Gorik van oudheusden Marks Change with New Album, Fatherhood
brussels, Belgium – After a turbulent past marked by financial hardship and a fast-tracked maturity, belgian musician Gorik van Oudheusden is celebrating a personal and artistic rebirth with the September 24th release of his new album, Dit is Guy. The album’s creation coincides with a pivotal moment in his life: the first birthday of his daughter, a development he credits as the culmination of his hard-won transformation.
Van Oudheusden reflects on a childhood overshadowed by financial instability – wage seizure impacting both parents and mounting debts experienced as young as 14 – forcing a premature “survival instinct.” He contrasts this with his current state, acknowledging a necessary growth. “My survival instinct caught on too early. Always having eyes on your back in a city like Brussels. You wonder: where am I going to sleep tomorrow, where do I eat tomorrow? Wage seizure with both parents, what is that? debts… those are things that you shoudl not know at all as a 14-year-old.”
The album itself reflects this journey. The track “Waiting for Zaza” incorporates the actual heartbeat of his daughter recorded in utero, and the lyrics explore his evolving identity: “Have become someone else / or only becoming a man.” He expresses gratitude for the timing of fatherhood, stating, “I am happy that I have now become a father, and not three, four years ago, between the bottles of drinks and the scraps.” He poignantly adds, “My daughter is actually the fruit of my transformation, she is the gift for hard work, proof of: ge Almost not went for it, Gorik. Good that you have sustained.”
Dit is Guy is also a testament to Van Oudheusden’s sampling artistry. The track ”Stoned & Beneveld” draws inspiration from a 1978 Dutch-language record by German artist Udo Lindenberg, a tribute to Van Oudheusden’s reconciliation with Van Oudheusdens Werelft during a period of isolation. Lindenberg’s lyrics,”I was looking,went into the red,pushed everything far away… Went through the turbulent forest,always saw your light on me / to be two again / now we continue until death,” resonate with themes of recovery and connection.
Van Oudheusden also pays homage to his childhood influences, sampling Belgian artist Benny B in “Vous êtes Zot,” playfully acknowledging, “I may have changed, I am still the same crazy.” He incorporates a familiar melody – Axelle Red’s “Je T’atends,” a favorite of his mother – into “Gorik PT. 2.” The album takes a pointed turn with “Vecht for paper I,” a punky protest song featuring aggressive guitars aimed at “all those politicians” whom he accuses of ”constantly lie[ing].”
