Enno Velthuys - Music From the Other Side of the Fence LP
"Hello boys and girls, my name is Enno Velthuys and I am the idiot of the group (and also the most intelligent, the most sensitive, the most artistic and he who has to carry the heaviest load, because this boy', DAMN, it's pretty heavy). Luckily, I had already been through a lot when I got this ‘knock in the head’. Sex, drugs, lots of rock and roll and a sunny childhood with beautiful views I look back on with nostalgia. Later on I lost my focus and I only thought about one thing: how to get out of it (that damn problem, my shifted reality, my blind spot, that piece of poisoned apple of forbidden knowledge choking my throat)! But I can't think my way out of it, psychiatrists are just ordinary people, and very heavy pills suppress everything I'll just take my pills) FLASH! You ask me what it takes to create music or art that is meaningful and tells a story. It’s hard when you haven't had enough setbacks, nothing more than maybe a little blues. I'm not saying it was the right path, but at least I've come a long way. And now I'm a fish in a pool. Please understand that this is very disturbing. It's not my waterway. A fish belongs in a river. And my star sign is fish.;))D
See you soon, EnnO"
This fragment of a letter from Enno in 1989, opens with a reference to Jimmy Carl Black's (‘the Indian of the group’) trademark line on The Mothers of Invention's album We're Only in It for the Money. It sums up Enno's life in a nutshell: a happy childhood in the fifties, followed by the sex, drugs and rock & roll of the sixties and a shifted perception of reality in the seventies. It also captures Enno’s sense of humour and self-mockery. Enno loved the music, humour and weirdness of the early Mothers, although he mostly favoured British bands like The Pretty Things, The Who, Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience in the sixties. From his early childhood Enno was a loner, a sensitive dreamer, often drifting off into his own world, using music as his main language and a way of getting in touch with his inner feelings and connecting with others. During the turbulent late sixties, psychedelics permanently ripped out the gates to a parallel universe, from which he couldn’t escape since. It left him isolated, living in a small room in his mother’s apartment in the eighties. This became his home studio where he created the music you can experience on this album. All tracks were recorded here on a four-track Tascam 244 Portastudio cassette recorder. Enno's music blends elements of fifties instrumental guitar, & Indorock& sixties beat, seventies early ambient, ‘western movie’ tunes and Erik Satie into deeply personal pieces which echo a heartfelt mix of nostalgia, romanticism, fear, emptiness, loneliness, love and hope.
Enno’s unique music comes straight from his tormented soul. He doesn’t attempt to copy any trend or style or to please any particular audience. Enno mixes his musical influences and preferences into a unique, personal blend of melodic and romantic guitar lines, nostalgic
piano pieces and dreamy, comforting, melancholic but also disturbing and alienating soundscapes. On this album you can hear all of the aforementioned elements of Enno’s music and more.
Enno hardly ever thought of song titles unless he was forced to do so for a specific release. His music was a language in itself, a means to communicate emotions without words. For this album Hessel Veldman had to think up most of the song titles, which are a reflection of his personal experience and interpretation of the songs. I hope the music touches your soul as it did Hessel’s and mine.
written, by Bert Zoetemeyer, April 2025
