On a quiet Wednesday evening I took my bicycle out of the shed and headed for Scheltema, a former wool factory, in Leiden. A few decades ago I practised there with my old band a few times. All that is long gone, now there is a cultural centre which e.g. hosts a near monthly singer-songwriter evening called “Quite quiet”. An appropriate name for an evening with two singer-songwriters that play their instrument and sing. We could hear a pin drop, if someone had dropped one that is. No one did. It was totally silent for Sofia Dragt and Rogier Pelgrim. The concept is that each singer-songwriter plays a half set before and a half set after the break. Ten songs each. And play they did.
Both Dragt and Pelgrim participated in and won "The Great Price of The Netherlands",
category singer-songwriter, competition, they both participated in the singer-songwriter
TV show. They found out driving to Leiden together that they even shared the
same singing teacher. And Rogier wants to go and live in the town where Sofia
lives. We learned a lot in one evening, about what they have in common. We also learned about their songs. As
Rogier is no stranger to this blog, and Sofia is a lady, let’s start with her.
I was immediately captured by her voice. It is sort of
highish and is able to go up in register with ease. In general it was easy to follow
what she was singing and get a first idea about the topics. For a young woman she
sings about old and serious matters a lot. ‘Old souls’; a song on Alzheimer’s disease and the effect of the disease on an
old couple. In the new song ‘Water is water’ she sings that from a drop of
water an ocean can grow, in which she could swim away in and drown. Although she also sings
that she’s not planning to do that, isn't it the thought that counts? Setting that
aside, Sofia Dragt gives these lyrics an accompaniment in melody and playing on
her piano that draws the listener in. I noticed that she plays the piano mostly
with her hands close together. Dark notes roll from the keyboard. Played very
fast in such a way that it is nearly impossible to distinguish between the
individual notes. Like waves of notes. Not fast like Jerry Lee Lewis, but in a way I cannot describe
better than that the notes were sort of bouncing off each other, like thunder
rumbling in the distance. The closeness of her hands gave me the impression
that she didn’t dare to explore the rest of the space on the keyboard. The few
times she did, provided instant release, accentuating the higher (or lower)
notes even more. In her singing she reminded me vaguely of Joan as Policewoman,
but only fleetingly. One melody seemed to get to close to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big
yellow taxi’, before it took off in another direction in time. Ten songs that
kept me captured. Well done, Sofia. I’m certainly interested in hearing more in
the future and also would like to hear what the music sounds like in a band
setting. While listening my mind filled in harmonies and instruments quite
easily. Showing the potential of her music.
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If this is the standard of Quite quiet, then it is
worthwhile to visit more often. An audience that really listens. It must be
great for the artist as well. The next one is with I am Oak and Bart van der Lee, 26 April.
Wo.
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