Viggo Maris is a genre-hopping treat of casual irreverence for consistency and utter dedication to art and authenticity. The Benelux based teenager has a knack (or providence) for surrounding himself with kindred spirits; and together they give us music that harkens back to what really matters: speak real, sound real, & aim beyond reach. To our ear and mind, Viggo is a taste of vibrant Benelux indie, and to those who seek, a template.
Letβs talk about Viggo Maris, the 17-year-old Belgian-German with a deep gaze, a glorious bush of curls, and a disarming mix of dreamy absence, intellectual presence, and youthful insolence. Viggo is the youngest artist on the charming Choux de Bruxelles label and his work touches on electro-pop, trip-hop and just enough punk to keep things edgy, if not quite upbeat. Because when Viggo Maris goes punk (see “Ottomatic” video below), he somehow “reins in” the energy, and rather than sound like a burst of alcohol-fueled depravity..Viggo drops the BPM and suggests; if we rebel, it is against ourselves and our lesser inclinations. Let’s not pretend, we are rotten, and we get what we give. So, have a look below, and if you can’t handle the genre’s BPM being reimagined as a glacial force, you can always hit the “change speed” button. It’s your world, after all, punks.
Lychee
Lychee is a deep and pulsating gem of a song that features the vocals of one Arwen (referenced simply as a “friend” of Viggo). Now mind you, DIY typically comes with a tradeoff… 100% authenticity and self-direction will at first hold hands with compromised aesthetics. Shooting a video entirely on an iPhone is very much “now” but it’s also very much a compromise. Aaron Lokamba’s movement, however, evokes shadow and light embraced in a dance of power and poise.
Over it, Arwen’s at once hauntingly dispassionate and elsewhere mournful vocals deliver a message that reads like journal entry, or poetic allegory of the times. Viewing it from the personal, the song could be about feeling a soul’s immortality and freedom but immediately being cautioned knowingly or otherwise preventively- that as such one ventures out from heaven, on a wind of change that leads… to who knows where? Take a macro perspective, and you can feel the wind blowing from war-tormented fields of Ukraine . Rushing as a gust of threat, grief and horror.. insidiously over the continent, and moving slumbering Europa into lucidity. And as she stumbles about freely, brazenly, fresh to life, she is aware of her capacity to choose, her strength, and her acceptance that she is, in fact, very much wild at heart. And… refusing to take blame for it.
I know
Now, more in line with Choux de Bruxelles‘ overall vibe, Viggo goes into Jazz. In his own words: “the song “I know” is an instrumental track [..] inspired by Franz Liszt’s concept of the “Liszt scale,” where a single note change creates a new key [so] I created my own mode. Combining this with a 5/8 time signature and aiming for the controlled chaos of Charles Mingus’s “Moanin’,” I wrote the chords and melodies and together with some talented musician friends we crafted this jazz piece.”
Viggo might be seventeen, this tune is ripe beyond age, which admittedly is also upon the musicianship of all of its contributors. Upon few listens, the understated initial chords slowly grow into a drone that pulls you into a trance of melancholy and resignation, only to be abruptly shaken by a waking frenzy akin to the marching pulse of Bruxelles, where soul and passion are found at every corner, waiting to be discovered.
Tankstation
VIggo’s first EP “Blue Noise” is full of jewels, and we will close off with “Tankstation”, a sleepy, heartfelt, ode to the night. In his own words “inspired by a late-night stop at a gas station after a concert, [the song] captures [a] lonely ambiance reminiscent of the 80s Miami Vice soundtrack. The lyrics reflect solitude and the peacefulness of sleepless nights. Maaike and I sang the duetβs melody together. The result is a romantic lullaby with a melancholic undertone.
We could add more, but just look at the two of them, and you are reminded of everything about youthful meandering, romance, and hazy passage of time. It’s beautiful, sincere, and serene. And like a “tankstation” it allows you to fill up your heart with romance and stillness of la nuit.
S. Zeljak
Editor
