Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Personal Trainer
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(Credits: Far Out / Tomvan Huisstede)
“Have you ever felt doubt about your record coming out,” Willem Smit of the Dutch collective Personal Trainer sings in a meta fashion on lead single, ‘Cyan’, from the band’s forthcoming record, Still Willing. However, the band’s assured and upbeat ways, coupled with their firm place in the booming Dutch scene, seem to actively ward off anything dower in a wave of slacker ironic indie.
The band swagger with a sense of carefree irreverence and easy melody, tenets perhaps tied to how closely their work is entwined with hangovers, as we recently found out. ‘Cyan’ is another serving of this. It typifies the new record with its rather more pop-inclined approach to skewering the modern disposition. “I had been working on this one for a while, and when I needed words, this song automatically turned into a love song because I’d recently fallen for someone,“ Smit said of the track.
He continued: “It felt a little strange to just openly declare my love with this song, knowing it was going to end up on the record. But I was happy with how it turned out and asked my friend Lena Hessels to sing some parts on it. Lena is a rising alternative pop star and she has a great voice. For Cyan she intuitively changed the rhythm of the chorus ever so slightly, which made it bounce a bit more I took away a lot of my own vocals and replaced them with hers, because I think the song works very well with her voice.”
That easy collaborative approach is a core factor of the band’s wavering creativity. They’re a hard act to pin down on this front, so we decided to get to know them as quickly as possible. We probed at Smit’s thoughts on The Beatles, the best of 2024, and the books he’s recently read below. Enjoy.
Quick-fire Questions with Personal Trainer:
1. What song would you want played at your funeral?
“Lenny Kravitz – ‘It Ain’t Over til It’s Over’.”
2. What has been your favourite album of 2024 so far?
“I think for the last 15 years I’d have a top ten ready for you, but I’m a little surprised to realise I don’t really know! I think I’ve been listening to some older music? Dutch artists Keenan Mundane and Beatrix put out cool EPs. Callahan and Witscher are going to drop a fire album I think, the singles are awesome.”
3. What is the weirdest gig you’ve ever played?
“Maybe one time during Record Store Day in the NL, when the audience was completely silent the whole time, including in between songs. Just staring. Song after song, no one talking, no one applauding, no one booing. Free from conventions, very scary for me, very zen for them, I guess.”
4. What was the last book you read? What would you score it out of ten?
“The Graduate, which I actually scored with my girlfriend. Really liked it! I think I gave it an eight or a nine. Realised by the end that I’d seen the film when I was younger.”
5. What is your hangover cure?
“Very embarrassed to say a beer or two is probably what works best. But I can see that’s stupid. I think writing or jamming or drawing can get you into that funny hangover state, too. Or hanging out with other people that are hungover.”
6. What song are you most proud of so far?
“Right now, I think a new one that I’ve just been working on called ‘The Mega Loser’, but it’s currently just an idea, really.”
7. Who would be in your fantasy four-piece band?
“Four sticks of butter.”
8. When are you at your most creative?
“When I’m a little bit hungover and when I’m in love.”
9. What is one strange rabbit hole that you’ve fallen down?
“I watched a bunch of Tetris championship videos on YouTube once.”
10. Can you recommend us an album we’ve probably never heard?
“One of my fav Dutch bands, A Fungus, have a record coming out at some point. It’s really good. Follow them on Instagram for news.”
11. Who the fuck is Mark E. Smith?
“He’s the motherfucking singer in The Fall.”
12. What’s your most prized piece of music kit?
“I don’t understand this one! Do you mean like my favourite instrument? If I’m honest, probably my girlfriend’s computer, if that counts.”
13. How often do you practice?
“Me, normally I just play. I sometimes have to practice for a while to play a part I want to have on a song. With the band, normally hardly ever, because we just play shows all the time. But last month, we had a lot of rehearsals in two weeks to learn songs from the record we hadn’t played yet.”
14. Have you ever cried at a concert?
“Yes! At my own last year. Was feeling really tired and bad…”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
“I like Revolver and The White Album a lot. I don’t know if they’re overrated.”
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