The Dutch youngsters of Angry Chair combine the best elements of the nineties Seattle scene with a raunchy rock ‘n’ roll energy reminiscent of the seventies rock bands that practically lived on the road. Earlier this year, I had the chance to witness them live, and chat to guitarists Martijn Schuur and David Veen, as well as drummer Irina van Dijk.

“We have been playing together for quite a while”, Veen explains. “It may not have become serious until a little while in, we have been jamming together for a number of years. That helped shape the sound of the band. The choices we make are very much informed by that. Martijn and I keep that in the back of our minds when we choose our guitars and our sounds.

Martijn and I hardly ever play the same notes. We are a two-guitar band in the truest sense of the word. Even during the moments when we aren’t playing any solos. In that case, what often happens is that I end up becoming part of the rhythm section, while Martijn focuses on coloring in the songs. Simply by playing together for as long as we have, I think it has kind of naturally and organically developed into what we are doing now.”

Different Segments of Hard-Edged Music

Despite the band name clearly referencing an Alice In Chains classic, the music on Angry Chair’s 2024 debut album ‘Hole’ doesn’t sound quite as much as the Seattle legends as many lazy reviewers want you to believe. “That’s probably because all of us listen to other things except grunge as well”, Van Dijk states. “That’s how various types of bands have influenced our sound.”

“You can hear that nineties grunge sound”, Veen openly admits. “And the very heavy side of it in particular. However, I would never describe us as a grunge band. It’s like Irina said: all five of us come at it from a different angle when it comes to the music we have listened to most. Rick (Kluin, bassist) is a true punker. Irina is generally into accessible rock music.”

“Foo Fighters, Paramore, that sort of stuff”, Van Dijk nods. “Or Bring Me the Horizon.”

“All of us are influenced by hard-edged music”, Veen emphasizes. “But different segments of that hard edge. When I was ten years old, I went to see a Kiss concert, and that remains my favorite band to this day. That’s the sort of stuff that influenced me. And stuff like Iron Maiden and AC/DC. And Max (van der Schoor, singer) is the Nirvana man in the band.”

“And Soundgarden”, Van Dijk adds. “And anything Chris Cornell, really.”

Getting the Idea Across

“Max is the one who generally comes up with the foundations of our songs”, Veen says. “Sometimes I do as well. In that case, there is already a fairly thought-out idea for a song, after which we present it to the band, and then we color in the songs collectively. So generally, there is already a sketch for a song before we present it to the rest of the band, after which things like guitar melodies, fills and unusual drum rhythms are added.”

“Things can move from the initial idea to the final song quite quickly”, Van Dijk explains. “A great example of this is ‘Can’t Breathe’. There was an acoustic foundation for that song, after which we rehearsed it once or twice, and then we knew that’s what it had to be.”

“There are some songs that already have their final form once we start rehearsing them”, Schuur emphasizes. “I have contributed to a couple of songs that ended up on the album, but I don’t always have a very clear idea of what way a song should go. Sometimes, I will just have a riff or a bass line, in which case I send it to Max, and then I’ll get it back with a vocal melody on top of it. That’s how the sketches of those songs develop.

On the other hand, there are some songs for which I do have a clear idea. What happens then is that I try to do my best to get those ideas across in the rehearsal as some kind of conductor – especially since I already have things like drum accents in my head – and fail at doing so. Fortunately, we have been playing together for long enough to eventually end up with something that works.”

“We have done acoustic sessions as well with just Max, Martijn, and myself”, Veen adds. “Playing the songs that way feels quite natural as well. And that is because nine out of ten times, the songs have an acoustic foundation. At the very beginning, they have started out on an acoustic guitar. They just grow into what you hear on the album later on.”

Lining Up Exactly

One thing that stands out during Angry Chair’s live shows is how much Van Dijk is the time keeper of the band. “It’s funny: when we recorded ‘Hole’, we recorded everything without a click track, because Irina is a very tight player”, Veen confirms. “There is a tempo, and that’s what she sticks to. It’s kind of a metronome that she has in her head.

There are songs that I start with just the guitar, and I tend to kick those off a bit too fast. You tend to not notice things like that live, but when we were recording, it was funny to hear that the song would drop in tempo just a bit, because Irina would pull it back to the tempo it was supposed to have. That is also the reason why we had to re-do a couple of things, as all the tracks except the vocals and the bells and whistles were recorded live in the room together.

Better yet: Irina’s timing is so tight that when we played a live session at Djammen at RTV Drenthe, we could have laid that footage on top of the studio recordings, because they line up exactly. It’s a perfect match. It’s almost scary.”

“The vocal melody has a certain tempo, and that’s what I have in mind while playing, and that’s what I adapt the drums to”, Van Dijk modestly clarifies. “Also, when I am practicing certain techniques, I’m always doing that with a metronome. Ultimately, you will learn to play more tightly as a result. But it’s not like I’m always consciously considering the tempos of the songs. It just happens. I know how something is supposed to sound, and I try to adapt to that.

When I play with singer/songwriter Nina Wood, there is a backing track and a click track, so there is a fixed tempo. Angry Chair is rawer and more energetic. That variation is something that I really like. With Nina Wood, I can experiment with electronic sounds, while Angry Chair allows me to rock out and hit a lot harder. How hard I play something is something I do consider. If the guitars and the bass are loud, the drums need to be as well.”

Weapon of Choice

“I am a Gibson fan”, Veen says. “And the Les Paul in particular. That is my weapon of choice. That things sounds fantastic. Especially combined with the Hughes & Kettner amp and the overdrive that I use: a Friedman BE-OD. That just sounds awesome.”

“I have the same overdrive”, Schuur says. “Apart from that, our set-ups our quite different, but that overdrive is something we share. Like David, I started by playing Gibsons, but it was an SG for me, since I grew up with AC/DC. Once, I borrowed a Les Paul, but I found out it wasn’t really my thing. That’s when I went to look for something like a Strat, but with a little more drive. That’s what I found in my PRS. That will remain my go-to guitar. Especially for this band.”

“At the moment, I am playing a Mapex Armory and a Tama Imperialstar”, Van Dijk shares. “To be honest, I want to go for a Tama Starclassic eventually, because I love how that kit sounds, but I would have to save up for that for a while, and I have just gotten new cymbals, which was quite an investment as well. I generally play Zildjian, but I recently got a Meinl cymbal that also has a really nice sound. Both of those brands match what I do quite well.

Recently, I bought a Tama Starphonic snare, which I am very happy with. It’s an aluminum snare, and it’s a bit deeper than usual, which creates a really cool sound. I do sometimes still use the stock snare of the Mapex Armory kit. That one has standard sizes, and it is a steel snare, so it sounds a little different, which I like.”

Further into the Country

“Our short-term plans for the future are to play shows a little further into the country, and maybe play some festival shows here and there”, Veen says. “Just play a lot of shows, and not just in Groningen, Veendam, Stadskanaal, and Assen, but maybe places like Arnhem, Nijmegen, Amsterdam, and Tilburg. Also, we will keep writing new songs. Since we released our debut album in October, we don’t have to rush that, but there will have to be a second one sometime. Or maybe an EP to bridge the gap.

Finding gigs further from home is quite a challenge. We would love to go further into the country, but renting a van or driving there with three cars and a full backline is quite an investment. We don’t mind if our shows aren’t profitable, but it shouldn’t cost us loads of money just to get to the venue. We have recently exchanged contact information with some enthusiastic people in different parts of the country, so who knows what will come out of that?”