“You hear us laugh. You hear us cough. Sometimes you’ll hear us slip up. It makes it human”: The Dutch art-prog band who believe more is more – including studio mistakes

“We always want to do something different with each record – to try to evolve, and see if we can bring something new to the table,” says Ingo Dassen, guitarist with Dutch art-prog collective Lesoir. Their new album, Tomorrow Is Now Today, marks the next leap forward in the group’s musical journey.

Dassen describes 2024’s Push Back The Horizon as “more of a rocky record, more straightforward. Before that we released the Babel EP, and before that we did Mosaic, which was more progressive, with more Pink Floyd-ish influences.

People liked those records, so we had the idea of finding some combination between them – expanding with extra instruments and extra dimensions. We always try to create, record and write a song that the fourth or fifth time you listen to it, you discover a new detail. I think we’ve succeeded.”

If Push Back The Horizon found Lesoir in rock mode, “now we’re more into an electronic, beat-driven phase.” The elements that define their music – the layered guitars embellished with keys, flute and pedal steel – remain, but Dassen says they’re more focused on the rhythms this time, “which is cool; it gets you moving.”

Tomorrow Is Now Today was produced by John Cornfield, who they’ve worked with since 2011’s Transience. The producer captures the full breadth of Lesoir’s sound, eschewing a keep-it-simple mentality.

Lesoir – Is It Nothing? [Official Lyric Video] - YouTube

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“John is a dear friend,” says Dassen. “He always says, ‘More is more’ – which in fact is the case. He’s just a legend. After all these years, we don’t really have to discuss it. He knows what we want.”

On their earliest recordings they played live in the studio. Now they track drums and bass together, then the guitars; but they’re not looking for perfection.

“We don’t do much by way of repairs,” says Dassen. “We always go for the golden take, and for us that take is not necessarily perfectly played.

“It’s the take that has the most emotion and gives the best vibe to the song. You hear us laugh, you hear us coughing, and sometimes you’ll hear us slip up on a string. It makes it human.

“We like to have a record that you really hear us playing, not over-produced or over- processed.”

Tomorrow Is Now Today is on sale now.