As usual, Daan only found the idea of making a new album interesting if there was a new direction, an adventure, something he'd never done before. After indie, electro, rock, or classic intimacy, it was time to return to his own musical roots.

For 'Simple', he went in search of the roots of songs from his own repertoire. For 'Le Franc Belge' that became the sounds of his childhood in the '70's. The sounds of Paris, French chanson and 'le cinéma', but equally the sound of rattling rock-basements, epic westerns & smoky nightclubs.

'Le Franc Belge' is no nostalgic ode to 'Days Gone By'. Songs like ‘Mes Etats Unis’, the sirtaki- & hip-hop-flirting 'La Crise' and the unbridled first single 'Everglades' sound urgent and tackle contemporary themes but, as ever, with a playful and yet rebellious twist. The Baroque-pop-y 'The Gates', and the horse-whinny cheered 'Irrelevant' are vintage-Daan, but then with well orchestrated strings and brilliant brass. Partly in French, partly in English.

The lyrics go deeper than ever. The contrast between Daan's English lyrics and the French ones he wrote with filmmaker Thierry Dory, provide sharp contrasts: wild vs wise, heaven vs hell, child vs man, man vs woman, fantasy vs fatalism, love vs lust ...

'Le Franc Belge' is not only a surprising, adventurous logical successor to Daan's previous album but more of a reaction to it. The acoustic approach of 'Simple' now opens more complex doors. Doors to towering palaces of sound and ideas. Never before has a Daan album sounded so grandiose, epic and self-assured.

Isolde Lasoen (drums, percussion and retro-French backings ), Jean-François Assy (cello), and co-producer Jeroen Swinnen (all sorts of keys) received reinforcement from Geoffrey Burton (guitar), brass led by established name Jo Hermans, Jef Neve (piano), a string orchestra, and all that mixed with the crème de la crème of Brussels' jazz scene and a series of intriguing figures from the Carpathian Mountains.

With ‘Le Franc Belge’, Daan trots through 40 years of musical heritage like the love-child of Lee Marvin and Françoise Hardy, and adds a frantically exciting new chapter to his own musical Tower of Babylon.

A lively and cool introduction to 'How Not To Get Bored By Life'.