Band
Laudanum Forest is an alternative pop rock band, formed in 2007, Antwerp, Belgium.
Started off as a studio project for three artists from different bands: Patrick Vrancken (drums, bass, guitars), Stefan Saenen (keyboards, vocals, guitars), Stefan De Cauwer (lead guitars).
The main challenge for the three founding members was to blend their different styles and tastes into songs that would satisfy all three of them. This resulted in a first album, “The Asylum” (2008), a musical mix of alt rock, sixties psychedelica, new wave and progrock.
Due to the positive response they received on music websites, Laudanum Forest became their main project and a new band member, the Italian web designer Marco Galliano, joined them to take care of the website and to help out on internet affaires.
The second album, “Digging The Basement” was released the same year (2008) and contains songs from before the actual birth of Laudanum Forest, written and recorded for Side Traffic, IZL and Mondegreen, some of them co-written by Tony Torfs.
The third album, “A Dull Day”, will be released in 2010.
Though Laudanum Forest wasn’t originally meant to become a live act, many are asking to see live performances and thus two new band members have been invited to join in to work out a way to present live versions of songs: Sven Stoelen (guitar) and Wannes Vinck (bass). Whether the band will work out a full live set will depend on how much their internet fan base will grow during the year 2010
Stefan Saenen (Naf) - Keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead vocal.
I’m Naf, the undisputable leader of the band and the creative volcano behind the success story that is Laudanum Forest.
Babies stop crying when they hear my voice and when I blow my nose, it sounds like a string quartet playing Mozart.
Stef, Pat and Marco adore me, and more than being just band members they have become true fans over the years.
Nevertheless, people tell me all the time that I’m still the same guy I was before the success.
I guess that marks the true genius, never loosing that unspoiled nature…
Stefan De Cauwer - Electric guitars.
I bought my first guitar when I was fourteen. It was an acoustic guitar, a cheap one: 63,5 Euro. These days I also played soccer, but I wasn’t very successful. One day, my father had to carry me off the field because every my little bone was hurting. That day I decided to finally buy a guitar.
So I joined a band with a friend of mine, he played drums; I tried to sing and play guitar. It was a lot of fun for us! We played songs from David Bowie and Queen, with little success, and we made some songs of our song, like "Reagan, kiss my underwear". We always invited people to come to listen, mostly girls.
When I was nineteen, the chemistry was over and I wanted to do something else, I joined "I love Lucy", and met Patrick.
One year after, the band splitted. I started playing with a cover band, witch was a lot of fun but the concerts where causing too much damage to my ears that I had to stop with these guys.
Nowadays I’m playing with Patrick and Stefan, until.........................
Patrick Vrancken - Drums, bass.
Hi there I'm Pat. I spend some of my time visiting Naf in a "krankenhaus"
somewhere in Cyberia, by the mentally ill.
It's hard, but I got some spare parts from Bulgaria to repair my Volga.
So I guess his deranged mind couldn't take the pressure after all.
At least that solves the problem of arm wrestling him, before we started a session.
I always won anyway.
As for recording, I catch him at the right moment, when he thinks he's Pavarotti
and record it. Then I add some drums and bass to it and thats it!
Some say we have an ego problem.
There's no reason to dispute that!
Marco Galliano - web & lead triangle.
Im'a webdesigner just for fun, most of my time is devoted to bring out of my triangle the weirdest sounds ever ;-)