He’s the bass player at the raw, warm and soul-teasing band called Gosto. On top of that he just released his own EP with 3 songs which will make you melt like snow under the sun. Curious to find out what this multi-layered musician’s mind looks like, I asked Bram from WASSINC about the essence of his life drenched in music.
Check his EP right here: https://itunes.apple.com/nl/artist/wassinc/id1164455530
So Bram, you’ve got two big music projects going on. In which one of the two do you find yourself most?
It’s two sides of me and I need them both. Wassinc is young, it’s my own music. It’s quite different from Gosto. There I am purely the bass player, but I feel at ease and at home just like I do in Wassinc. It’s two sides, two homes. Sometimes I feel more at home in one than the other.
Do you feel safer not being the frontman?
No, that doesn’t matter at all. I’m not the most introvert bass player, yet it did feel very exciting to sing for the frst time and being more in the foreground.
What gives you most satisfaction? Small intimate rooms or the ectasy of big festivals? That’s difficult, wow! It depends on my state of mind. I love doing living room gigs. It’s a very special and personal level you share with the audience. It’s warm and cool and has a calming effect. Big shows bring way more shit and stress, yet it’s exciting. I guess intimacy suits my own music and as bass player I like the bigger shows.
Does it make you feel euphoric?
Yes, definitely! It gave me such a kick when we supported Jamie Lidell at Doornroosje.
It was a very special moment.
So a lot of stuff happening. And you just released your first EP?
Yeah do you wanna see it? That’s my hand and ring. It’s ‘lekker simpel’ and straight!
Do you think about the order and structure of songs?
Yeah I do think about it, like what’s the most catchy song to begin with, what will seduce the audience. It’s like a mini setlist.
So your texts are based on what you see in life?
In Home it’s very clear. I was sitting on a bench on the corner of Prinsengracht & Utrechtsestraat, waiting for someone to drink coffee with. It was fall and the leaves fell in the canals.
I was thinking: “This is home to me”
Dopamine is about more abstract things. It’s my own experience with different things: women, adventure and making music.
Do you have a bucket-list?
I try to live in the moment more than ever. Sometimes you also have to accept that you don’t know something. Just accept that feeling and don’t get into a fight with your own thoughts.
“You should let the feelings go, instead of identifying yourself with them too much”
Do you like running and think its therapeutic?
When I’m feeling a bit under the weather I love running more than anything. It gives me a natural high. During running I’m not thinking about other things. I never even listen to music. You should read Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running!
How inspired are you by your favourite musicians?
When I go hard on music, I always find traces of it back in my own music. I’m not super conscious of it. It simply has to touch me. Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to like Frank Ocean and Andy Shauff. He creates very visual music, with stories you can actually visualize. What are your little pleasures in live, without music?
Working out, drinking beer and playing ping-pong.
So what’s your favourite beer then?
Ok, this is the most difficult question of all.
Waw, really out of all questions this one…significant for my life.
You can choose a speciaal biertje and a pils!
Haha, thanks! Then I’ll go for Jupiler, Hertog Jan and Palm.
I love La Chouffe and Duvel is always chill. And there’s this fucking expensive monk beer for which you have to book an appointment at a monastry. So good I forgot what it was.
What’s your favourite place in Amsterdam?
The place never really matters to me. I like being with friends at home, or chill somewhere in Noord. Or, Cafe Brecht!How close is your music to you?
I wanna talk about things outside my comfort zone, slowly but surely. I’m getting the urge to talk about external things, but not politics. I think a lot about the world, like the environment. I’m vegetarian since a few months.
How is life as a vegetarian?
I think It’s super lekker! Yet, I must admit, when I was in Japan I gave in to the best sushi in the world, but that’s about it. Furthermore I really recommend it.
What’s your advice to survive in this wild world?
I try to meditate every day. You should do it too!
Do you think you need wild things and adventure to live?
Yeah I need them once in a while. But not too much, because you will end up believing in that you need them. Then you will identify yourself with it. No, balance is the key! If you live too extravagant, you could get an identity crisis.
“Always listen to yourself. Like, I’m really looking forward to this evening, I’m going out with friends. If it gets crazy, cool. But if it doesn’t happen, I’m equally happy.”