Madou/Madouce
In the end of the seventies Vera Coomans and Wiet Van De Leest left the renowned band Rum to found the more contemporary formation called Madou. Madou brought a completely new sound to Dutch pop music with their melancholic songs about the shadow side of life and a sound that was hard to pin down (but later often credited as being ahead of its time). In the beginning of the eighties they had a hit with 'Witte nachten' (white nights) and in 1982 they released an LP in a limited number of copies.
25 years later this album was re-released on CD, remastered and supplemented with some singles, B-sides and a few songs with the Madouce set-up.
Madouce is the project in wich Vera Coomans renewed the songs of that album, alongside previously unreleased work and a song from the international chanson repertoire that served as an inspiration back in the day. The musicians from Jaune Toujours assisted her in this and gave the Madou repertoire a whole new musical interpretation of their own.
Line-up:
Madou:
Vera Coomans: vocals
Wiet Van De Leest: viola and keys
Johan Van Der Staey: saxophone, exept on Bijna Gelukkig (Leo Coomans)
Sus Proost: bass and guitar
Leejoo Coomans: saxophone
Jan Meel: drums, exept on Ik Weet Wat Frans Wil, Gas en Arendsoog (Rafaël Devlieghere)
Guest Musicians:
Luc Van Tilborgh & Patrick Mortier: trumpet
Marc Godefroid: trombone
Johan Van Der Staey: brass section in Naast Het Bad
Johan Van den Eede: Arrangement Gas
Music:
Wiet Van De Leest
exept Zeerover Jennu (Kurt Weill), Valerio (Richard Thompson), Arendsoog (Jan Meel, Leo Coomans, Wiet Van De Leest), Bijna Gelukkig (Leo Coomans) and 'k Wacht Al Zolang (Vera Coomans)
Lyrics:
Jan Devos, exept Zeerover Jenny (Seeraüber Jenny, text by Berthold Brecht, translated and edited by Jan Devos), Valerio (The Great Valerio, text by Richard Thompson, translated and edited by Jan Devos) and 'k Wacht Al Zolang (Vera Coomans)
Mixing:
Ward Kuczynski
Production:
Ward Kuczynski, Sus Proost en Wiet Van De Leest
Studio:
Dig-it
Production Bijna Gelukkig: Jean-Marie Aerts
Production Gas - Arendsoog: Herwig Duchateau
Madouce:
Vera Coomans: vocals
Piet Maris: accordion and vocals
Théopane Rabbaland: drums and percussion
Mathieu Verkaeren: double bass and guitar (Vannacht)
Mattias Laga: clarinet (Vannacht) and bass-clarinet (Witte Nachten)
Yves Fernandez: flugelhorn and trumpet sourdine ('k Wacht al Zolang)
Production and publishing:
Choux de Bruxelles
Producing:
Stef Van Alsenoy and Piet Maris
Recording & mixing:
Stef Van Alsenoy, Studio Ancienne Belgique,January 2005
Mastering Madouce:
Stef Van Alsenoy, Studio Ancienne Belgique, January 2005
Transfer vinyl and remastering:
Pieter De Waghter and Vincent Goffaert, Equus, Elsene, February 2005
Design:
Laurence Braconnier
PR Agent:
David Dalemans: david.dalemans@gmail.com