The music of Twarres, consisting of Mirjam Timmer and Johan van der Veen, is original, straight from the heart and slowly unfolds its beauty to the listener. The result of this process is their debut album Stream, just released on EMI; a great collection of songs marked by sensitive, profound and straightforward lyrics, sung with two remarkable voices, which have become their trademark since their hit single Wêr Bisto. Compelling and intimate, two voices with depth, intensified by the addition of accordion and violin. "Twarres writes beautiful songs to sit down and listen to", as singer and guitarist Mirjam Timmer describes it. "Songs with wonderful harmonies and meaningful lyrics which are not so self-evident. I like it best when our voices linger around each other and melt together".
Like in the folksong Children, a song written by Mirjam, producer Peter van Asten (who produced the entire album) and arranger Edwin Schimscheimer. Its particular atmosphere of tranquillity, hope, melancholy and determination, so typically Twarres, is heightened by the use of Celtic flutes, piano and acoustic guitar.
Mirjam wrote most songs on Stream, which contains a mixture of pop and folk music. Her lyrics are so personal it's like reading her diary. All her sorrow, thoughts and worries are in those songs. Dealing with her father's death at a young age, being lovesick after ending a relationship or an unrequited love. "For me, writing songs is the easiest way to deal with my feelings", she says. "It is like therapy. Sometimes it starts with just playing some guitar or piano. Then my thoughts start wandering in completely different directions and a song begins to unfold". That is how Your Decisions, here first serious song she wrote at sixteen, came about, as did We're Alone, which tells the tale of two people in a relationship, both fighting against the feeling of being together alone. "You're together as a couple, but lonely at the same time. And you know the relationship is not going anywhere", she explains.
Her personal lyrics sit very well with Johan. He understands her feelings as no other, and sympathises with her emotions both on paper and in music. The two have a strong connection, even though they are not romantically involved. And sometimes they don't even need words to strengthen the bond they have, such as in the title song of the album, Stream; an instrumental stream of melodies, a wave of sounds in a rippling river. The meaning of the word 'stream' is the same in both English and Fries, the two languages Twarres sing in. Both the hit single Wêr Bisto and Do are sung in Fries, the official language in Friesland, in the north of Holland. A logical choice for the two who are faithful to their Fries roots.
Johan and Mirjam live in a small village called Warga, only 8 kilometres outside of Leeuwarden, Friesland. They are practically neighbours. The two kids became friends already at a very early age, spent many hours in each other's company and shared a relentless passion for music. Johan (1981, Dokkum) loved listening to Simon and Garfunkel ('amazing'), Mirjam (1982, Leeuwarden) grew up with music of Sting, Toto and Peter Gabriel ('the music my mother used to listen to'). "We were always singing, whether doing the dishes or during the time we spent in our rooms", remembers Johan. "It didn't matter what kind of songs". Their voices developed, blended and fit one another perfectly. Johan precisely understood where Mirjam wanted to go with a song and began to sing second voice, accompanied by the simple instrumentation of a guitar. It later would become Twarres' trademark.
At sixteen, Twarres began to enrol in talent shows and singing competitions. During 'Liet '99', the Fries equivalent of the song festival, they won the people's choice award with Wêr Bisto, a song Mirjam once wrote on the couch at her home. Twarres were then invited to perform in 'Laat de Leeuw'; a TV show hosted by famous Dutch comedian Paul de Leeuw and thus drew the attention of various record labels. And then things took off fast for Twarres.
Debut single Wêr Bisto became a big hit. Unique in its simplicity, the song ruled the charts for weeks and weeks. This was exceptional, because never before in the history of Dutch pop music had a song in the Fries language been at the top of the charts. Fans discussed the meaning of the lyrics on the Internet. The duo was invited to perform all over the country. The buzz even started to cross borders. Not only did Wêr Bisto reach platinum status in Vlaanderen, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, also French-speaking Wallonie fell for Twarres and Wêr bisto reached the top-ten charts there as well, proving there were no language barriers.
Generally speaking, it has been a very exciting year for Twarres with highlights such as the Ahoy shows with Dutch superstar Marco Borsato, the TMF awards in Holland and Donna awards in Belgium. Despite their busy schedules, Johan and Mirjam still managed to take time to finish work on their debut album, with second single She couldn't laugh being a taste of things to come. The song, about a couple that has been together for a long time, hiding their problems from the outside world, is at the top end of the charts at the moment. Twarres and their five-piece band are eager to start their first tour, performing in all major Dutch and Belgian pop venues.
Source: http://www.twarres.com/twarres/twarres-eng/index.html
