Alex Van Der Bosch is a singer/songwriter from the Netherlands who has been singing since the age of 4 and was even offered a record deal at eleven, but was considered too young by his parents. Now 23, and based in Barcelona, he is chasing his dream of becoming an award-winning recording artist.
Listen to “When All The Lights Have Been Turned Off”
This song is based on a Dutch song by Marco Borsato which Alex translated and amended to suit him as an artist. It is a tender love ballad consisting of just piano and vocal which gives it an intimate quality that captures the attention. Alex has an clear and emotive voice with good range and is suited to this sort of material.
Though he makes it clear that this recording is raw and was produced on basic equipment it does sound professional and most people would think it was recorded in a major studio. Lyrically, the deeply romantic nature of the song melds with the music perfectly and would speak particularly to women who love men expressing deep emotion.
Overall, this is an impressive showcase for Alex’s singing talents and should hold him in good stead in pursuing his dream of stardom. After this, he should concentrate on making a great album and building up a fanbase on social media, as this is what record companies require these days in order to sign an artist.
By Alex Faulkner
I’m 34 and a freelance music journalist, as well as a composer and producer. I’ve written reviews for UK newspapers and music websites. I run my own blog, reviewing the best new bands and artists . I’m very passionate and knowledgeable about music and that shows in my writing.
Exclusive Interview:
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Alex Van Der Bosch: Randy Morano contacted me over Twitter, and advised me to sign up on the website. As I am starting my career as an artist, I took the advice.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Alex Van Der Bosch: I am from the Netherlands originally, started singing at the age of 4, when listening to an Elvis album from my parents. I have been signing ever since, practicing every single day. At 11 I got a label offer, but my parents didn’t allow me in regards to my age. I always wanted to be an artist however. At the age of 15 I left home and moved to Copenhagen Denmark on my own to work on specific social betterment programs, that I had already been working with from the age of 13. I spent 7 years in Denmark, got married there, learned a mountain of different skills, and last year I moved back to the Netherlands for awhile, before moving on to Barcelona. Since I left Denmark I am set on my goals as an artist.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Alex Van Der Bosch: Yes, at the moment I do, but as I am not yet signed or specifically into making money off my music, it’s about getting signed for me right now.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips
Alex Van Der Bosch: Not really, as I am not past my start-up stage yet, and it might be faulty advice.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Alex Van Der Bosch: No, I never made a specific mistake. the A/V crew once forgot to turn on my guitar tough on Country Roads that I played with a friend. I acted as if nothing was wrong, and there was barely anyone that noticed.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Alex Van Der Bosch: Not yet.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Alex Van Der Bosch: It depends, it could come from other songs, from something I experienced, from something that I observe or I just completely make it up.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Alex Van Der Bosch: No. I used SpinnUp to release my music to Spotify, Itunes, Amazon, etc, but that was very recent.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Alex Van Der Bosch: There are no embarrassing songs for me. I listen to classic same as I do to heavy metal. I don’t mind saying that I adore Celtic Woman and Enya, or Children of Bodom. Nickelback, Pink, Avril, Michael Buble, Elvis Presley, The Script, I am totally into all their music, for me the only classification is that the music is good, not it’s genre.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Alex Van Der Bosch: I would pay all my debts, take my wife on a nice 2-week holiday, invest into things that would help me become a better artist and help me produce a lot more money, and donate a part to charity.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Alex Van Der Bosch: I am working with a home-studio consisting of a Shure Beta 87A, hooked up to a Mixboard, to a external audio card, into my laptop where it is recorded by Adobe Audition. I don’t edit my voice at all, save for reverb, which I add sometimes on the board, and sometimes in Audition, but my voice is otherwise untouched.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Alex Van Der Bosch: Nothing particular yet, right now I am using social media in order to get my music heard. But my goal is to get signed and through that get my music promoted on a big scale.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Alex Van Der Bosch: Wow, that is really hard to say, there are a lot of artists that I would love to perform with. The young version of Elvis would be a dream, Pink, the Script, Avril, Goo Goo Dolls, And many more probably.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Alex Van Der Bosch: My next step is getting signed, to continue to promote until I get signed, which would allow me to quit my dayjob, and concentrate on my music.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Alex Van Der Bosch: There are many other things that I could be doing, either running different events on the technical side, programming, marketing, giving seminars for social betterment programs, I am trained for all of them, so I have a lot of options.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Alex Van Der Bosch: My first album ever was Justified from Justin Timberlake. I am still a huge fan, a very good performer, good dancer, and definitely a good singer. I listened to it for one month non-stop, and was singing along to it all. I was thrilled.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Alex Van Der Bosch: Right now I work a dayjob in order to support me and my wife, but, as said above, I have only just started to really work on my music, and plan to get signed asap.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?
