A great career has spanned over the years for Dutch musician Harry Kappen, who is engaged as a performer, producer, and songwriter. Born in the Netherlands, Kappen found himself starting to play musical instruments and write songs at an early age. Subsequently, he would go on to credit his artistic inspirations to a variety of artists, among them David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Prince, and Radiohead.
Kappen is armed with multi-instrumental talents, having initially started out playing in numerous bands. Aside from the performances, Kappen also built up quite a name as a successful producer, a studio working relationship with many Dutch pop artists that spanned years.
These experiences hammered out Kappen’s competent skills in musicianship, arrangement, recording, and production. He’s back, and this time it’s with his new rock ballad single, “Cool Down,” featuring a haze of fuzzy guitars to set a tonally engaging backdrop. The guitars are dressed in grit, texturing, and weighting the overall instrumental mix. It’s an atmospheric start for the audience.
Huge guitars drive the whole rhythm with endless energy and momentum, with a full and powerful vibrancy. Cymbal crashes subtly add extra dynamics and movement to each measure. Together, the guitars and drums lock in a synergistic rhythmic partnership that fuels the direction of the song.
The exposed, naked sentiment behind Harry Kappen’s vocals is a good match for the instrumentation, every note sings straight out as he carries the message in the song. There is something open and vulnerable about the vocals, while he keeps control at every point of his range. The production does much to accentuate natural tone and airiness in the upper registers while allowing lower tones to fully bloom.
Leading these elements is the talented instrumentation that flesh out the soundscape within an acoustic and electric guitar, each answering the other with melodic conversation, while the versatile keyboard parts turn up and the harmony elsewhere is subtly colored. Other places find the bass lines locking in tight with the drums to round out the full-bodied low-end. These less prominent layers add energy, texture, and surprise rather than taking over the focus.
The song caught my interest, from the first few strokes of Harry Kappen’s single “Cool Down,” through its striking textures of ringing guitars. I found myself humming and nodding along, enthralled by the rhythmic energy.
Harry Kappen’s single “Cool Down” easily judges the Dutch musician as a masterful creator of emotionally impactful rock songs. You can stream the single online today on all major platforms.