28 November 2025
Emotive Belgian singer-songwriter Nele Janssen is, so far, known by her fans as the fiery frontwoman of high-powered post-punk turbo Peuk who have released 2 albums to this day.
That will all change now with her brand-new solo debut album, named
STONY BEDS, released under the moniker of HEAD ON STONE.
Only Nele Janssen and her piano. Intimate, passional and heartfelt. From a Peuk scream
to a solo whisper. A beautiful, soul-stirring record that silences you from start to finish. Eleven bittersweet gems for the midnight hours. Stony Beds is an ideal companion for cold winter nights, while relaxing with dimmed light on your couch and your favourite drink at hand.
Enamoured by this musical exploit, Turn Up The Volume reached
out to Nele for a chat about her amazing solo adventure.
Do you have a classical music schooling, or is this a DIY story, Nele?
“I had some classical music schooling when I was a kid/teenager, but I didn’t take
lessons for it in high school because in those days, you had to work with sheet music, and I wanted to create my own stuff. I don’t create music on sheets.
I write down some notes in a small book and record some ideas on a small recorder.
The rest is in my head. So I have to keep on playing the songs now and then to
remember them.”
For many PEUK fans, this intimate solo album will be a musical and
vocal surprise. How and when did you start this project?
“I’ve been writing this music since I was finishing my classical music school. I needed to express these feelings and find ways to cope with them. It was hard for me to put these feelings into words, and so my piano became my friend. The piano gave me the comfort and focus I needed. So I just played for myself in my room.
I did not want people to hear it. It was between me and the piano. Later on, I let some close friends into this world, and it felt okay to do this. So I guess I was opening up more. They told me to share it, but I was scared. So I wanted to overcome this fear, and I played some small, intimate gigs.
People showed their love for it, and it felt like maybe it could be important to other people too in a way. But I still wanted to keep it more to myself. Peuk is a more extroverted affair and helped me to become less scared of performing, and it helped show a different, more angry emotion. So now I’m sharing more of this intimate side Peuk protected me from in a way.
What does your moniker ‘HEAD ON STONE’ stands for, Nele?
“It was the title of a song I wrote when my Head On Stone project didn’t have a name yet.
I wrote the lyrics of the song when I was lying down on a sandy hill in the woods, and my
head rested on a stone, and it felt kind of nice, but also discomfort. Warm but cold.
The songs are like that. Some lyrics come from negative feelings
and thoughts, but the piano carries them in a healing way.
Is that a horse eye on the album’s cover?
What’s the story behind the artwork?
“Yes, it’s a horse eye, and my reflection is in it. This horse was very important to me.
She passed away, but I wrote some of the songs during a period she was still with me.
OUT is a song I wrote for her.
She wanted to hide from the sun because of the mosquitos. She was allergic to them. It itches badly. A bit like I don’t like crowded places and hide from people. This picture was taken when it snowed, so no mosquitos there.”
.
What do you want to express with the record’s title ‘STONY BEDS’?
“Stony Beds is like Head On Stone. A bed is comfortable and soft. A stone is cold and hard. So there’s a contrast, and I think you can find that in the songs. Also, you can hear me sing it in the song ‘mountainside‘. It’s about going into nature without anything but yourself. You meet nature. So if we rest, we lay our heads on stony beds. Lying on something stony.”
.
Your crystalline vocals are impressive. Quite different from your
fiery PEUK vocality. Does it feel that way for you too, Nele?
“It’s different, but it’s still me. It’s the way I sing. I sing how I feel. So I guess I have different kinds of voices because of the feeling I get when I sing with them. I don’t think about it, it just happens.”
I hear mixed emotions about life and these weird times in the
lyrics. Is that what you wanted to address or are my ears wrong?
“The songs are more about myself, in this life. It’s not really about life in general but more about what’s going on in my head, how I feel, and how I try to cope with it. But I’m in this life, so it’s included. It’s just more introverted.”
Photo by Syl
Is this a one-time adventure, or do you have more solo work in mind?
“It doesn’t feel like a one-time adventure. I don’t know yet, but for now I don’t think it is.”
Thank you very much, for this chat, Nele.
May the road rise with Head On Stone.
STREAM ALBUM
BUY ALBUM