Affaire releases first single 'Mountain Energy' of their upcoming debut EP 'Interal Swing'

With 'Mountain Energy', Affaire gives us a first taste of their upcoming debut EP 'Internal Swing', which will be released in February via V2 Records.

Michiel Ritzen and Nick Caers are the two names behind Affaire. What can you expect from this duo? Off-beat electronic rock with driving drum machines, a battery of synths, convulsive vocals, and a propelling guitar that merges into a hybrid of twisted energy and overheated nervousness. They deliver a sound that finds itself at the crossroads of what Suicide did in the '80s, the angularity of Talking Heads, and the adventurous spirit of LCD Soundsystem and Soulwax, while still carving their own path.

Mountain Energy is about Michiel's first experience with escapism in a one-street village in the Austrian mountains, where his girlfriend grew up. Taking sharp turns at a hundred miles per hour while one peak after another glimmers enticingly under a low summer sun. A country boy fancifully sees himself as the king of the mountain. Pristine nature, crystal-clear mountain streams, large pints, thick schnitzels, and lots of love. A paradise. I want to stay, but I also don't

Early next year, the EP Internal Swing will be released, featuring six tracks that balance on a spectrum of twisted electro and abrasive guitar rock, with lyrics resembling an unceasing stream of consciousness. From introspection and empathy, psychologist Ritzen lightly elaborates on escapism, love, delusion, doubts, and pleasure. Most of the songs were recorded by Ritzen and Caers themselves in their home studio and at Het Depot in Leuven during a residency. For the final touches, they worked closely with Rob Driessen from De Muziekgieterij in Maastricht, where Affaire is Artist in Residence.

Watch the videoclip for 'Mountain Energy'

More about Affaire

The two gentlemen met during their teenage years as drummers. After many jam sessions, Caers delved into higher studies of the same instrument, while Ritzen, during his psychology studies, started experimenting with bass, guitar, and vocals. After playing in various bands and formations for several years, the two friends found themselves post-COVID in the black hole of drum machines, synthesizers, and effects pedals. Although Nick and Michiel have spent most of their lives behind the drums, they temporarily swapped their kits for this project to imagine themselves as scientists behind the controls.

The name Affaire was conceived by Vincent Lynen (singer Léo Vincent), initially without much underlying meaning. After a while, Michiel began to see the analogy of the name Affaire with his daily life: the feeling that having a job aligned with his psychology degree should be the primary focus, and that music cannot or should not be work, at best just a hobby. An analogy for a kind of secret, forbidden extramarital desire: the affair.

Live, the contrast between the two protagonists crackles: Caers, like a professor, intensely focused on controlling the synths and drum machines, steering them and often letting them spiral out of control, while Ritzen, with his rhythmic guitar playing and charismatic vocals, bounces hyperactively across the stage. Tension and fun are the common thread, which also returns in the name Affaire: a reflection of Ritzen's belief that, given his background, music should and can only be a side affair. A forbidden desire yearning for release.