Willem van Ekeren

Willem van Ekeren (born 1956) is best known for his Bach-Bukowski project in which he combines the music of J.S. Bach with the poetry of Charles Bukowski. As a young boy he was already interested in music and playing piano. And when a teenager he formed several bands and also commenced a singer/songwriter career. It was in 1996 that he recorded the album 'For the Rich' where he sung the lead vocals and also played the acoustic guitar. At this time he often performed in cafes as a bar-pianist and gave piano lessons, while at the time being drawn more and more to classical piano.

As a young boy he was already interested in music and playing piano. And when a teenager he formed several bands and also commenced a singer/songwriter career. It was in 1996 that he recorded the album 'For the Rich' where he sung the lead vocals and also played the acoustic guitar. At this time he often performed in cafes as a bar-pianist and gave piano lessons, while at the time being drawn more and more to classical piano.

In 1994 he chanced upon the book 'The Last Night of the Earth Poems' by Charles Bukowski and he immediately fell in love with it. Whilst lying in bed with ?The Last Night', and reading it for the third time, in 1997, he was struck by the fact that ?You know and I know and thee know' was the ultimate text for the f minor prelude of Bach's Well Tempered Keyboard. He didn't know what hit him. It was as if he had entered a secret cave with strange drawings on the wall... Taking a deep breath he continues scrolling and penetrates in the deep caverns of a mysterious place. 'Peace', 'Spark', 'Aliens' and 'Be Kind' seem eager to wrap themselves in a Bachian robe. Exhausted he falls asleep. The next day at the piano, he just starts combining the words of You know with the f minor prelude. The whole thing is still crooked but ritual forces lead Willem, as he manages to sing You know in such a way that it falls into place with the structure of the f minor harmonies. He wonders what is happening and asks himself whether this is something super kitsch or something real. Was this what he had been searching for all those years? He became very moved and grateful when with 'Peace' and 'Spark' it all continued to flow with the same natural self evidency. At the time he didn't tell anybody about it. But he is now hailed a Dutch Tom Waits...