LLUMEN Llumen has released their third album ‘The Breaking Waves’ in May. It has become an exceptionally strong future pop album, which revolves around the ebb and flowof life, and which is interspersed with the personal experiences ofmastermind Pieter Coussement, ranging from his difficult recovery from two minor heart attacks years ago, to the struggle with psychological problems and the suicide of his own brother. Yet ‘The BreakingWaves’ is not just a deeply sad record full of serious reflections. It is also an extremely successful electro record that will undoubtedly make you dance. Hi Pieter. You recently released your third album ‘The Breaking Waves’. Congratulations, I think it’s a very successful work. I understand that there is a deeper concept behind the album. Can you explain to us what that concept is? Thank you Xavier, the songs on ‘The Breaking Waves’ often had a hard time forming an album in my head. That's why ‘The Breaking Waves’ didn't start as an intended concept album, but rather became one along the way. I noticed that the lyrics I wrote were intertwined with seas and oceans, and that water as an element came to play an important role. Oceans and seas often become metaphors inmy lyrics for both the good and the bad sides of my life. It was when I discovered the cover image, made by Emmanuel Snyers, that it all came together. That’s a kind of serendipity that I like to embrace. The concept of ‘The Breaking Waves’ is based on a number of personal experiences from the past few years. What can you tell us about that, not only about the events, but also about how they inspired you to make ‘The BreakingWaves’? When I reflect on my life, it is always ebb and flow.There are moments of great happiness and peace, and then there are all those other moments that weigh on my mind and sow unrest in my head. After ‘Polygon Heart’ I didn’t want to write another moody album, although I don’t think I succeeded this time either. But songs like ‘Desire’ and ‘Torn Skin’ are written from a positive desire rather than from a gloomy attitude. I do try to write from an autobiographical point of view. Often that starts with a single sentence that comes to mind, and that is then supplemented with a story that is somewhere between fiction and reality. My life is not always easy, and I am www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be - 4 - always looking for a good balance that I often don’t find. As a result, songs remain interspersed with hope and love, but are at the same time also characterized by sadness and disappointment. The duality between both extremes is something that my melancholic self has perhaps become too used to. Your personal experiences also played tricks on you during the recording of its 2021 predecessor ‘Polygon Heart’, although I understand that the recording process was alreadywell advanced when the problems arose. How did that affect the recording process? This is quite a few years behind me now, but you consulted your sources well. It is true that after my first album I worked on the successor with great enthusiasm. However, somewhere halfway my heart decided otherwise. Two (small) heart attacks later I had to find myself again, which took a long time. It weighed on me. It took me almost two years to get back into my groove, not only mentally but also physically. My voice was severely tested by side effects of medication, and I actually had to learn to use my voice again.You can hear this here and there on the album. ‘Lifeline’ is the first song I wrote after a longmental battle,and it is therefore a song that is very close to my heart.When I sing it today, that feeling still prevails, and every syllable is 100 percent sincere. How did Llumen actually come into being? I heard that the group originally consisted of three members, but that you later continued the project as the only member, from 2009 onwards. A long time ago I had a band with Ivan Van der Herten, Sad CBA, which was then supplemented by my brother Joris. Afterwards we renamed it Llumen. But as is often the case, life gets in the way and ambitions grow somewhat apart. Everyone concentrated on their own path in life. I then decided to continue Llumen myself, because I cannot imagine a life without music. It is still high on my priority list. Without music, a part of me is missing. At the moment I take care of all the tasks, Joris plays live and Ivan is still a good sounding board. In fact, he still plays a little on every album.There is often still a piece of a lyric by him. Your debut ‘The Memory Institute’ dates from 2017, with a preceding single in 2016. In other words, it took a long time before your debut was released. How
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