“Flemish people are much nicer”: MEAU gives Pukkelpop goosebumps | THE FESTIVAL SUMMER

She did not have any stress before her Pukkelpop baptism of fire, although the Dutch did not expect that so many people would want to see her at work. “Sometimes worst-care scenarios even run through my head,” says MEAU. “Then I see myself playing in front of an empty hall. Just before my first summer festival, I had another nightmare. I was on stage, in a big tent, and there were barely ten people in front of me. Fortunately, the reality looks different. It was great that at such an early hour a crowd of fans showed up, especially for me. Do you know that I like the Flemish audience much more, by the way? You guys don’t ramble through my songs and really listen to what I sing. The Dutch are really rude. Clumsy, but cozy. (laughs) I live in Utrecht, but my ultimate dream is to have a second home in Ghent. I am totally in love with that city.”

Things have been going really fast since MEAU released ‘You did that’ on the world at the end of last year. The song took first place in the Ultratop and above all caused a wave of recognition. The Dutch sings about a toxic relationship, and many people recognized themselves in her words. “In the beginning I thought it was intense to bring that personal song about the situation with my ex live,” the singer continues. “But now I feel like it’s become everyone’s song, it doesn’t necessarily feel like my story anymore. That’s nice. Of course I sometimes think back to that dark time, but I hardly experience it anymore. It has helped me tremendously to be able to write it all off. And it’s great that I was able to help so many other people in this way. Did my ex-boyfriend ever react to the success of ‘You did that’? Oh, no. He wasn’t meant to ever hear it either, though that may have failed now. (laughs)”

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In the meantime, the singer has a new friend – his name is Jesper – and she also wrote a song about that, ‘As long as you are with me’. “It’s about the good time we had together during the lockdowns,” explains MEAU. “That mandatory period of rest has done me good. I’m normally a busy person – I like that too – but it felt great to take a step back. I have enjoyed all that quality time with my love – hanging out on the couch like that can really be good.” The singer has a lot in common with her boyfriend, with whom she lives in Utrecht. “He is also a musician and occasionally plays in my band. Not always, because we have to try to keep work and private life a bit separate. Otherwise we will be together continuously. (laughs) By the way, he was among the crowd in the Marquee today. Yes, we have a lot of fun together.”

After a summer packed with performances, the lovebirds take a mini-vacation to recharge their batteries. “We leave for Barcelona tomorrow and the plan is to lie on the beach for four days and do nothing. The summer was very busy, although I can appreciate that chaos. By the way, the agenda for the fall is already well filled. From September I will be touring in Belgium and the Netherlands and there will also be a new single. ‘Keep driving’ sounds a bit more up-tempo, a bit danceable even. Completely different from ‘You did that’, but the text is again very personal. I’m singing about the nice vibe I’m experiencing right now. Everything is going well, I’m very happy, and I don’t want to look back too much. Just put my mind to zero and keep going. I suspect that many people will recognize themselves in that too.”