‘You can’t confuse this record with anything from Triggerfinger’

Ruben Block has been part of Triggerfinger for almost a quarter of a century,well known to you thanks to hits such as ‘All This Dancing Around’, ‘Is It’ orthe Lykke Li cover ‘I Follow Rivers’. Today the frontman steps forward with ahighly intriguing solo debut.

Gunter Van AsscheSeptember 29, 202203:00

It took Ruben Block four years to Looking to Glide but without time pressurehe could continue to work on his firstfruits until all the details were right.The Triggerfinger frontman consulted a striker brother who had sent earlierstudio recordings of the same power trio. ‘s secret weapon Colossus (2017)?That was the producer, Block thought. “Mitchell Froom taught us to look atTriggerfinger in a different way,” he explains today. “We don’t necessarilyhave to sound big and loud to impress.”

We stroll through the Antwerp Zoo with Block and Froom. That evening, Froomwill play with Crowded House a little further down the road in the LottoArena. Block is the support act. We decide to rest at the monument of gorillaGust. “If I have to compare this record with an animal, I think of aflamingo”, Block thinks. “A strange, but beautiful bird that moves angularlyand idiosyncratically. By the way, on this record you also hear samples of agecko, and of ducks in the Venetian canals. There is music in life. Whyshouldn’t I mold that life into a song?”

Froom constantly challenged Block on the recordings, just as he did years agoon iconic records by Los Lobos, Elvis Costello or Suzanne Vega. When a full-blooded rock group from Belgium came knocking on his door about five yearsago, the producer raised his eyebrows at the time. “I like rock,” he says,“but I had never worked with such a hard and loud band like Triggerfinger. Iasked them if they were sure they wanted to work with me. But afterwards I wasso impressed with Ruben that I told him: ‘If you ever need me, call me, I’myour man’.

“And promise is debt. Suddenly he was at my door again. We saw each otherabout twice a year for an extended period of time, and for the last two yearswe worked remotely. It was all very informal, with no fuss or interferencefrom outsiders. Maybe that’s why it turned out to be such a daring and goodrecord, I think.”

The urge to experiment on Colossus even seems like a cautious stepping stonefor the sound on this solo debut, where Block pulls out all the stops. Well,what a solo: “Mitchell and I have done everything together: writing, recordingand producing. And Tchad Blake also sometimes gave new life to a song in themix. I thought it was important to tinker on my own, but it was equally niceto go deep into the woods with Mitchell. “For example, in the title song youhear a sample of my lawnmower at home (chuckles). It makes such a weirdnoise when you turn it off: wa-wuwuwuwu. That doesn’t mean anything in itself,but if you tinker with it a bit, it becomes a fantastic sound.

“I can’t imagine anyone would confuse this record with anything fromTriggerfinger, except maybe for my voice. And then again. Triggerfinger’sthunder usually forces me to sing a certain way, and here it was different.Very liberating.”

Strengths

Froom says that as a producer he closely monitors all the strong points of anartist: “I try to highlight them, but not too much. The trick is to never betoo respectful. Otherwise, the result will be too soft and colorless. Rubenwanted nothing more than a lack of respect (laughs). His strongest point?That must be his colorful character. You notice that in his choice ofclothing, but you can also hear it in his music. He is also a great guitaristand singer. And his ego doesn’t stand in his way: the first chords of ‘Awake’come from me, for example. He could have thrown it to the trash can, but hesaw a challenge and came up with something fantastic about it.”

The lyrics of Block once again read cryptically, like a Rorschach test thatespecially seem to hold up a mirror to your own perversions. For example, ‘TheKey’ seems like a song about a stalker: “Could be”, Block smiles. “A crypticform once worked better within the whimsical nature of some songs. As aresult, sometimes multiple entrances present themselves and listeners may findtheir own secret back door. I like how, for example, Frank Black or DavidByrne can also create a mood with images and impressions.”

In the freezer compartment

We read on social media that Triggerfinger would remain “in the freezer for along time”. Now that drummer Mario Goossens and bassist Lange Polle are alsobusy with their own projects and hand-in-hand services for other artists, youwould think that the trio will miss its silver jubilee next year. Block widenshis eyes. “On the contrary.”

Froom chuckles: “I don’t think the boys are challenging each other with theirown projects. It’s not an adultery or ego trip like Mick Jagger, whooccasionally wants to prove that he can be just as successful without KeithRichards.”

Block nods: “After the summer we will write new material and after my tournext year it will be Triggerfinger’s turn again. The group is therefore notready to jump. I’m glad this came through. It was high time to take somepressure off the kettle. To let in some air.”

Looking to Glide appears 30/9 at PIAS.

**Ruben Block plays 1/10 in the AB, Brussels and 8/10 in the Handelsbeurs,