WHOLES is the new musical project of Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch who played with several bands over the years (pop, punk, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022.
Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around
it, what could no longer be contained says Wolf. They just released their debut LP, titled A MASS IN THE WATER. A pitch-black noizz and very personal record about Vanmymeersch losing his beloved father.
It’s a both scary and flabbergasting opus that takes a lot of courage to make and share with the world. Turn Up The Volume had a chat about it with Wolf, but first a sonic intro
with ‘Till We Don’t Meet Again‘, which was the album’s first single.
Can you remember a day you weren’t involved in music in the past few decades?
“Music isn’t a choice or a hobby for me; it’s a current that runs underneath everything. Even on the days I don’t play or write, it’s always there. A single word in a conversation can spark something, a sound in the street can open a door. There’s always something playing in the back of my mind.”
What does your new project/band’s name stand for?
“WHOLES refers to what remains after a soul explodes — the pieces, the shards,
the echoes. It’s about scars as much as openings: holes and the spaces where new
light can enter. It also references the Whole, The desire to feel connected with
everyone and everything.
The name is raw and hopeful at the same time,
and that’s exactly where our music lives.”
Suppose WHOLES was an animal.
Which one would it be and why?
“A crow. Something living between life and decay, clever, restless, unafraid of
darkness yet still strangely beautiful. A creature that’s always collecting things
and suddenly takes off when you least expect it.
Or a cockroach: it thrives in the cracks, survives the loudest blasts, and refuses
to disappear. It’s the noise that keeps living long after the room has gone quiet.
Or a cow? WHOLES is like a cow in a storm, usually placid, almost meditative,
but when it moves, the earth itself shakes. The music carries that same mix
of calm, menace, and unstoppable presence.”
The debut album A MASS IN THE WATER has just
been released. What’s the story behind the title?
“As crazy and morbid as it sounds, I found my dead father in a brook De Schorre. Hence Poids Lourd etc… It’s also a Mass in the sense of
a Requiem.
The album, much like the title, is about confronting grief, carrying it,
and letting it shape the sound without being consumed by it.”
My first impressions went from scary to flabbergasting.
Is the maker of this pitch-black record the freakiest
Mr. Hyde ever?
(laughs) “Maybe. WHOLES is definitely my Mr. Hyde,
the part that rages, distorts, and refuses to sit still.
But it feels less like Mr. Hyde taking over from Jekyll and more like both of them
finally being allowed to speak at the same time. The darkness in the record is real,
it’s simply the only way I could express certain emotions without filtering or
polishing them.”
It’s a very personal work dealing with the loss of your
beloved father. Now that the album is out, do you feel
some sort of healing?
“Making this album didn’t heal me, but it gave the grief a shape. It let me confront emotions I couldn’t otherwise articulate: the grief, the rage, the confusion. Sharing
it doesn’t erase the loss, but it transforms it: it becomes something external,
something that can move, resonate, and exist beyond me.
Playing this music live, in front of people, takes it
even further, it transcends the pain and the grief.”
The singles’ and LP’s artwork visualise your demons, I suppose.
Quite impressive. Can you tell us more about it?
“Yes, the artwork is very much an extension of the music and the emotions behind it. Maxime Rouquart, who created all the visuals, and I sat down and listened to the album together.
I shared some sketches and stylistic guidelines, for example, my interest in wood engraving and lithography, and then he did his thing, producing some truly beautiful
work. Niek Devos from PRINTBAaR handled the screen printing, giving the art a special finishing touch that really completes the whole experience.”
What’s your favorite track and why?
“My favorites change from day to day, today I’ll pick ‘Holes’ because it’s the only song that speaks directly TO my father. In lines like ‘to make you whole again / sleep well my friend / hope your nightmares end / from wayback when / and help the man to fill them holes again and make you whole again’.
As if I’m consoling him, singing a lullaby to soothe his pains.”
. Suppose A MASS IN THE WATER was the soundtrack
of a movie. Which one would it be and why?
“If A MASS IN THE WATER were the soundtrack of a movie, it would be something
raw, and unflinching, a film where grief, chaos and beauty coexist. Where time
slows down and emotions speak through textures and images.
In that sense, it could work perfectly with Sirât: a father searches for his missing
daughter in the desert and the world around them spirals into utter chaos. Our album’s
tension, intensity and immersive sound would mirror the film’s themes, the landscape’s
harshness and the emotional weight of the story.”
What can we expect from WHOLES in 2026?
“In 2026, you can expect more shows and a deeper dive into the sonic language we’re developing. We’re rehearsing new songs — not sure if we’ll release them this year — but we’re only at the beginning.”
Thank you, Wolf, for this revealing interview.
May the road rise with Wholes.
“‘Although it’s a big, joyous dance track, it’s about hiding deep emotional pain and trauma and how hedonistic coping mechanisms, like drugs, alcohol, and womanizing, are just temporary distractions. They ultimately fuel a self-destructive cycle. There’s a deliberate contrast between the euphoria of the music and the melancholy of the lyrics, capturing the subject’s duality of light and darkness.”
TUTV: This is what great pop-ular music is all about. Big tune, big emotions, big orchestration. Euphorically cacthy despite its dramatic ‘real life‘ story. Aftermath
soul-searching can work cathartically, and here it sounds pretty boosting.
TUTV: These utterly cool Welsh punkettes drive you bonkers with
this bass-insane punk ‘n’ roll uppercut. Kick-ass band, kick-ass attitude,
kick-ass blast.
Band: PUNCHBAG Who: A new brother-sister party duo, from South London colliding the raw unfiltered energy of punk, with the overflowing ecstasy of pop. With fierce tempos and ferocious energy, their music is an explosively cathartic release of raw intensity and unapologetic fun.
TUTV: Ecstasy. Elation. Exhilaration. This flamboyant electro-slam makes
you bounce and jump like mad. Punchbag kick you in the teeth without
asking while having uppercut fun. And they’ve only just started.
“I wrote this one when I was feeling stuck and stagnant, but when I finally
brought it to the band they really breathed new life into it and made it feel
magic again!!”
TUTV: This sickly sticky steam-riff-roller drives me crazy. Head-twisting stonker.
Band: BOB VYLAN Who: Controversial hip-punk-hop
duo from London.
Track: DREAM BIGGER.
A re-worked, re-named jackhammer single from
their 3rd album, Humble As The Sun released
last April.
TUTV: It features roasting vocals by the fantastic Australian punk
daredevil Amyl Taylor from Amyl And The Sniffers. She’s the perfect
sharp-mouthed match for this fierce flametrohwer.
Band: KNEECAP Who: Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip & hop around with a knife between their
teeth since 2017.
So far they released 2 albums.
Lately, they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
They got heavily critiqued for it when they played Coachella Festival in Indo, California
last April.
Then the UK’s right wing politicians jumped into it, and prosecuted Mo Chara after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah last November (no verdict yet), and tried to get them banned from playing Glastonbury Festival next week. It gained them, rightly so, countless support from musical colleagues and fans.
To emphasize the whole political charade, the band just released a new single, named THE RECAP, going after Tory politician, business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch who started to hunt them back in 2023 when he withdrew an arts grant awarded to the band.
The trio brought a discrimination case against the U.K. government
and won, donating the proceeds to Belfast community groups. Yes!
Beth: “We’re living in a dark time, full of drama and barbarous tragedy.
It became clear to me that, in these times, we either learn how to scream
really well, or we learn how to whisper.”
TUTV: With this savage industrial shocker it’s crystal clear what Beth meant
when she talked about her amadant intention to make an agressive sound
on her new record. Obsession is a nine inch nails bombshell. Volcanic
2025 gloom and doom eruption.
TUTV: Post-punk aggression at its Mclusky‘s sharp-biting best,
gas-powered by a cast iron bass/drum tandem, schizo guitars
and Falkous‘s intimidating sneering.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch.
Track: MODERN DAY DRAMA
Single from their upcoming debut LP ‘A Mass In The Water, which lands
on 14 November.
Single artwork by Maxime Rouquart
TUTV: This hellraiser’s ominous mid-tempo dynamics, distorted vocals, and
riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are listening to the goosebumps
theme song of a horror movie.
Creepy tension in the air, melodrama about to happen. Yes, at the 2.30 minute
mark all hell breaks loose. Decibels up, amps up, temperature up. From a whisper
to a scream. From planet Earth to Dante‘s inferno.
Band: ARCADE FIRE Who: The famous pop-rock
collective from Canada.
Track:YEAR OF THE SNAKE
First single from their forthcoming 7th album, named Pink Elephant ready for release on May 9th. 2025 is
the ‘year of the snake‘ in the Chinese Zodiac.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop nugget, with its hypnotizing guitar riff,
the non-stop banging drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler and his spouse Régine Chassagne.
Band: THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY Who:The Irrational Library is a Dutch-American rock band with its roots
firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove influenced by punk,
provo and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.
Track: TRUTH SERUM
First single from the quartet’s new, upcoming
5th LP ‘The Saying Of It All’. More details TBA.
Artwork by political cartoonistTRIK
TUTV: TIL is back in town. And they move and groove again with brio and gusto
motorized by a striking drum/bass tandem, while a 60s psychedelic flute flutters
like a butterfly throughout the song. Frontman Joshua Baumgarten draws your
aural attention (as usual) with his near-rapping phrasing of the clear-cut lyrics.
TUTV: An Artist Is An Artist is a sizzling sledgehammer
pushed by a mind-boggling speedy velocity, Skin‘s
hyperactive vocals, a paranoid sax and a flabbergasting chorus.
Artist:LAURA JANE GRACE Who: Chicago‘s notorious singer-songwriter who’s around since the 90s.
She makes a lot of noise with her punk group Against Me! (7 albums so far)
and solo (2 albums so far).
Grace: “Does God have a dick? Is that what those of the faith believe when they refer to their Lord as “he” & “him” & “father”? Well, imagine that! Oops, I think I may have imagined a little too hard and gone and written a song about it. He lord’s heavenly hammer must swing mighty! And away we go!”
TUTV: This is both a hilarious and punktastic choir chant reminiscent
of scream and shout Celtics Dropkick Murphys with a blustering storm
of surf riffs chainsawing your stereo into pieces.
Band: THE NEW EVES Who: Must hear/see indies from Brighton (where everybody is in a band).
They cruise from folk to punk, using, besides traditional instruments (guitar,
bass and drums) also cello, flute, violin, and other classical gear.
It’s a darkly-energised, female-first retelling of
writer/poet Alfred Noyes classic 1906 romantic
poem.
TUTV: These four musical mavericks don’t care about rock ‘n’ roll rules. They do what they want, the way they want to do it, annex unseen visual presence on stage and in video clips. On Highwayman they rattle and brattle full speed ahead motorized by restless drum/bass teamwork.
Here and there the tune, goes, eh, out of tune, and it sounds totally perfect for this emotional belter. No arty farty production for TNE. Winder-Lind‘s awesomely agitated vocals put a spell on you. My, oh my.
TUTV: A razzle-dazzle steamroller that gets under your skin faster
than you can say “this is bloody superb”. Its insane, mind-bending
course doubles your serotonin production on the spot.
Artist: MARK STEWART Who: One of the most adventurous/inventive/original post-punk & dub artists/performers
ever. He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group The Pop Group and released lots of solo and collaborative records. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years ago,
only 62.
Track: MEMORY OF YOU
Single from Stewart‘s solo album The Fateful Symmetry,
that was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and boom-tastic,
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
Band: THE LIVING PINS Who: Indie outfit featuring, Carrie Clark and Pam Peltz, who found each other on
the edge of the delicately ramshackle playground of the 1990s Austin (Texas)
music scene. They released their 4-track debut EP Let It Be So in 2023.
TUTV: Gold is a bluesy, foot-tapping garage ripper that has an instant impact on your greedy ears with its solid swagger, its gloriously cracking guitars, with a feverish solo somewhere in the middle, and its cool duet vocals.
Artist: LIFE COACH Who: The musical project of singer-songwriter-poet Jamie Cameron. Hailing from
the Scottish Borders, the music blends lo-fi beats, synths and guitars with spoken word lyrics in which he discusses subjects ranging from politics and premonitions to self help culture, and a modern society obsessed with economic thinking.
TUTV: Life Coach are on fire, again. This new rattling rap ‘n’ punk roll crackerjack
swings forth and back, left and right and Jamie Cameron’s full of vim and vigour
word-flow activates all of your insatiable limbs before he relaxes towards the
synthy end. Kinetic kick. Hands up for the coach.
Tim Baker (founder and creative director): “The best of what we do in one song,
it’s a tune that really carries the soul of everything good we have stood for over the
last ten years”.
TUTV: Expect electrifying energy from the kick-off. Delirious guitars set
the haywire tone and hyperventilating vocals augment the buzzing fuzz.
A modern-day post-punk roller coaster.
Berlin-based artist KAT KOAN offers her first music of
the year with a new, jaunty little gem, called COCOON.
Koan: “It’s a little circus themed escape world. I wanted to create a bit of a dreamy
break from daily worries. It’s pretty crafty and full of cool instruments. It also features
my daughter for a brief moment. It’s my favourite song I’ve made so far.”
TUTV: Leave your own cocoon and move to Koan‘s one where she will treat
you with this lighthearted tune that swings in mid-tempo from left to right
and back.
It relaxes your mind, triggers you to set your busy plans on a hold, and invites
your body to have a waltz-y dance that transfers you to a utopian circus
place for a while, far away from our daily, suffocating rat race.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch,
who played with several bands (pop, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022. Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around it, what could no longer be contained.
Track: MODERN DAY DRAMA
New single following their cooking debut Till We Don’t Meet Again.
Both will appear on their upcoming debut album ‘A Mass In The Water
which lands on 14 November.
Single artwork by Maxime Rouquart
TUTV: Two singles in, and my ears tell me that Wholes are going places. Modern Day Drama is their new slam dunk. Its ominous mid-tempo dynamics,
its distorted vocals, and its riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are
hearing the goosebumps theme song of a horror movie.
Creepy tension in the air, melodrama about to happen. Yes, at the 2.30 minute
mark all hell breaks loose. Decibels up, amps up, temperature up. From a whisper
to a scream. From planet Earth to Dante‘s inferno. Helter skelter.
“Rate disrupting so vile
Raid this life so stale
I can’t be bothered much longer
so I blow a 1000 winds
modern day drama
a gap in your mind
eyes in one line
run and turn the cheek
to the moon
modern day drama
modern day drama
modern day drama
modern day drama
modern day drama
a gap in our mind
things got weird
and before I knew I was swimming
modern day drama
modern day drama”
Stream
. Buy
.
And LIVE they walk it like they talk it (read: they bellow like they’re in pain) as
I experienced last Thursday when they steamed through a blistering set played in
a small bunker-like club. Remember the Queens Of The Stone Age 2002 album Songs For The Deaf? Yes, that was the villainous vibe. Say no more.
TUTV: Post-punk aggression at its Mclusky‘s sharp-biting best,
gas-powered by a cast iron bass/drum tandem, schizo guitars
and Falkous‘s intimidating sneering.
“‘Politics on the Internet’ is about caring for yourself enough not to engage in the beast battle
all the time. You can talk to your brothers, parents, and friends. Prioritize your family and fight locally. Flinging verbal excrement at a screen isn’t the way. Love yourself, love others. Love, sex, being strong through kindness, the weight of political turmoil and technology on what is human in humanity.”
TUTV: Blimey. This pyrotechnics juggernaut has a knockout vehemence
that floors you in 150 seconds. To hell with shitty politics on the Internet,
these motherrockers are the real riff-raging deal.
Artist: MARK STEWART Who: One of the most adventurous/inventive/original post-punk & dub artists/performers
ever. He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group The Pop Group and released lots of solo and collaborative records. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years ago,
only 62.
Track: MEMORY OF YOU
First shared taster from Stewart‘s solo album The Fateful Symmetry,
that was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and boom-tastic
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
Band: THE NEW EVES Who: Must hear/see indies from Brighton (where everybody is in a band).
They cruise from folk to punk, using, besides traditional instruments (guitar,
bass and drums) also cello, flute, violin, and other classical gear.
It’s a darkly-energised, female-first retelling of
writer/poet Alfred Noyes classic 1906 romantic
poem.
TUTV: These four musical mavericks don’t care about rock ‘n’ roll rules. Only 4 singles in, and it’s clear they do what they want, the way they want, annex unseen visual presence on stage and in video clips. On Highwayman they rattle and brattle full speed ahead motorized by restless drum/bass teamwork.
Here and there the tune, goes, eh, out of tune, and it sounds totally perfect for this emotional belter. No arty farty production for TNE. Winder-Lind‘s awesomely agitated vocals put a spell on you. Pure present-day punk. I want more.
The accompanying, eye-catching video is quite special too.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch,
who played with several bands (pop, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022. Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around it, what could no longer be contained.
TUTV: Stoner rock dynamics and spiky garage blues disturbance work together to inject your eager ears with doom and gloom disturbance. Like dark clouds predicting a storm, like demons challenging each other, eye to eye, face to face. Wolf’s near-whispering, Josh Homme-esque vocals complete the ominous sonic picture.
Band: ARCADE FIRE Who: The famous pop-rock
collective from Canada.
Track:YEAR OF THE SNAKE
First single from their forthcoming 7th album, named Pink Elephant ready for release on May 9th. 2025 is
the ‘year of the snake‘ in the Chinese Zodiac.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop pearl, with its hypnotizing guitar riff, the non-stop
banging drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler and his spouse Régine Chassagne.
Artist:ANDY BELL Who: Best known as vocalist of British synth-pop duo Erasure with
former Depeche Mode/Yazoo keyboardist/songwriter Vince Clarke.
Track: HEART’S A LIAR
Newest single from his upcoming 3rd solo album Ten Crows,
which lands this Friday, on May 2nd. It features Blondie icon Debbie Harry.
TUTV: Two glamourous voices, one glamourous disco
tune. It’s a fervid break-up pop gem to fill dance floors
with.
Artist: LIFE COACH Who: The musical project of singer-songwriter-poet Jamie Cameron. Hailing from
the Scottish Borders, the music blends lo-fi beats, synths and guitars with spoken word lyrics in which he discusses subjects ranging from politics and premonitions to self help culture, and a modern society obsessed with economic thinking.
Track: SQUADDIES IN HAIR NETS
Piece taken from the upcoming 2nd album, named ‘A Love Letter To Your Yearning Heart’, which is due for
release on May 30th.
TUTV: Life Coach are on fire, again. This new rattling rap ‘n’ punk roll crackerjack
swings you forth and back, left and right and Jamie Cameron’s adrenalizing word-flow
energizes all of your insatiable limbs before he relaxes towards the synthy end. Another kinetic kick. Hands up for the coach.
Tim Baker (founder and creative director): “The best of what we do in one song,
it’s a tune that really carries the soul of everything good we have stood for over the
last ten years”.
TUTV: Expect electrifying energy from the kick-off. Delirious guitars set the haywire tone and hyperventilating vocals augment the buzzing fuzz. A modern-day post-punk roller coaster.
TUTV: Only two singles in, and it’s already clear that Salvia‘s songwriting skills,
and her impressive vocal performance will bring her musical journey pretty far.
You And Me is an entrancing jam with a rotating guitar riff that gets under your skin
from start to finish. Salvia‘s seductive vocals match the trancy vibe perfectly well.
Today Ghent, next week Belgium, next month the world.
Artists: peach I melba Who: Queer femme indie duo,
half Brighton and half Los Angeles.
Track: WORST TRIMESTER
With blistering lyrics delivered at a rapped pace, the riot grrrl duo
explore the gender politics of pregnancy, in their style of both members
singing every word together over minimalist bass guitar and driving drums.
TUTV: There’s good news and bad news. Bad news first? World peace is an illusion.
From the moment Adam & Eve fucked up, shit started to happen and dirty wars are
still fought, its part of human nature.
The good news? These two DIY Amazons swear to release a new song every six weeks until world peace has been fully achieved. So, we’re ready for a looooong wild and rough ride, starting with this fun, outspoken and catchy 100% indie thrill. Don’t miss their bus, all you music junkies out there.
TUTV: Frontwoman Hannah Vandenbussche‘s voice is the heartbeat of this fresh
act, composed of experienced musicians. With Shadow they released their 4th single.
A spellbinding and haunting piece of captivating music, moving around a bewitching
guitar riff. Tension in the air throughout. Compelling tune. Sugarbunny is going places.
Band: LEDHER BLUE Who: The product of two distinctively different individuals, Zé and Pedro,
that the waves of life comically decided to beach in a northern town of Portugal – Guimarães.
Track: CRAIC
Piece from their brand new, excellent debut
album, titled Fait Divers. Stream it here
TUTV: What starts as a both moody and amplified reflection, explodes
on the let’s all sing together chorus, like if this cracking anthem was recorded
at a Premier League football game. It sticks after one spin. Score!
TUTV: When I just say that my excited ears hear jangly Parquet Courts echoes, you already should get excited too. The sharp-edged riffage, explosive eruptions now and then, and fidgety vocals will drive your mind and stereo mad.
Band: VIRGINS Who: Belfast-based shoegaze band who transcend that reductive tag to deliver a noise which is thrillingly loud and weightily light. Last year they released their notable debut album nothing hurt and everything was beautiful.
TUTV: Heavenly melodiousness, edged layers of shoegazing guitars, forceful
drumming, crystalline vocals, and a non-stop bass riff pushing the pace
throughout combine for a breathtaking score.
TUTV: From the first chord on Donat takes you on a head-twisting and power-driven
trip. No brakes, no breaks. Always pedal to the metal. Raise your voice and absorb
this flat-out ripper. Bingo.
TUTV: Never a dull guitar-pop moment with this seasoned Swedish combo. This lazy tune, for lazy days is one that Scottish melancholic heroes Teenage Fanclub would be proud of. It feels as if Spring invites you to have a feel-good Summer.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch,
who played with several bands (pop, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022. Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around it, what could no longer be contained.
Press info: ‘Till We Don’t Meet Again‘ is a clash of crooked guitars, relentless rhythms
and vocals that teeter between sadness and rebellion. A devastating mix of 80’s new beat rhythms, with the haunting intensity of Bowie, the fractured melodies of Bill Orcutt and the pop sensibility of QOTSA.
Single artwork
TUTV: Stoner rock dynamics and spiky garage blues disturbance work together to inject your eager ears with doom and gloom disturbance. Like dark clouds predicting a storm, like demons challenging each other, eye to eye, face to face.
Anxious guitars fuel this roasting ripper, the drum/bass tandem motorizes the flow and Wolf’s near-whispering, Josh Homme-esque vocals complete the ominous sonic picture. Wholes‘ fuzz and buzz sonority works instantly. All together now: we want more.
