Arjen explains: Hans van Vuuren of the Transmission label is a big fan of Anneke and one day asked me to have a good listen to her voice. Indeed I was quite impressed. Anneke is a pitch-perfect singer and her voice has a wonderful deep vibrato. It took quite some time to convince Anneke (but more specifically her band) to participate
Astrid van der Veen
Arjen explains: “Someone had sent me an MP3 with Astrid singing on it. I didn’t have time to listen to it, but he kept asking me to listen to it. When I finally did listen, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that the singer was only 14
Backing vocalists
The following albums feature backing vocals Anthony – Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy Ayreon – The Final Experiment Audio To the Quazar Mirjam van Doorn – vocals Arjen explains: Mirjam is the wife of Peter Vink, my favorite bass player. She has a high and bright powerful voice that blends wonderfully with the dark […]
Barry Hay
Arjen explains:
Back in the 80s my last band Vengeance performed ‘Back Home’ live with Barry on vocals. I’ve always been a big Earring fan, so having Barry on my album was a great experience for me. It was the first time that a voice that I had listened to for all my youth sang one of my very own songs…
Bob Catley
Arjen explains: no comment yet.
Bruce Dickinson
Arjen explains: My manager at the time, Harrie, worked for the same management as Iron Maiden’s, so at some point he had given Bruce a copy of ‘Into the Electric Castle’. About 6 months later Harrie asked Bruce if he had ever listened to it, and he replied that he loved it…
Damian Wilson
Arjen Explains: His voice reminds me of one of my favorite singers; Robert Plant, although Damian sings completely different and is absolutely not a Plant fan. That’s why his voice can be considered unique. It is clear, and strong, and indestructible. I heard one of his songs (Homegrown) on a Prog collection CD and was immediately impressed.
Daniel Gildenlow
Arjen explains: No comment yet.
Dave Brock
Arjen explains: I’ve collected and listened to ‘Hawkwind’ records for my entire life. I loved the mysterious spacey music, sleeves and lyrics. I asked Dave many times if he would participate on one of my CDs, but I was never able to reach him, until Star One. He’s never been a guest on anyone else’s project either, which makes me extra proud to know he was on mine…
Devin Townsend
Arjen explains: I first heard Devin when he sang on Steve Vai’s ‘Sex and Religion’ album, and we all knew something extraordinary was happening here! Then much later I received a stack of albums and when I listened to them Devin Townsend’s album really stuck out, I believe it was ‘Terria’. Clearly something unique was happening here; this wall of sound, lots of weirdness and great melodies…
Devon Graves
Arjen explains: I once heard Psychotic Waltz about 10 years ago when a journalist played it to me and I remember I really liked the singer. The record company Inside Out regularly sends me CDs they release. Among them was Devon’s new band Dead Soul Tribe. Again I was impressed by his voice and decided to contact him…
Edward Balogh
Arjen explains: Edwin had sent me an Omega CD featuring his vocals. I wasn’t convinced, but when he visited me and sang something accompanying himself with guitar I was. Edwin has a raw voice, and sings with great passion…
Edward Reekers
Arjen explains: Edward always watches my face when he’s singing. Whenever he sees that big smile appear, he knows he’s on the right track. Edward has a bright, and yet warm voice. A lot of Dutch people will recognize his voice from the many commercials he sings. I was already a fan of his voice when I heard Kayak’s
Eric Clayton
Arjen: Some years ago a German journalist introduced me to the music of Saviour Machine, and needless to say I was really impressed by their singer Eric Clayton. His voice kinda reminded me of David Bowie, but he definitely has his own distinctive style. Then my manager Yvette played me some of their stuff and…
Esther Ladiges
Arjen explains: Esther was one of the approximately 150 singers who sent in their recordings in response to my request on my website in which I invited unknown singers to send me their material. One of them could end up on ‘The Human Equation’. Esther came very close to playing the part of the Wife, but…
Fabio Lione
Arjen explains: Fabio has a high and bright voice, with a wide vibrato. I was very impressed with Rhapsody’s ‘Symphony of Enchanted Lands’ and its great production and musicianship. My label then contacted Fabio. Members of Rhapsody really loved my music and convinced Fabio to travel to the Netherlands…
Fish
Arjen explains: I got a lot of emails from people who were so happy to hear Fish on something prog again, and that this was the best thing he had done in years. Fish has an enormous personality that is reflected in his voice. He isn’t so much a technical singer, but very emotional. I was looking for an expressive vocalist and a reporter gave me…
Floor Jansen
Arjen explains: Floor has a bright future ahead. Not only does she sing well, she has a great appearance and a lot of charisma on stage. Hans van Vuuren of the Transmission label had just signed After Forever and asked me whether I could use her voice on my CD. After listening to her demos, I wasn’t quite convinced, but decided to give her a chance. Once I had worked with her, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time…
Gary Hughes
Arjen explains: Gary has a great AOR voice like Paul Rodgers and Lou Gramm. For the version of ‘Beyond the last horizon’ on ‘Ayreonauts Only’ Gary recorded his voice in his own studio, but something was wrong with the microphone, so his voice didn’t come out well, which is too bad because he did a great job. I had to do a promo-tour in Germany together with Gary, whom I had never met at that point. We immediately hit it off…
George Oosthoek
Arjen explains: For Electric Castle I was looking for a voice who could represent ‘Death’ and what better choice than a grunter? I was about to record Sharon den Adel, and her boyfriend Robert Westerhold is the grunter of ‘Within Temptation’. And because he loves my music, he was more than willing…
Hansi Kursch
Arjen Explains: No comment yet.
Heather Findlay
Arjen: A couple of years ago I went to a Blackmore’s Night concert in Germany, and an amazing female singer was supporting them. I was really impressed, but at the time I didn’t know who she was and only found out later it was Heather when she told me she supported Blackmore’s Night. Later I got emails from fans telling me to check out Mostly Autumn…
Ian Parry
Arjen explains: Ian has a very powerful but also melodic voice with a clearly present vibrato. When we needed a replacement for our singer Leon Goewie in Vengeance, I heard a recording of the band Hammerhead with Ian on vocals. I immediately contacted him and he was instantly interested to sing for Vengeance. Unfortunately the musical transition was too great for the fans…
Irene Jansen
Arjen explains: Together with Floor we were searching for someone to be the backing vocalist next to Floor during the Star One tour. I had seen her sister Irene in the audience dancing to the music of After Forever. At some point I mentioned to Floor that it would have been great if her sister had been a singer. Much to my surprise Floor told me that Irene is a singer!…
Jacqueline Govaert
Arjen explains: I was at the RS29 Studio to pick something up when I happened to hear a recording of a nice singer. I asked who it was and behind me heard the voice of a 16-year young girl say: that’s me! I immediately asked her if she wanted to be on my new CD. Jacqueline has a raw voice, a little bit like…