Harry Kappen’s latest album, “Four,” is a masterful journey through diverse musical landscapes, blending guitar rock, jazzy ballads, and Latin rhythms into a cohesive and personal narrative. Known for his work as a musician and music therapist, Kappen brings a unique perspective to his artistry, weaving themes of love, courage, and societal reflection throughout the album. In this exclusive interview, Kappen opens up about the inspirations behind “Four,” the influence of his musical heroes, and how his experiences shape his creative process.
- “Four” is an eclectic album with influences ranging from guitar rock to jazzy ballads and Latin rhythms. What inspired you to explore such diverse styles in this project?
As a musician I have played many styles over the years; from hard rock to funk, blues and jazz and folk music. My interest in music is broad. Apparently that has become an inseparable part of me. I rarely make songs with the intention of using a certain style; a song is created naturally. It sounds ‘nice’ or it doesn’t. I usually create the texts at a later stage. The music determines the atmosphere of the song. And once the text is there, I sometimes adjust the instrumentation on the other side. At a certain point it ‘gets right’ and I don’t change anything anymore. This is how it goes with all the songs and after 10 songs I put them in varied orders on the album. That’s how it happened with “Four”.
- The songs on “Four” are deeply personal, touching on themes of love, courage, and living in the moment. How do these themes reflect your own life experiences and current outlook?
The songs on “Four” deal with current issues that concern me. These could be personal things such as my love for my wife, but also concerns I have about topics or themes in the news. That’s how it happened on my previous album “Time will tell”. Hopefully I will manage to generalize that personal involvement somewhat so that others can relate to it better.
- Your work as a music therapist involves helping adolescents and their families address challenges. How does your experience in this field influence your songwriting, particularly on this album?
As a music therapist you must be able to quickly adapt to the options that the client and his/her family have, I must be flexible; Most clients are not accomplished musicians, but do have ‘something’ for music. This also applies to everyone’s experience and its translation into music. Over the years I have become adept at helping translate someone’s emotion into music. Also in the hope that the client will find new possibilities for themselves and that the client will develop better ways to express themselves or collaborate with others.
So when it comes to my music, I hope that I do it in a way that others can relate to. Whether I have succeeded in this remains to be seen, but fortunately the reactions so far have been good.
- Songs like “Courage” and “Forever Young” seem to be rooted in very specific memories or relationships. Could you share the story behind one or two of these tracks and what they mean to you?
‘Courage’ is the first new single from the new album. It’s about my love for my Mexican wife Ana. And about how we will shape our shared future in the coming years. Learning a new language, adapting to a new style of life. I think that requires a kind of courage and looking forward to that future, because it is not possible to predict everything in advance how it will turn out. I think we can go very far with courage, trust and love. “And the eagle spreads its wings”. The eagle represents Mexico.
‘Forever young’ goes back to my teenage years, when I went to my parents’ country retreat in the north of the province of Groningen in the summers. Where I still had the idea of an eternal carefree life, in which I went fishing, had adventures with other adolescents, performed with my first band in a barn and watched an episode of Bonanza in the evening.
- Fake news and misinformation are pressing issues, and you address this in “Break These Chains.” What motivated you to tackle this topic, and what message do you hope listeners take away?
With the expanding power of high-tech companies in combination with the political shift to the right, we are dealing with a very worrying time. I hope that humanity and ‘caring for each other’ do not perish in this violence. The human touch simply cannot be lost. People’s opinions are increasingly seen as facts these days and if people repeat fake news often enough it will automatically become the truth, it seems. I’m afraid we’ll lose each other because of this. Hence ‘Break these chains’; the chains of ignorance, of populism, of ‘who has the most money decides everything’.
I wonder,…Where are the angels when we need them most?
- As someone influenced by legends like Paul McCartney, Prince, and David Bowie, how do their approaches to music manifest in “Four”? Do you consciously draw from their styles or philosophies?
I have taken them as my musical heroes and their work and they have become an inseparable part of me, of my way of making music. The structure of songs, the use of beats, the diversity in the music. I don’t copy them, but their music has become part of my vocabulary. I don’t do that consciously, but it just happens. The same happens with today’s heroes, by the way; Artists like Billie Eilish and Knower undoubtedly influence me too.
