Monique Klemann (Loïs Lane)

INTERVIEW Famous ABBA Fans Talk: Monique Klemann (Loïs Lane)

The Dutch girl band Loïs Lane, consisting songs, although we were quite flabbergasted by of the sisters Suzanne and Monique Klemann, some of their lyrics, like “Honey, Honey, let me have established a solid reputation over the feel it...” which came across as somewhat sexist years with their stylish, soul-infused pop or naïve. Or was it meant to be tongue-in-cheek? repertoire. It all started in 1988, when they How hard were their songs for you as recorded the title song for the slasher film established singers? Amsterdamned (directed by Dick Maas), There was a lot of repetition in the song resulting in their first chart success. lyrics, each time with a small difference which Four years and several hits to their credit made them quite hard to memorise. Since we later, the women recorded the album Precious are doing the songs together, the two of us, it is together with no less than Prince in his studio important we sing the same thing at the same in Minneapolis. Their unique collaboration with time. As a solo singer, it is a bit easier to cheat His Purple Highness had already started when when you forget a lyric [laughs]. When two they were his support act on the European leg singers sing in unison and one sings a different of his Nude tour, to much acclaim. In 1997, the lyric, you will always notice this as an audience. sisters wrote the title song for the television So it was quite hard work to study all those lyrics. programme Combat and the Emmy Award- Singing their songs is like what I call ‘marathon winning television programme Dunya and Desi. singing’. The melody lines just keep going on While still very successful with their own and on. There are very few instrumental breaks, songs, they partly shifted their live repertoire with the exception of an intro here and there towards the ABBA catalogue some twenty which allows you to catch your breath [smiles]. years ago, with great success. It is like top sport and, meanwhile, you have to In the new millennium, Monique simultaneously entertain the audience. It really is a power effort embarked on a solo career and played the but much fun. leading role in the television series Parels & Maybe it is not so hard for you and your Zwijnen in which she sang jazz covers. When I sister to sing their complex harmonies, spoke to Monique from her home in Amsterdam, being used to singing in vocal unison? amidst the second wave of the Covid-19 Sometimes it is hard, sometimes it is not crisis, she told me that, like the rest of the that bad. And, at a certain point, it is in your entertainment sector, the band were hit badly system. The very first time we had to analyse and had no choice but to postpone Loïs Lane’s everything very carefully, and that’s the reason 35th anniversary tour. In anticipation of better why we decided to make our own recordings of times, she contemplated whether she should the ABBA songs. To hear what exactly is done, maybe volunteer in the healthcare sector. and then it becomes part of your system and At what point did ABBA enter your life? becomes ‘easy peasy lemon squeezy’. Another During my schooldays, while all my friends thing is that we sometimes switched the lead went to ABBA’s concerts, I was more into vocals. Suzanne has a lower vocal range, and soul: Earth, Wind and Fire, Barry White and I take care of the higher parts, mostly done Michael Jackson. At first, I thought ABBA were by Agnetha. A song such as Money, Money, a bit cheesy. The penny dropped when they Money is fit for Suzanne; for me it’s impossible released Dancing Queen; that was really a to sing that low [laughs]. game changer. I could understand how this Did you record a complete ABBA album? song went on to become a megahit and how With this very good live band, we recorded everybody was wild about it. some of the ABBA songs and also instrumental Quite surprisingly, despite being very versions. These CDs were never issued as successful with Loïs Lane’s own repertoire, commercial releases and were only available you started to tour with an ABBA show in at the merchandising stand at our concerts. It the late 1990s. How did this come about? would be horrible if they ended up as cheap In 1997, with the Marlboro Flashbacks tour. releases for € 3.00 in the racks of a huge When advertising cigarettes was banned, drugstore (such as Kruidvat in Holland) [laughs]. Marlboro started organising concerts called What is your favourite ABBA song? the Marlboro Classics tour, thus evading the That is Summer Night City. This song is rules on tobacco advertising. For this occasion, constructed so well and has such a great disco a lot of Dutch bands were asked to focus on feel. This song is as far from cheesy as you can another artist’s repertoire. My first idea was to get. That is why we immediately included it in choose Blondie, that seemed cool to do, but our setlist although it was maybe a lesser hit. then realised the most convenient choice for That was a song we really enjoyed tackling - me and my sister would be to do ABBA. We fantastic. succeeded putting together a terrific band, Interestingly, you brought the specific people we had worked with in the past, and Loïs Lane sound to the ABBA songs, that was the start of this new adventure. contrary to a lot of cover groups who are Did your appreciation for ABBA grow by trying to imitate them. singing their repertoire? Indeed, we could get loose from that. We Absolutely. We had so much fun doing their also have our own way of harmonising which we apply somehow to ABBA, that’s correct. We ABBA unique? are lucky that often our voices together sound The songs do not sound like they were as one voice, which is something that is typical ‘searched for’ or created intentionally but for family members. It allows you to blend, to like they were ‘found’. Of course, their colour your voices in the same direction but arrangements are ingenious, but the melodies, when Suzanne goes low with her voice, and I melody lines and the underlying chords have a get up high with my voice, then there is a big kind of spontaneity, honesty. And whether it is difference, of course. your taste or not, the songs are so incredibly What I also appreciate is that you both catchy. That is what makes them very clever. have a distinct visual style that you keep That’s something which is very unique in my when performing the ABBA catalogue. You opinion. That’s something that characterises do not turn it in into a fancy dress party. The Beatles as well. That’s right. Although I must say that for the You are also a songwriter in your own Marlboro Flashback concerts, we wore those right. How do you approach the creative knitted hats and boas. So that was a little bit process? fancy dress but definitely within our own style. My focus is mainly on the melody that is the It was always much fun to do. In a way, it is inspiration for different sounds which, in turn, less heavy to do someone else’s songs; you form the basis for my lyrics. I don’t consider can just have a ball. myself a poet, rather someone who is looking Although you could argue that people for beautiful lyrics that fit in with the sounds of will always compare these performances to the song. After this initial stage, I am helped the originals? by a team of professionals with piano, guitar, Of course, people will compare. But everyone arrangement, chords and schemes. I always is allowed to interpret the world’s great songs. point out the direction, the particular style I’m That also happened with the Motown songs. I looking for. have no objection to that although I would not What is your favourite song from the hit make an album with covers only; our limited singles you had with Loïs Lane? ABBA release was an exception. Being able to The First Time; it was our biggest hit and interpret songs in my own way and turn them had a soul vibe. I’m still very proud of that into something different is something I really song, and a lot of people tell me that song enjoy, though. has meant so much to them. The melody and In your opinion, what is it that makes lyric touched a soft spot with people, and I can understand why. It’s a well-made, beautiful song, Qualified, which he had written with song with a nice open intro. drummer Kirk Johnson was brand new. Both When I think of Loïs Lane, invariably your were really typical Prince songs. first hit, Amsterdamned, comes to mind. In hindsight, I should have been much braver [Laughs] Amsterdamned was delightfully and asked him, “Couldn’t you write something over the top, it was written specifically for that like Manic Monday [a hit for The Bangles]?” I film. At the time, it was the ideal opener for our was too shy to tell him, “Nice songs, but could concerts, with that awful, over-the-top 1980s you do it this way for us?” That’s something sequencer and a very loud guitar [laughs]. And you just didn’t do with Prince. Both songs it’s true that the music fits the images in the were not really a perfect match for us, but we film perfectly. recorded and released them, and they were How did Prince get in touch with you? accompanied by very beautiful music videos. He was in Scheveningen for a concert at It was, of course, a great experience, we went the Ahoy concert hall. We were not in the to Minneapolis, recorded in his studio, worked Netherlands at the time, but he had seen us together with very good musicians, and the on MTV Europe with our song I Wanna Be. It response was very positive - wonderful! so happened that he had a support act he was Personally, I think Qualified is a very very dissatisfied with. He then commissioned good song. his manager to find out who we were and to Yes, it is. As is Sex. Both songs were great contact us. At that point, we were on a cruise productions. They had these typical early ship somewhere in the Mediterranean, on our 1990s ‘machinery loops’. Very different from way to Italy. It was a cruise with Dutch artists, our own music which was melodic pop. and we were going to a football match between Was Prince constantly in the studio when the Netherlands and Egypt. We were on that you were recording? boat, relaxing. After a very busy year we were Not constantly but a lot of the time. He was really exhausted and when the request came very present. from Prince’s manager over the phone, my first Did he give specific directions regarding thought was that this had to be a silly joke. Very the singing? strange. He asked if we could come over to He was assisted by a producer and a sound Paris straight away, which was impossible since engineer. We talked to Prince about how we we had all booked our holidays already. But would tackle the songs, and I remember that I three weeks later, we did our first concert with explained to him that I thought we should keep Prince in Basel as his support act, in front of our singing very much within our own style - no 68,000 people. I’ve never been so scared in all funky ad-lib stuff, so to speak. When we did the my life, I think. Scared to death [guffaws]. But the choirs, he gave specific directions which was response of the audience was great. This tour great, of course. But I didn’t want to sing the happened during one of our most successful ‘Prince way’; I thought this didn’t fit our own years; we had a terrific band with whom we felt style at the time. snug and were used to playing with three times What is, for you, the highlight of your a week, and everything ran smoothly. It meant career so far? we didn’t have to start rehearsing like crazy with In 1995, we made the album Fireflight; a hastily composed band. from an artistic point of view, we consider And Prince was so enthusiastic about this our best, most mature album although it your performances that he offered to doesn’t contain our major hits. All credit to our produce your next record, Precious. producers [Bart van Poppel and Slyde Don That’s right, that’s what he told us. Of Cher] who made Suzanne and I sound our course, we thought this was very exciting but, best. The style of music, a mix of soul, rock still, I was apprehensive as I feared we would and disco, was the closest to my own taste. get a sexy girl group image like Vanity 6. I was Up until then, we had still been looking for our quite paranoid about it because this was not own style, susceptible to what was hip and something we wanted at all. We took ourselves trendy at the time. Earlier this year, I released very seriously. We just wanted to create very a solo album, Lovers In Motion, produced by beautiful songs, pop music, with an English JB Meijers [The Common Linnets] of which flavour and The Style Council influences. There I’m very proud. The first single from the album are people who are excellent at singing funk was an easy-listening version of the 10cc hit and soul, music that I love and enjoy listening I’m Not In Love, with a phenomenal response. to, but I know that this is not my strong point. We have already had more than 3.5 million Suzanne and I have recognisable voices, we streams on Spotify. are good singers with a specific sound that What is the difference between your stands out, but don’t let us sing funky music; work with Loïs Lane and your solo work? it doesn’t suit us, and we leave that to other With Loïs Lane, it is more poppy, but my voice people. I was apprehensive that Prince was also lends itself to easy listening, jazz or Burt going to write that kind of music for us or that Bacharach-style songs. I feel the need to he would suggest or bring these kinds of songs. compose songs in that vein, something I will And, in a way, this is exactly what happened. continue to do in the future. He gave us two songs, one of which, Sex, he had recorded himself previously, and the other TEXT: STANY VAN WYMEERSCH