Sundahl’s songs are soft, sing-song forays into the apologetics of everyday life; often menacing and rhythmic, sometimes light as the down on a child’s neck. He makes indie folk and psychedelic pop, sprinkled with the tired yarns of a singer-songwriter who only ever remembers half of the story and invents the rest out of necessity. It was that or furthering a career in the service industry.

Sten Sundahl started out as a songwriter detailing the raucous life he led as a drink slinger in Ghent, Belgium’s nightlife. A lotta ups during the weekend, mainly downs during the week: an untenable path from which he nevertheless didn’t err, despite his cardiologist’s admonishments. Seen through this prism, his current attempt to break into the music industry is more a yearning for normalcy than a necessary step in his creative transcendence. 

Forget endless raves, jaw-clenching champagne slurpers and endless talk of the next big plan to the sound of click-clacking credit cards. Enter raw carrot sticks with tinned mackerel on toast, hypertension medication at bedtime and being a supportive father. Good, clean livin’ is much more tantalizing to cannibalize in search of a great song.

That isn’t to say that Sundahl’s sound is somehow pedestrian or easy to pinpoint. He greatly admires and tries to emulate the tenderness and soft-spoken resolution of Kate Stables’ This Is The Kit. In the past, his lyrical economy has been compared to a minimalist Nick Drake. His music contrasts the misanthropic ramblings of an early Eels with the psychedelic silliness of a Devendra Banhart or a Mac Demarco. All this he brings together with a self-deprecation reminiscent of Timber Timbre or, when Sundahl’s feeling particularly full of himself, Thom Yorke’s firebrand sermons. 

Flanked by his stalwart companions Serge Hertoge (Liz Aku / Vincent Starwaver) on guitar and Linard Van den Bossche (LINARD / The Father, The Son And The Holy Simon) on keys, Sundahl has spent the last two years working on a debut album. The first six songs are available. More tracks soon to come.

Some call him the lovechild of the Ghentian nightlife, but that would be an understatement. Shizzle Le Sauvage is an allround entertainer who loves vinyl, dancing ladies & a good joke. He’s one of Studio Brussel’s resident deejays and can be found on Belgium’s most beautifull festival stages like Polé Polé & Rock Werchter. Styles are of lesser importance to this man, as long as it’s funky as f*ck! Get to know this wildebeast of music, always ready to provide one hell of a party!

Moonsafari is following