[EN] In this lecture performance, I explore “the crisis” and how it manifests in my life. For example, I try to lay out the tensions between the fantasy of individuality and my yearning for collectivity and belonging. I try to dismantle “feeling bad,” this ever-strong engine behind so many of my songs.

Art is part of the trap I’m in. And at the same time it’s a kind of guiding light. It offers vitality. It can break vicious circles, even if only for a moment.

So I’ve started to understand art about difficult things as twisted lamentations: laments that know where they’re coming from, and that might guide us somewhere else.

I use an overhead projector to draw out these struggles, and then maybe I sing a song or two. They’ve been my favorite twisted lamentations for years.

Based on a cycle of 15 self-critical protest songs, Twisted Lamentations offers a shared reflection on life in a troubled world. Each song is recorded with another artist from Switzerland or Belgium, which creates different aesthetics and listening qualities.