Walter Mets

“Looking for Paradise” 

Fall 2015

“Looking for Paradise” is the result of what one could call a lifetime of drums & percussion at the service of well-known bands and musicians: Soulsister, Raymond van het Groenewoud, The Radios, Clouseau, Scooter, Mannfred Mann Earth Band, Johnny Logan, Spandau Ballet, Tom Robinson,… As a studio musician, Walter worked for Plastic Bertrand, De Kreuners, Natalia, Will Tura, Adamo, Toots Thielemans, …

But for once, the roles changed: in “Looking for Paradise”, these bands, singer-songwriters and musicians put themselves at the service of Walter’s music. The result: an album which represents a stroll along a career of over 40 years as musician and along events that have marked his life. Each song has its specific reason or story, nothing is at random.

The title Looking for Paradise is not just the first track of the album, it represents Walter’s quest, which is a quest he believed everyone can relate to.

London 1992 - Looking for Paradise. “A song written for my band Sansavana with a.o. Dave Foster (bass - The Style Council) and Beverly Craven (keys), who later on had a major hit with 'Promise Me’.” London 1989 - Always Africa. “Originally recorded with Sansavana in Bell Voice Recording Studio's Carnaby street, where I worked as sound engineer. A friend said: "In your music, there's always Africa". I felt this was the right basis for a specific lovesong.” London 1989 - Carry me home. “The last song that I wrote in London, at the bar of The White Horse Pub in Carnaby street. When things all seem to go wrong, (call it the blues...), lyrics like these simply pour out of your pen. I am convinced anyone can relate at a certain point in life.” 

Antwerp 1984 - Albino. “I received a call from the manager of the Walloon singer André Burton, with whom I had recorded an album: did I want to go with him to Zaïre to play some concerts with André? As a child, I was fascinated by African music (any drummer would be) and grabbed the occasion with both hands. Believing that as a drummer, I could be some sort of 'albino African’, I was in for a cultural shock. Encountering an albino boy and being confronted with his barbaric fate led to this song.” 

Antwerp, 2015 - The drums lead the way. “A song by Jean Bosco Safari, a friend since I was 16. Need I say more? About the 3 pillars in our lives… and the drums, of course.”

Brussels, 1997 - Djan Pinson. “A song by William Dunker that we recorded together and that really moved me. Originally written in Walloon dialect, it tells the story of a lonely man who sits at home when children come to his door to sing 'Djan Pinson’. I have kept the refrains in the dialect of Charleroi and translated the verses in English. Wanda Joosten turned out to be the ideal partner for this duet. Peter’s Irish flutes and bagpipes provided the melancholic touch I was looking for.”

Antwerp 1997 - Kiss of life. “One day you are convinced you know everything. The next, you are sure you don’t…”

Antwerp 2008 - Only time will tell. “The lyrics speak for themselves…”

Brussels, Amsterdam, Antwerp 1992 – Sensation. “I played a long time for Raymond van het Groenewoud, and this song is one of my favorites. I have translated it and with Dany Lademacher (with whom I played with the Radios) on guitar and the vocals of Paul Michiels (my buddy from Soulsister) I have found a perfect symbioses in my ears (and heart).”

Dakar 1996 - Redemption song. “When we played with the Radios in Senegal, I visited the island of Gorée. Millions of slaves were shipped to Western countries from here. Visiting the ‘Maison des Esclaves’ has left a deep impression, as did the voice of Eric Baranyanka. The strings arrangement and the guitar at the end of the song is a friendly wink to Bob Marley, who wrote this song about this place.”

Antwerp, 1995 – Hush. “An African lullaby that my friend Rifi Kythouka taught me.”

London 1984, Antwerp 1995, Boutersem 2015 - Kill the sequence. “A song originally written for my London band Glass Museum. Picked up later on for Sansavana with Ivan Pecnik, our lead singer at the time. Since the original has recently been released again in the States and in Russia, I have made a new version and asked Ivan to do the vocals again... He can still do it! 2 times Ivan for the price of 1 !”