DRESSED LIKE BOYS

Jelle Denturck you know as the frontman of DIRK., with which he says he has ‘made a lot of noise in recent years’. But actually, he considers himself a great softy, with a record collection full of melancholic indie pop and rock: Bowie, Beatles, Lou Reed, Elton John, Nina Simone, Anohni & The Johnsons, Sufjan Stevens, Perfume Genius, Wilco, Tobias Jesso Jr. ... there is clearly a side to Denturck that does not easily come out with DIRK. According to him, it was time for that now. Als Dressed Like Boys he wanted to write songs and make a record that are entirely his own. Not to make it an ego trip, but by way of self-examination. Denturck sings about the search for his personal freedom, about his dearest friends, his homosexuality and relationship, but also does not shy away from ugly themes like gaybashing. It doesn't get more personal and fragile. Musically, the above record collection undeniably seeps through, and the sound of Dressed Like Boys mainly reaches back to the 70s. Denturck guides that into the 21st century with tape recorders, (real!) strings, Wurlitzers, Rhodes, cookie tin drum sounds, and a fine reunion with the (grand) piano, the first instrument he learned to play as a child. As much as Denturck likes to make noise with DIRK., with Dressed Like Boys he can turn the volume knob a bit more to the left for an open-hearted look into his soul. support: Ciska CiskaCiska Ciska is the project around singer-songwriter Ciska Dhaenens from Ghent, who knows how to put a fragile power into unearthly beautiful songs. With subtle guitars and sparse piano, controlled drums, and a golden voice, she pulls the listener into her emotional world, where she is fearlessly vulnerable.