Kris Dane was born on the 27th of May 1972.

After a compulsory education at music school from the age of seven, the kid finally set himself free by exploring greedily the forbidden fruits of punk, rock, new wave, jazz, pop, funk and soul. After playing drums and piano in early bands such as Blue Train, Manic Depression or dEUS, he started a band of his own called Way Beyond Bitch.

In 1996 Kris Dane ended up in the finals of the Flemish music contest named “Humo’s Rock Rally’ with his band 801 kd Concept. The band was promising, eclectic but not enough formatted to fit in any standard record deal.

Two years later the kid was doing a couple of solo gigs in small clubs & pubs and a first deal was offered to him by a an alternative record label. One month later he went into the studio and recorded his first album. It took him 5 days to give birth to the naked album ‘Fe is a Male Mystic”. The reviews were great and the kid was invited to play with Aka Moon, Marie Daulne, The National Opera and Philippe Boesmans.

He toured around in the Benelux and the UK, often accompanied by Eric Tatepo Kembo on guitar. Only one year later, in 1999, the album ‘Boy,26’ followed, and the kid started touring with a full band. Interviews and rockumentaries (and a video-clip by Jaco Van Dormael) turned his career into a shaky rollercoaster. Apart from that, he played residencies in Paris, Lyon and Barcelone as a soloist in the Opera ‘A Winter’s Tale’ by Shakespeare. He wrote two compositions for it on special request of Philippe Boesmans, who was responsible for the entire magic score.

He hosted a series of singer-songwriter nights with fellow musicians in the late night cocktail bar ‘The Archiduc”. The success was overwhelming. The place was overcrowded and people gathered on the sideways just to get a glimpse. It became the talk of the town.

On top of that, the kid got invited by one of the best contemporary ensembles, named Ictus, to sing two Tom Waits operas, The Black Rider and Frank’s Wild Years, rearranged with the blessing of the man himself. An offer he couldn’t refuse.

At the same time he started working on a fun-project called ‘Private Lee – The Alphabet’, 26 songs, experimenting with grooves, ghost voices, soundtracks and melodies. The album was released in 2003. A double vinyl with a sound that is still trail-blazing nowadays.

Two fellow musicians Gregory Remy & Mika Nagazaki, who participated in this adventure, invited the kid to come and play with a band called Ghinzu.

After recording the album ‘Blow’, (2004) the kid went on tour for almost a year and a half, performing on the best European festivals, occasionally supporting Iggy Pop and Marilyn Manson. At the same time, over a period of 3 years he played with Ictus in big theatres and opera houses all over Europe, including Scandinavia and South-Korea.

In 2005 the kid produced the album of his good old time buddy Jef Mercelis and helped Franki out with the mix of his EP.

In the Meantime he kept on writing new songs and soon came the idea of a trilogy, based upon identity, inspired by poetry and by the lecture of the bible.

And so the album ‘Songs of Crime and Passion’ saw the light. Recorded, mixed and mastered in 2006, released in 2007.

More later….

by J.C.

Kris Dane was born on the 27th of May 1972.

After a compulsory education at music school from the age of seven, the kid finally set himself free by exploring greedily the forbidden fruits of punk, rock, new wave, jazz, pop, funk and soul. After playing drums and piano in early bands such as Blue Train, Manic Depression or dEUS, he started a band of his own called Way Beyond Bitch.

In 1996 Kris Dane ended up in the finals of the Flemish music contest named “Humo’s Rock Rally’ with his band 801 kd Concept. The band was promising, eclectic but not enough formatted to fit in any standard record deal.

Two years later the kid was doing a couple of solo gigs in small clubs & pubs and a first deal was offered to him by a an alternative record label. One month later he went into the studio and recorded his first album. It took him 5 days to give birth to the naked album ‘Fe is a Male Mystic”. The reviews were great and the kid was invited to play with Aka Moon, Marie Daulne, The National Opera and Philippe Boesmans.

He toured around in the Benelux and the UK, often accompanied by Eric Tatepo Kembo on guitar. Only one year later, in 1999, the album ‘Boy,26’ followed, and the kid started touring with a full band. Interviews and rockumentaries (and a video-clip by Jaco Van Dormael) turned his career into a shaky rollercoaster. Apart from that, he played residencies in Paris, Lyon and Barcelone as a soloist in the Opera ‘A Winter’s Tale’ by Shakespeare. He wrote two compositions for it on special request of Philippe Boesmans, who was responsible for the entire magic score.

He hosted a series of singer-songwriter nights with fellow musicians in the late night cocktail bar ‘The Archiduc”. The success was overwhelming. The place was overcrowded and people gathered on the sideways just to get a glimpse. It became the talk of the town.

On top of that, the kid got invited by one of the best contemporary ensembles, named Ictus, to sing two Tom Waits operas, The Black Rider and Frank’s Wild Years, rearranged with the blessing of the man himself. An offer he couldn’t refuse.

At the same time he started working on a fun-project called ‘Private Lee – The Alphabet’, 26 songs, experimenting with grooves, ghost voices, soundtracks and melodies. The album was released in 2003. A double vinyl with a sound that is still trail-blazing nowadays.

Two fellow musicians Gregory Remy & Mika Nagazaki, who participated in this adventure, invited the kid to come and play with a band called Ghinzu.

After recording the album ‘Blow’, (2004) the kid went on tour for almost a year and a half, performing on the best European festivals, occasionally supporting Iggy Pop and Marilyn Manson. At the same time, over a period of 3 years he played with Ictus in big theatres and opera houses all over Europe, including Scandinavia and South-Korea.

In 2005 the kid produced the album of his good old time buddy Jef Mercelis and helped Franki out with the mix of his EP.

In the Meantime he kept on writing new songs and soon came the idea of a trilogy, based upon identity, inspired by poetry and by the lecture of the bible.

And so the album ‘Songs of Crime and Passion’ saw the light. Recorded, mixed and mastered in 2006, released in 2007.

More later….

by J.C.