De Mens
Encyclopedia
De Mens is a Flemish
rock band from Belgium
. The current members of the band are Frank Vander linden, Michel de Coster, and Dirk Jans.
, left his job to pursue a career as a full-time musician. In 1992 the band released its first radio single
, "Dit is mijn huis" ("This Is My House"), followed by the full album
De Mens. Later came other successful singles "Jeroen Brouwers (schrijft een boek)" ("Jeroen Brouwers
[Writes a Book]") and "Irene".
The band's second album, called Ik wil meer (I Want More), contains the singles "Nederland" ("The Netherlands"), "Zij zit daar en ik zit hier" ("She Is Sitting There and I Am Sitting Here"), and "Lachen en mooi zijn" ("Smiling and Being Pretty"). Meanwhile, Vander linden developed a reputation as writer. Thanks to his success in the Studio Brussel
radio programme Collage, he has frequently been asked to be a columnist and spoken-word performer.
In the winter of 1995, Vander linden went on a small tour titled Solo bij u thuis. A mini-CD
, Patti Blues, followed. During that same winter, the band recorded a new album titled Wil je beroemd zijn? (Do You Want to Be Famous?) at the ICP studios in Brussels
. It spawned two popular singles, "Maandag" ("Monday") and "Sheryl Crow
I Need You So".
De Mens embarked on a partly acoustic theatre tour from October to November 1997. A compilation CD followed, containing the radio singles "Ik wil een vrouw zijn" ("I Want to Be a Woman"), "Val niet in liefde" ("Don't Fall into Love"), and some brand-new songs.
The band signed up with the Play It Again Sam
record company, and released the album Sex verandert alles (Sex Changes Everything). It was recorded partly in the ICP studios and partly at home. The singles "Einde van de eeuw" ("The End of the Century") and "Sex verandert alles" ("Sex Changes Everything") scored well in the alternative charts. A club tour followed. Meanwhile, Vander linden became a regular panel member in the television quiz show Nonkel pop on a channel of the Belgian public broadcaster VRT
. He also played himself in the film Film 1 by Willem Wallyn.
Since then, they have releases five more albums: Liefde (Love) with hit single "Ergens onderweg" ("Somewhere down the road"), Blond (Blonde) with hit single "Kamer in Amsterdam" ("Room in Amsterdam
"), In het Gras (In The Grass) Onder de Duinen (Below the dunes), with hit single Luide Muziek in Kleine Auto's (Loud Music in Small Cars) and recently Is dit mijn hart? (Is this my Heart?) with hit single Hier komt mijn Schip (Here comes my Ship).
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
rock band from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The current members of the band are Frank Vander linden, Michel de Coster, and Dirk Jans.
History
After playing in many hobby groups together, long-time friends Vander linden and De Coster decided to start De Mens. Vander linden, a journalist for the Belgian magazine HumoHUMO
HUMO is a popular Belgian weekly radio and television magazine, written in Dutch.Originally the magazine was titled Humoradio, a portmanteau of 'humor' and 'radio'....
, left his job to pursue a career as a full-time musician. In 1992 the band released its first radio single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Dit is mijn huis" ("This Is My House"), followed by the full album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
De Mens. Later came other successful singles "Jeroen Brouwers (schrijft een boek)" ("Jeroen Brouwers
Jeroen Brouwers
Jeroen Godfried Marie Brouwers is a Dutch journalist and writer. From 1964 to 1976 Brouwers worked as an editor at Manteau publishers in Brussels...
[Writes a Book]") and "Irene".
The band's second album, called Ik wil meer (I Want More), contains the singles "Nederland" ("The Netherlands"), "Zij zit daar en ik zit hier" ("She Is Sitting There and I Am Sitting Here"), and "Lachen en mooi zijn" ("Smiling and Being Pretty"). Meanwhile, Vander linden developed a reputation as writer. Thanks to his success in the Studio Brussel
Studio Brussel
Studio Brussel is a radio station in Belgium, owned by the VRT. The music played is considered more alternative than the other big radio stations, and is aimed mainly at a youth audience....
radio programme Collage, he has frequently been asked to be a columnist and spoken-word performer.
In the winter of 1995, Vander linden went on a small tour titled Solo bij u thuis. A mini-CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Patti Blues, followed. During that same winter, the band recorded a new album titled Wil je beroemd zijn? (Do You Want to Be Famous?) at the ICP studios in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. It spawned two popular singles, "Maandag" ("Monday") and "Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
I Need You So".
De Mens embarked on a partly acoustic theatre tour from October to November 1997. A compilation CD followed, containing the radio singles "Ik wil een vrouw zijn" ("I Want to Be a Woman"), "Val niet in liefde" ("Don't Fall into Love"), and some brand-new songs.
The band signed up with the Play It Again Sam
Play It Again Sam (record label)
[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
record company, and released the album Sex verandert alles (Sex Changes Everything). It was recorded partly in the ICP studios and partly at home. The singles "Einde van de eeuw" ("The End of the Century") and "Sex verandert alles" ("Sex Changes Everything") scored well in the alternative charts. A club tour followed. Meanwhile, Vander linden became a regular panel member in the television quiz show Nonkel pop on a channel of the Belgian public broadcaster VRT
Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep
The Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie , or VRT, is a publicly-funded broadcaster of radio and television in Flanders ....
. He also played himself in the film Film 1 by Willem Wallyn.
Since then, they have releases five more albums: Liefde (Love) with hit single "Ergens onderweg" ("Somewhere down the road"), Blond (Blonde) with hit single "Kamer in Amsterdam" ("Room in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
"), In het Gras (In The Grass) Onder de Duinen (Below the dunes), with hit single Luide Muziek in Kleine Auto's (Loud Music in Small Cars) and recently Is dit mijn hart? (Is this my Heart?) with hit single Hier komt mijn Schip (Here comes my Ship).
Studio Albums
- 1992: De Mens
- 1994: Ik wil meer
- 1996: Wil je beroemd zijn?
- 1999: Sex verandert alles
- 2001: Liefde
- 2003: Blond
- 2005: In het gras
- 2007: Onder de duinen
- 2010: Is dit mijn hart?