Douglas Firs | Pre-listening session new album "Happy Pt. 2" | 27 August

That, in a nutshell, is the concept behind De Donkere Kamer, an exclusive listening session in movie theaters. Listening to an album in such a setting is a unique sensory experience, especially when it’s a sublime album like Happy Pt. 2 by Douglas Firs. Enjoy this exclusive pre-listening session, three days before the album is released (30 August)!

Afterwards, Otto-Jan Ham will have a conversation with Gertjan Van Hellemont, the musical mastermind behind Douglas Firs.

Two years after Heart of a Mother, Douglas Firs' highly praised album about his late mother and his son born during that same period, he is ready with a follow-up: Happy Pt. 2. This record, alongside its melancholic themes, once again offers energy and hope. The sense of loss remains, but life goes on. Finding happiness again is possible after a while, but it will never be the same.

Gertjan Van Hellemont recorded 10 songs with his loyal band: bassist Simon Casier (Balthazar), drummer Laurens Billiet, brother Sem Van Hellemont, and Senne Guns on keyboards, with backing vocals by Roos Denayer (Rosa Butsi). But there's more to hear: pedal steel! Saxophone! A 16-piece Hungarian string orchestra! Even his now 3-year-old son Georges can be heard on the new Douglas Firs album.

Van Hellemont traveled to Los Angeles to mix the album with Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Ray Lamontagne, Afghan Whigs), in the studio where Feist also completed her latest album. Fred Kevorkian (The White Stripes, The National) did the mastering in New York.

Live

• 3 October @ TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
• 5 October @ Ancienne Belgique, Brussel