Normandy by Frerick den Haan

Back in the days me and my buddies would travel France each summer with an old car carrying our instruments, one duffel of clothes, lots of cigarettes and cheap cans of beer. For some reason, the first time we hit the road we got a gig in Cabourg, Normandy. By the time we got there our breaks failed bad time and we were stuck in this little Parisian getaway on the shores of Normandy.

We filled our days with playing jazz in the Grand Hotel Cabourg, playing cards, drinking and smoking like their would be no other day. One week after the incident we got back on the road again and drove all the way down to southern France to play some gigs on surf camps, with a hippie band somewhere in a forest (a sitar and hallucinating items were involved at that moment). Furthermore, we almost got robbed and stayed on a surf camp for a while living the lives like gods.

Eventually we got older, more mature, we got more responsibilities and we got all the things adults have to do to make a decent living. Standing on a dune in Normandy we said to each other ''If you ever feel bad, think of this moment''. Our lives got different, but the memories will never vain.

This track reminds of those days back in Normandy. It is played as a solo piano piece. Tranquil but heavy, neo-classical maybe but also perfectly adaptable for trio playing. It carries both elements of nostalgy, melancholy and sheer happiness.

I hope that when you listen to this song, you will find yourself in the rear seat of our old car and drive down with us on a adventure.

Frerick den Haan is a pianist and composer whose music sits at the intersection of impressionism, romanticism, and film music. Hailing from The Hague, Frerick creates a world of his own through his narrative compositions — a place to escape the everyday rush, where chaos transforms into calm and clarity.

frerickdenhaan.com
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