Looking at my own profession, I wasn’t sure there was any way I could change it to align with any world-bettering values. It made me feel bad. Maybe recorded music was part of the problem. There is something to say about what happens to the value of an artwork once you start reproducing it, once you multiply it.

Artists learn to ignore the surroundings of a studio. They can rely on their skills and their imagination. This comes at a cost however, and doesn’t always work. There’s other ways to do it, by making use of the power of place. The acoustics of a location, the reverence one might have for it, can be used as an advantage.

I recorded the music theatre production “Stiekem Hooglied”. Accordionists Pieternel Berkers and Renee Bekkers are joined by acclaimed actors Ariane Schluter and Ali Ben Horsting. An intriguing dialoge, between a man and a woman - between two accordions, and between voices and bellows.

To work the way I want to work, I create a space in which an artist can be totally vulnerable. As an effect, they can give their best and be their worst. This is not something that only the young or inexperienced artists need. Even Sevdaliza once told me she was so happy to finally be able to be vulnerable in the studio.