POMRAD

Antwerp based Adriaan Van De Velde has got the quantum action down pat. As a beatmaker, keyboardist, vocoder and keytar player, he rose from obscurity and remained in a league of his own. These days he performs with his trio and the clarity of his eclecticism has never been better. With the release of two EPs, This Day and Vlotjes it is only a matter of time before he starts conquering playlists in Asia.

N-F : What is the motivation behind Pomrad’s music and how did it all happen?

P : I was playing in different bands as a keyboardist and besides that I was making instrumental music on my own. One day a friend asked me when I would make a cd with some beats and that's what I did. I made up a name and I sold some self-burned cds at a house party at home and people liked it and started asking for more.

N-F : Ah, the days of burning cds. I remember them. Just curious, is it more challenging to be a vocoder/ keytar musician compared to other instruments?

P : I don't think so. Every instrument is a challenge on its own, you can't really compare the difficulty of different instruments. I'm a pianist so doing this is just a way of expanding my keyboard playing. For talkbox though I had to practice the mouth-technique a bit.

N-F : Some musicians tend to have a different persona once they’re up on stage, do you carry that in you?

P : Not really. You always change a bit when you're on stage, but I don't suppose I'm becoming a different persona. I sometimes think I can be more exuberant on stage than I would be in normal life…don't know.

N-F : Tell us a bit about the current situation with the music scene in Belgium, what is trending and how do you gain more following?

P :As for electronic music, there are some very cool artists like Hiele, LTGL, Cupp Cave and Internal Sun. I try to expand my fan base by playing concerts and promoting the music. E.g. via online media.

N-F : By the way, I heard that you’re quite a writer and you used to write stories when you were in school, in fact, that’s how you got the name Pomrad, right?

P : These stories where very short and have no literary value at all.

N-F : Oh, come on, im sure they are. You’re just being modest. So, what kind of books do you like to read?

P: I used to read quite a lot but nowadays my reading is at low ebb. The best book I've read recently is 'Cat's Cradle' by Kurt Vonnegut. I'm planning to catch up on reading; start to read more again.

N-F : Great! Thanks for the recommendation. Wil definitely check it out. So, if you were not doing music, what would you end up doing (professionally)?

P : I have no idea. Maybe umpire or mailman… Hm, it's very hard to think of a profession that is not connected to music. Maybe work in a farm or do forest management or something like that.

N-F : A non-music related question: What is your spirit animal?

P :I checked a site and it said I'm a cougar.

N-F : Seriously? Alright, back to music. Who would you like to collaborate with?

P: There are a lot of very cool artists making great stuff. Artists that I think of right now to collaborate with are Tori y Moi, John Scofield, Bonobo, Allan Holdsworth, Javelin…

N-F : Any plans to tour Asia?

P: Not yet. But Asia is definitely on the wish list and I hope one day I can come and play some concerts in Malaysia!

*photo by Harco Rutgers*

Pomrad’s new track ‘Knights’ is out on On and On Record’s compilation ‘101’