It was nearly 40 years ago when Dani Klein, Dirk Schoufs and Willy Lambregt put out the debut album of their Gypsy-blues trio known as Vaya Con Dios. Industry experts and even friends told them they would never get anywhere: their sound was too difficult to categorise and too tough for the market. They were indeed decidedly eclectic: a blend of blues-soaked lounge, Latin-infused pop and Memphis soul. But since their first sexy, sassy hit single “Just a Friend of Mine”, the band became a brand name in Belgium.
Two years later, with the release of their second album, “Night Owls”, they met international fame. Music fans thirsting for soulful beats after the synthesised New Wave that had been dominating the airwaves ate the quirky Belgian band up, making hits out of both the fast, jazzy guitars on “Nah Neh Nah” and the slow, sultry Dani Klein classic “What’s a Woman?”. Between the never-ending tours and television appearances, audiences continued to be surprised and delighted to meet the Belgiansinger whose voice was believed to belong to a southern blues woman.
The pressure of fame was difficult, and the band soon broke up. Not long after, Dirk died tragically, Dani had to pull herself together and make a decision. She decided to carry on with the name Vaya Con Dios as a solo artist, a tribute to the musicians who created the band and to those who wanted to help it continue. It was clearly the right decision. Three more albums (“Times Flies”, “Roots & wings”, “The promise”) and two compilations later, Vaya Con Dios managed to sell more than 10 million albums and singles and grow a big fanbase across the world.
In 2009, Dani Klein released her own album in French, “Comme on est venu”, along with a lot of the great French-language songwriters, such as Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré and Barbara. Dani has been touring the world with musicians non-stop over the years.
In 2013, she started a Farewell tour that ended on 25 October 2014 in her home town, Brussels. Thousands of fans gathered in Forest National for the very last show of the band. A CD – DVD (“Thank you all”) was recorded on this occasion.
A few months later, Dani Klein came back with another musical project. Together with Sal La Rocca (bass), William Lecomte (piano) and Tim De Jonghe (trumpet), she recorded her favorites songs from the repertoire of the legendary Billie Holiday. “Dani sings Billie” came out and a series of concerts in Belgium, was held to support that release.
After 6 years of silence, Dani Klein is now back. In October 2022 she released a new album (“What’s a woman?”). An album of her greatest hits revisited by her (on vocals) and William Lecomte (on piano).
And who’s better than Dani herself to speak about the creation of that project?
Dani Klein gave an exclusive interview to SounDarts.gr about that album, her next professional plans and everything else you need to know about her 40 year-career.
Hi from Greece.
Hello. How nice to meet you and to talk to you.
Thank you for taking the time.
It’s a pleasure. You have a beautiful country, and you have incredibly good food too.
Thank you. The last time you visited Greece was in 2005 right?
Yes we did a Vaya Con Dios concert in Lycabetus, Athens and another one in Thessaloniki.
In October 2022 you released a music collection, entitled “What’s a Woman? (Parce que-La Collection)”, with new versions of your famous hits for piano and voice. What was your motive to revisit songs from your nearly 40-year career?
Well, it wasn’t my idea. We were living here in Belgium, during this COVID situation, and we were not allowed to go out. We were not allowed to do hardly anything. Then, one day I got a phone call from the director of PIAS, which is a record company, and he had this idea in mind. He had already done the same thing with other artists, and the collection is his idea. It’s called “Parce que-La Collection”. The idea is to have singers sing their most famous songs, but in a very simple version, just with a piano. Since I was bored out of my mind, I was so delighted to have something to do, also the idea of doing it with a piano. The piano player I recorded with, his name is William Lecomte is just fantastic. I’m a huge fan of his playing, and he’s a really nice guy. I thought, “well, this is like a gift from heaven” because we can only belike, two or three persons together, so there were the sound engineer, the piano player and myself, that was allowed. We have something to do and we had fun doing it. It was really nice.
What do you have to say about your friend and excellent pianist William Lecomte?
He’s a jazz piano player, but he also plays classical music. He can play absolutely everything. He used to go on tour with Jean-Luc Ponty, who is a very famous jazz violinist. William is my favorite piano player of all times, and he’s been on tour with us for ten years as well.
What were the criteria to choose the songs for the album?
Well, the thing is, I was not able to choose all by myself. The record company needed some of the hits. They said that they needed that in order to sell it. That’s a commercial motive. There were the ones that I had to sing and then the other ones that I chose to have. Sort of like a balance between the most known songs and the least known song.
Is there going to be another Vaya con Dios album with original songs?
Well, actually, we have finished recording a new album during that same COVID time. After the piano vocals was finished, I started working with two other musicians and we have finished another album. I don’t know when it’s going to be released, because we are negotiating with record companies right now. So in a few months there will be a very last Via Con Dios album with original songs this time.
That’s amazing news! Can you reveal any details about it? Anything that you can say so far?
Well, yes, it will be a real Via Con Dios record. It will have completely new songs, but in the style and the atmosphere of the band. I think people will recognize the sound of the band in these songs.
Let’s go back to your beggining, because it’s been like, almost 40 years. Right? How do you recall the beginning of your career?
Yes. First of all, I have always been singing. I sang myself to sleep when I was a kid, so it was something that it lives in me. My beggining though, was very difficult because to make a living out of music and singing was nearly impossible, back then. So before we recorded the first album, I was with other bands. I did all kinds of jobs, like, I worked as a waitress, as a cook, as a seamstress, as a sales person, I even worked as a cleaning lady. So I did all kinds of jobs. Meanwhile, I was always making music, and then finally, I don’t know why, but the Vaya Con Dios formula all of a sudden took off, and that was the actual beginning of my career.
Vaya Con Dios began as a Gypsy-blues trio and you ended up combining jazz, blues and soul musical genres, among others. Was it your primary goal to mix all these genres or did it just happen?
It just happened. Because in Brussels, we cannot say that we have a real musical identity. It’s not like Greece or Spain or places that have their own music genre. We don’t have that. We also speak different languages here. The music that I have been listening to since I was a kid was a combination of all kinds of music from all over the world. For example my father, would listen to Brazilian music, he would listen to jazz, he would listen to American music, to gypsy music, and generally he would listen to all kinds of music. That was the music that I was brought up with, plus the music that my generation started listening to, so, of course, what we made was a combination of all that.
Your music has touched so many souls! Did you ever think about the extent your music would take?
Never. No, because I come from Brussels, and at that time it was not the capital of Europe yet. Then I had my family that kept telling me “What are you thinkinh? Nobody makes a living out of singing! That’s completely crazy! You have to study. You have to find a job”. I never thought it would be possible, but deep inside of me, I knew that that’s what I was going to fight for.
If you had to choose a couple of songs from your career so far as your favorites, what would they be?
It’s impossible. It’s like to ask a mother to choose her favorite children. If they’re on the records, it’s because I like them. Sometimes I think, “oh, I’ll be singing this one”,for instance and then six months later, another one will pop up into my head, so it’s impossible to choose which are my favourites.
All right, let me paraphrase my question then. What’s the song that has the most interesting story behind its writing?
The next ones.
Which ones?
The ones that are on the new record. Well, there is one that’s called “There’s always something missing”, and I think those lyrics are interesting, because I tend to say, there’s always something missing in my life. Whatever I do, there is always something missing. It was something that I was not quite fulfilled with what I had. It’s changed. Now I’m older, I’m quieter, I am more relaxed, and I enjoy things better, I think, than I used to when I was young. But I always had that feeling, even if I was successful, even if I had everything; I always had the feeling that there was something missing.
Would you ever consider collaborating with any artists from around the world? I mean, how about a Greek collaboration?
Why not? It all depends. It depends on what kind of collaboration. I collaborated with Aaron Neville. We did a song together. I mean, he sung on a Vaya con Dios song. We did another version of “What’s A woman?” together. I’ve collaborated with Tony Hadley on stage when I was doing a live show, and I’ve collaborated with a fantastic African singer as well, who’s called Bonga. I mean, I like collaborating, but it’s just something that has to happen. I’m not going to wake up and say, now I need to find somebody I want to collaborate with, you know?
What are the highlights in your career that you recall most vividly so far?
Well, you know, the first time I heard my first record on the radio yeah. That was really something. Then the first time we started traveling around the world, and went to places we’ve never seen before. There were people welcoming you, and you travel a lot, and you meet all kinds of people. Those are the highlights of a career, I think. And to be able to make a living out of my music, out of my singing, that was extremely important, too, because after a while, it gets a bit hard when you’re struggling all the time to make ends meet.
What are your next professional plans apart from the release of your next album?
I don’t know. I mean, at the moment, we are just negotiating this contract. I have a problem with my voice, and you can hear it. My voice sometimes sounds a bit funny, so I don’t know if I will still do live shows.
What’s your motto in life?
(watch Dani Klein’s answer in the following video)
Interview: Thodoris Kolliopoulos
