yellow means yield, and green means go. On a banana, it's just the opposite, yellow means go ahead, green means stop, and red means, where'd you get that banana?" - Mitch Hedberg
Ha mannen, fijne klanken hoor! En ook actief in de Kinky Star, zie ik! Mochten jullie 10 juni tijd vinden, ik betreed dan het podium. Succes en vast tot ziens eens, Marten.
Hi, I'm very glad you think so! I have some new songs. I would really like it if you heard them. It's with flute, drums and sitar. Don't forget to tell me when your new songs are up. Hope you are well, Emil
The Most are touched and very flattered by your comment but we cannot believe that with songs as good as on display here This Machine and Me would ever seriously contemplate using another band's material.
Of course you are more than welcome to cover any of our songs but rather than a hit single I think it more likely one might perhaps appear as a bonus track on the Japan only release of your third album ....
You're very welcome guys and apologies once again over the title mix-up. Thanks for the great comments too and I look forward to playing some of your music again in the future. I hope it might have helped to expose your music to an even wider audience - not that this is Radio 1 by any means but hope my small contribution's helped in some way and thanks once again for sending me the track. Take it easy - Wolf
i saw and listened to your song on wolfs podcast, and i remembered your name from TSATR space. Like your sound, on the second or third time i wanted to sing along.
Just listening to your songs again and they sound even better with familiarity. So if we were able to get over to one of your gigs I'm just wondering which would you recommend?
I see that Palace are going to have the last (and no doubt the longest) laugh but good luck to them. I’m going to Wembley anyway to see the mighty Ebbsfleet in the FAT Final!
