The West Flemish dialect is spoken by no more than a million people. Yet Flip Kowlier (1976) from the Belgian village of Izegem wrote Ocharme Ik in the language he grew up with. With his hip-hop group Hof van Commerce, he had already built up a good reputation in Belgium with this striking language. But Ocharme I is another step for him. The album does not contain rap but pure pop songs, as if a
… 'real' singer-songwriter has shaken them right out of his sleeve. For the layman (read: Dutch peripheral division), Ocharme Ik most often sounds on a record by the Limburg singer Gé Reinders, complete with harmonica, acoustic guitar and wind instruments. Despite his young age, Kowlier's voice sounds smoky and sometimes he is a bit off. And despite the fact that you don't understand it, Ocharme Ik evokes a very intimate and pleasant atmosphere, with a catchy chorus here and there, a wild distortion guitar (!) and a skan number with double bass. Striking, brave, sensitive and beautiful. (BP)more
