The Ultimate Dreamers are: Bertrand (guitar), Fred (vocals, second bass guitar), Jo (bass guitar) and Sandrine (keyboards, cello).
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The ultimate dreamers
It's not that far from Berlin to Belgium. Belgium is a small but very interesting country. I had the opportunity to conduct a short interrogation with Frédéric from The Ultimate Dreamers. Chocolate, surrealism and, of course, good music!
First, I have to ask this question: how did you come up with your band name? And what happens when you stop dreaming?
I chose this name when I was a teenager. At the time, I was very interested in dream interpretation. We were also a group of idealistic friends, surrounded by people who seemed down-to-earth and uninteresting, which naturally led me to this name.
The absence of dreams allows for many interpretations. Medically speaking, it is said that preventing someone from dreaming leads to madness. In another way, without ideals, life is not worth living.
How did ‘The Ultimate Dreamers’ come together in the very small town of Lessines?
We went to the same school and were fans of underground music. The arrival of a punk from Brussels at our school crystallised our desire to start a band, the only one of its kind in the region 😊
On ‘Live Happily While Waiting For Death,’ you can see the cemetery of Lessines. How important are your roots in your hometown to you?
I left Lessines for Brussels many years ago, but I still have quite a few friends there. Joël (bass) and Bertrand (guitar) still live in the area.
Everything we see and experience during the first 15 years of our lives usually leaves a lasting impression on us. This is true of our town of Lessines, despite its somewhat boring aspects. Its cemetery, and especially its entrance, are remarkable. It once featured a beautiful Masonic fresco depicting the passage from life to death. When we got back together in 2021, we did our first photo shoot in this cemetery.
The Ultimate Dreamers were already making music at the end of the 1980s, then there was a long hiatus. What ultimately reawakened you in 2021?
This first period actually only lasted a few years, during which we only gave about ten concerts, but it was quite productive. I had recorded dozens of more or less finalised tracks on cheap cassettes. In 2020, during the pandemic, I digitised a cassette and put two tracks on the internet. A label then offered to release a compilation of these old recordings. I got back in touch with the band members to get their approval. Then the idea of a launch concert took root. The magic quickly returned, then new tracks followed and things started to move fast...
Your music can be described as a mix of post-punk, cold wave and doom pop. What or who inspires you?
I saw ‘La trahison des Images’ in Los Angeles. Does René Magritte influence you, and if so, how?
Yes, of course, I love Magritte's work. Even though he quickly left the town of Lessines, many elements of his hometown can be found in his works, to tie in with one of your previous questions. One thing that struck me was his exchanges with the surrealist poet Louis Scutenaire, who was also from Lessines. I really like this form of surrealism, full of absurd humour, which is quite typically Belgian and can also be found in what we do with The Ultimate Dreamers.
How did the collaboration with Aux Animaux come about and what was it like?
I have known and followed the project for quite a few years, especially when I was still organising a lot of concerts. I had planned to invite Gözde to perform at a concert in Brussels until the pandemic hit. I wanted to extend our album Paradoxical Sleep with remixes by artists I particularly like, including Aux Animaux. I simply contacted Gözde to ask if she was interested and then offered her the chance to choose her favourite track. That's how she ended up remixing Kids Alone, with stunning results.
Belgium is a very special trilingual country and you sing in English and French but not in German (even though there is the song Traum). Will there ever be a song in German (or Dutch)? And how do you decide whether to express yourselves in French or English?
You're right. Belgium is a special (and complicated) country, particularly because of its linguistic aspects. It's also a source of richness, even if some politicians present it as a weakness for the wrong reasons. Naturally, I started singing in English because it was the language of the music I loved. When the band first started, I wrote a few songs in French (my mother language) as well, mostly about very personal topics. For Paradoxical Sleep, we re-recorded a song in French (‘Envoler’), which I remade again for a single release that also includes a Dutch version (‘Wegvliegen’). Dutch is a nice language that is increasingly used by Belgian (Flemish) musicians. I don't have a perfect command of it, but I enjoyed making this version. I also really like German, but it's a minority language in Belgium. It's only spoken in a small region in the east of the country (which I love). I studied it a little at school and would like to use it one day, but it will take a lot of preparation!
What else does Belgium have to offer besides beer, chocolate and other delicacies?
How political can or must an artist or band be?
That's an interesting question. Personally, I have sometimes been moved or influenced by the political or philosophical messages conveyed by certain artists, but it's not really something I want to do, as I said earlier. Of course, some of my lyrics may contain socially conscious content, often in an ironic
way, but my intention is not to preach or try to convince people through music. In any case, I find that a song is far too short for that. Literature is undoubtedly better suited to it, and it can be a courageous approach. But it still has to be intelligent and inspired...
You've had a lot of concerts in recent years. Is there one that stands out in your memory?
We've been lucky enough to play quite a bit over the last few years. Sharing the stage with bands we love, such as And Also The Trees and Agent Side Grinder, has been amazing. We've also had some unforgettable moments in England (London, Morecambe for the Bats in the Attic festival, etc.) and Germany (at the Minicave festival, for example). There have been lots of magical moments, often unexpected, with memorable encounters. One of our fondest memories is undoubtedly the concert we gave in Aachen, Germany, for the 15th anniversary of the Frank cultural centre. We had no idea what to expect when we went on stage. The venue was full, but the audience didn't seem like they were fans of dark music at all. Our set started with some very dark and heavy tracks, which were received very coldly. We feared it was going to be a difficult evening, but we finally managed to capture the audience's attention and win them over. Towards the end of the show, everyone was
Are there any dreams for the year 2026? Which ones will remain dreams and which ones will become reality?
Some of the dreams that fill my sleep are better left there! But I suppose you're talking about our plans and desires for the coming months. We're not setting any limits, but our first goal is to record a new album, most of which has already been written. Our main desire would be to play in countries we haven't visited yet.
The red pill or the blue pill?
My favourite colour has always been red 😊
Thank you very much for this interrogation!
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