About Pieter

Please meet singer-songwriter Pieter – Musical influences – Lyrics – Instruments – Albums & Production – Album: Everything – Film & Documentary – TakandBand

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About Pieter

Pieter Tak is born and raised from Breda (’52) and a singer-songwriter of mostly English songs. According to insiders, a real songsmith with a repertoire that runs into hundreds of songs. “I started playing guitar late, when I was almost 18,” he says, “but I immediately started singing along with the chords and in that struggle I found my voice.“

He formed the band ‘Attic’ with school friends, named after the attic where they rehearsed, and soon began contributing songs of his own. It attracted some public attention and recordings of it have survived. “We could only record with 1 microphone and a borrowed tape recorder and on cassette decks with a lot of noise. Later we started recording something in a studio. In response we were told that everything could and should be much more commercial, if we wanted to achieve anything at all. Well, I really didn’t feel like it.”

Musical influences

Pieter only plays his own work in his own musical style, nourished by English, but especially American music of the 1970s. “I also played Irish music for quite some time, such as with the group ‘Moira’, from which I learned a lot.” Sometimes you will find a ballad with a touch of country, then more folk-like rock. It can also become a bluesy song, or a bit of pop sounds through it. But it remains typical Pieter. And of course the musicians he plays with have a significant influence on Pieter’s sound: “I don’t write out parts, but with the qualities of everyone together we make the songs into a sounding whole.“

Lyrics

Pieter presents himself in his lyrics as a contemporary man, vulnerable, critical, but also with a touch of irony and self-mockery. His words testify to the human interaction and measure of all things. He writes about insecurities and problems of everyday life (and those of the future), but also about the search for the unknown in love. “Sometimes lyrics by contemporary poets touch me so much that it almost automatically starts buzzing in me and a song is created,” Pieter says.

“Of our time, vulnerable, but also with a touch of irony.”
— About Pieter Tak

Instruments

Pieter plays quite a few acoustic and electric guitars. He is always looking for an instrument with a different timbre and uses various tunings in his compositions. On this site (Dutch only) Pieter also writes about his guitars, how he got them and what the instrument brings him. “Any other instrument brings a new sound and can be the basis for a new set of songs.” He also makes songs on banjo and piano. On recordings, he also plays harmonica, sitar, or a bit of mandolin.

Albums and production

In the studio Pieter produced a number of albums with musical friends, such as ‘Rivers From The Heart’, ‘Waters From The Well’, ‘The Watcher’ and the Dutch-language ‘Broos’. “Those CDs are all sold out, I just keep a few sets for special interest,” he says with a smile. In recent years, as he puts it himself, he has been ‘tinkering’ with his music in the home studio, in collaboration with musical friends and modern digital technology. Twenty songs have already been released on YouTube under his own name and accompanied by a film or photo report. Just listen to songs like:

Album: Everything

Pieter wrote and produced the CD ‘Everything’ with 11 varied songs under his own management. Musical friends play various instruments in addition to Pieter’s guitar and vocals. They can be heard on drums, bass, piano and saxophone. “The song ‘The Last Bell’ is a favorite of mine, also because of the beautiful horn part that is played.“

The CD received critical acclaim and is still available through the website. The TakandBand was born out of this collaboration.

Film & documentary

He also writes music for films and documentaries by filmmaker Liesbeth van Well. An example of this is the documentary with piano accompaniment by Pieter ‘Volunteers in Palliative Care‘. He also wrote the song for the five-year existence of the ‘Buddy to Buddy’ foundation ‘Buddy of Mine’.

In collaboration with Media&Games students from BUas (Breda), Pieter is working on song clips, of which the “Toes” clip is a first expression.

TakandBand

Nowadays Pieter performs with TakandBand and can also be booked via this site. TakandBand has the opportunity to play in various formations, depending on space and budget. A new song by TakandBand is published every month on FaceBook, YouTube and all streaming channels, illustrated with photo/video clips and lyrics. More than twelve songs can already be listened to via these media.

Visit the discography page for links to older and new(er) work.