Chef’Special exists fifteen years this year and the Haarlem band will celebrate that in April 2023 with a concert in the Ziggo Dome. Singer Joshua Nolet thinks he can continue for at least another thirty years, he says in conversation with NU.nl.
By Michiel Vos“Our management pointed out that we have been around for fifteen years and I was quite shocked. It sounds like we are getting old and we are actually getting old,” laughs 34-year-old Nolet. “But the more I think about it, the more special I find it. We’ve been through so much together and it’s nice to reflect on that.”
“The five of us have become colleagues and family of each other. We spent a lot of time together. In small houses where we worked on new music and in tour buses where we traveled city and country. You just have to survive together .”
That has been the case for fifteen years now. Chef’Special plans to delve deep into the archives for the anniversary concert. And that while she last year with Afraid Of The Dark the biggest hit of their career yet.
“We also want to play some songs from before we released our first album,” explains Nolet. “We all have demos of half-finished songs from the time we went to all the surf camps to jam. We’re diving into that now to see if there’s anything cool we can play live.”
A new album for the concert is not in it, but he does not rule out some new songs. The band will spend a lot of time in the studio in the coming period.
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‘Sometimes I feel like that nineteen-year-old kid again’
Chef’Special was in 2017 for the first time with its own concert in the Ziggo Dome. That performance is certainly in the top ten of the band’s most special performances for Nolet. “At such a big show, it is a challenge to reach and get everyone on board, also in the back and on the second ring. You also want to make it intimate at times so that everyone feels involved. That worked then and there I was happy with it. I want that feeling again.”
The Ziggo Dome can accommodate about 17,000 people. But the singer is not afraid of nerves. “I will definitely have them, but I welcome them at such a moment. That means it is important to me. Suppose I go on stage almost uninterested, then it will be a less good show anyway.”
Chef’Special’s anniversary party started a few weeks ago with the release of You And I. The song is about all the people who had an impact on you, but who are now no longer in your life. “We wanted to celebrate what those people have contributed to your life, even if they are no longer with you. For example, in fifteen years the necessary people have come and gone. We cherish what we have shared with them.”
For Nolet, it feels like the first fifteen years of Chef’Special have flown by. He sees plenty of future in the band. “We still challenge each other, surprise ourselves and inspire each other. Sometimes I just feel like that 19-year-old kid again. Like we’ve only just started.”
Chef’Special will be in the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on Saturday 29 April 2023. Ticket sales will start on Monday, October 10.
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