Whether you walk around in Tilburg, Middelburg or Groningen. Thanks to Pepijn Jansen (24) from Steenbergen, the sounds of the song ‘Europapa’ by Joost Klein meet you everywhere on the street. Played by the organ man, that is, because Pepijn made a version of the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest for that very Dutch instrument. “I was still looking for a hit and then my girlfriend came up with this idea,” he says.
Pepijn himself was not immediately convinced, but his girlfriend’s enthusiasm persuaded him. And so, as a barrel organ fanatic, he started working on ‘Europapa’. Successfully, after he finished the song, he got in no time twenty organ men from all over the country asked if they could buy the song from him.
Since this weekend, ‘Europapa’ can be heard everywhere on the streets. “from Middelburg to Groningen”, as Pepijn himself says. “After all, every organ player only wants one thing: to bring hits to the street.”
“It’s easy on the ears.”
Pepijn translated ‘Europapa’ into a barrel organ version via a computer program and a special machine from a friend. A job that will be a bit easier in 2024 than it used to be. But Pepijn still did his best, he said on Sunday. And he is certainly happy with the result. “It’s easy on the ears,” he says.
And the latter is actually the most important thing for a song to be suitable for the barrel organ. The fact that Pepijn did not immediately think of a barrel organ version of ‘Europapa’ had to do with the high rap content of the song. “But it’s a rap on rhythm, so I could do something with that,” he explains.
Of course, Pepijn now hopes extra for success for the song at the Eurovision Song Contest. This means that his barrel organ version will also last longer. And that would be great for this barrel organ fanatic. Pepijn has made barrel organs his profession. With his company he not only makes music for barrel organs, but he also repairs the instruments. “I don’t like many things besides my girlfriend, my four-month-old son and barrel organs,” he explains his passion.
Curious about the barrel organ version of ‘Europapa’? Listen to the result here:
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