Sylvie Kreusch's new single is the ultimate ‘f*CK my ex' anthem
Welcome to CHEW THE FAT WITH…, our long-form profile series where we invite you to sit down with fashion’s next generation as they dig deep into their memories. To chew some fat - defined as an informal conversation brimming with small talk - we encourage you to pull up a chair and take a big old bite as we spill the tea on the life and work of the industry’s need-to-knows. Just remember to mop up after yourself.
SYLVIE KREUSCH is the Belgian singer-songwriter whose latest single, Let It All Burn, is a soundtrack for anyone who’s found themselves in the shower, going over past arguments with their ex, and delivering the coup de grâce that they wish they had delivered. The song features on her forthcoming debut album which is set to be released later this year.
Written following her split from boyfriend and WARHAUS collaborator, Maarten Delvodere, Kreusch confronts the inconsistencies of her last relationship over a hallucinatory guitar riff, reminiscent of Teenage Kicks by The Undertones. In the video for the single, fiction and reality blur as Sylvie races through an old Hollywood landscape, appearing like a phoenix in a flaming red VALENTINO gown and straddling a Harley Davidson. It’s a far cry from the person opposite me on Zoom who’s just told me, in a croaky, well-rehearsed voice, that they’d prefer to wear black and ‘be invisible’.
Harry Browse: Many people know you from Warhaus, and some from your first band, Soldier’s Heart, but who exactly is Sylvie Kreusch and what do you stand for?
Sylvie Kreusch: As an artist I try to be as honest as possible… It’s always going to be very personal, especially the album I wrote last year, because I had been through my first really rough breakup after a long relationship. That’s the point when you get to know yourself a bit more and you go back to your youth. In real life, I’m this person who avoids conflict a lot and when I can write, that’s the moment when I don’t have any limits. I will never hide myself behind this difficult poetry, my music is very in-your-face.
HB: Your work is quite honest and raw, what is it like to perform live?
SK: It feels very scary at times. At first you think the girls are going to be jealous and judge you for being sexual on stage or whatever, but the biggest compliments I get are from girls who tell me after the show that when they see me on stage, they feel confident too. When I tell my story, there’s no one that’s going to judge me for that. It’s probably the only place where there are no limits, so that’s fantastic you know. It takes strength to show your emotions on stage because nowadays everyone has to be like BEYONCÉ, you know, and I mean if you look back at these singers from the ‘60s and ‘70s, they’re much more vulnerable. They’re very loud about their emotions and they are not afraid to also share that they are not strong or they’re struggling.
HB: What is it like to have your ex embedded into your discography?
SK: It’s really funny actually because now we’re friends but when I wrote the song, I was super angry, and it was this revenge song, but then of course, the year goes by and you learn to laugh about it. We needed a male figure in the video clip and as a joke I suggested we ask him. And then we were like, okay but maybe we should really do it. Luckily, he agreed and said ‘yeah, it’ll be fine.’
Shot on 16mm film and styled by Hollywood’s finest, Kreusch transforms autobiography into cinematic splendor in the music video for Let It All Burn. Inspired by the movies of Tarantino, Maarten drives through a nocturnal cityscape in a vintage Porsche 911 as Sylvie rakes through the ashes of their failed relationship, reckoning with superficiality and groupies along the way. With a wink and a nudge, Kreusch notes at the beginning that: Certain incidents, characters and timelines may have been changed for dramatic purposes.
SK: To me, it was very important that he’s also in the video because I always try to put some humour in, so it’s not too heavy. In the end we always do bad shit towards each other, but I think it’s a very important thing to forgive. It takes a lot of energy to feel hatred towards someone and so for me that felt right to end the whole heavy experience of being so angry.
HB: Have you always been musical?
SK: I saw a video of me when I was just three-years-old and I was performing in front of the mirror, so it is something I have always done, but it was only when I got to like 25 that I really started writing on my own. Before I was always writing with a band or with my ex-boyfriend so I was quite old before I got the nerve to just do it on my own. I see it with a lot of girls: they still see this as a job for men, which is bullshit of course. So I just took some classes, and I was like this is so fucking easy, why didn’t I start this earlier.
HB: How has being in bands shaped you as an artist and what have you learned going solo?
SK: I needed to leave so I could get in this very scary position, you know. I needed to disconnect from other people to just, like, do this by myself. When you’re in a band, I’m more like a follower, so that’s why I really needed to do a solo project. I needed to put myself in this position to be the leader and do this all by myself. There are no fights with people, that’s the easy part. The very difficult part is that it’s so much more work. Although I have a management and they take care of certain stuff, I don’t like to keep it out of hands. I’m always very involved, with the music, production, videos, everything.
Despite having only released two EP’s to date, Kreusch has already drawn international praise for her sultry, performance-led pop from the likes of The New York Times, Vogue and Paper Mag. This fierce new track gives a taste of the album to come and of the solo artist she wants to be. Entirely self-taught, Kreusch’s songwriting influences occasionally bubble to the surface; situating her music alongside the likes of BJÖRK, GRACE JONES, Arthur Russell and Serge Gainsbourg.
HB: What can you tell me about the upcoming album?
SK: I wrote it in Montbray which is where I have been rehearsing for my live shows for the past week. It’s in the middle of nowhere, there’s no people, only cows. It’s owned by some good friends of mine and I stayed there last summer during the first lockdown. I was supposed to stay for a week, but I didn’t have to go back to Belgium to do anything and everything was cancelled anyway, so I ended up staying there for two to three months. I never go on holidays to chill and I don’t have much light in this room which makes writing a bit depressing. To me, the best holidays are going to somewhere like Marrakesh, sitting on a rooftop and writing. I need to be outside and in nature and surrounded by a lot of dogs.
In Kreusch’s various live performances, some may see the eccentricities of KATE BUSH’S early work. Although she had to postpone touring due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kreusch’s penchant for expressive movement and high fashion saw her become a jewel in the fashion industry’s crown. PRADA, MIU MIU, THE KOOPLES, OLIVIER THEYSKENS, ANN DEMEULEMEESTER and AZZARO COUTURE all jumped to work with her as runway shows went online.
HB: You’ve composed for major high fashion brands such as Prada and Olivier Theyskens, how would you describe the relationship between fashion and music?
SK: I have a lot of respect for fashion designers and I think it’s super important to wear something you feel super confident and sexy in... and big! It has to be dramatic of course. If I wore jeans on stage I wouldn’t put on a great performance at all. I get very inspired by all of these collections and photoshoots, especially the Seedy Tricks video I did for Azzaro Couture. Because of Covid, they asked if I could show their new collection by making a video clip for them and they gave me so much creative freedom… They didn’t just use me as a model or a face but for something more… [creatives] need each other you know.
HB: What can we expect from your live shows?
SK: I wanted to make music where I can dance but that’s not electronic music, so the album is rich with these voodoo grooves. Everything is live, I have a percussionist and a drummer on stage, so the sound’s already very full of these elements. Still very energetic, I have a guitar player, keyboard, background singer, saxophone player also. A lot of ballads and cinematic songs.
HB: What was the biggest ‘pinch me’ moment for you in your career so far?
SK: I had a very big picture of me on a billboard in New York on Times Square. It was just the day before that they told me but then, after that happened and I saw myself, I was like, okay what’s the next thing. It’s always very random and last minute and unexpected and suddenly you get a call to perform at this TV show or whatever, and you move on.
HB: What’s next for you?
SK: The release of the record, just doing all the shows: I’m gonna go on tour with Baltizar, maybe we’re gonna be playing in London if that’s possible, because it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be great just being able to travel around again and meet all these people and just finally put it out.