Biography

We first hear about Joost Zweegers in 1996 when his band Novastar takes part in Humo’s Rock Rally, the most prestigious and influential Belgian rock contest for beginning artists. Joost writes all the songs, sings, plays guitar and wins the Rally easily as his talent is undeniable and overwhelming. One song he plays that night is called ‘Wrong’, a haunting, picturesque anthem like pop gem.
Joost is a perfectionist and it takes another four long years for the song to be officially released in 2000 as part of Novastar’s self titled debut album. It turns out to be pure gold. ‘Novastar’ wins the TMF Best Album Award, contains the singles ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’, ‘Caramia’, ‘Lost and Blown Away’ and airplay hit ‘Wrong’ (which is still all over Belgian and Dutch airwaves eight years onwards), and makes Joost a household name in both Belgium and Holland. The album easily reaches the platinum status in Belgium and is backed by shows on Werchter, Pinkpop and sold out club shows.. Neil Young gets to hear ‘Novastar’, is impressed like all the rest, and invites Joost and his band to open up for Neil Young & Crazy Horse for several European shows. “Neil Young has always been a huge influence”, says Joost. “He’s able to move from the intimacy of his solo guitar to the power of Crazy Horse – I love the way he overcomes this dual challenge with such ease. Opening for him was like a dream come true. He gave me a lot of encouragement”.

After a well deserved break and a small detour in New York (where he works with other songwriters) Joost delivers his second album in 2004: the very broad sounding melancholic masterpiece that is ‘Another Lonely Soul’. “Make no mistake,” Joost adds, “this is a break up and a farewell album. It’s very personal but there’s enough mystery and enough left unsaid for the listener to be involved and touched by what I’m singing. When I play music I always go for that twist in my stomach. I’m hooked to the sensation of hearing a certain sound in combination with a new found melody, that moment where everything is crystal clear and I know: this is it”.
‘Never Back Down’, ‘When the Lights Go Down on the Broken Hearted’ and ‘Rome’ become hits, and the album, just like its predecessor is voted Best Album at the annual TMF Awards. At the Zamu Awards – the prestigious Belgian award show for which only music industry people and fellow artist can vote – Joost is celebrated as Best Singer.

Just as Joost gets ready to record his first full blown masterpiece tragedy strikes. During a show in the biggest concert hall of Brussels - Vorst Nationaal, the singer stumbles off stage and crushes his heelbone. The band, not having a clue what has happened, is still playing as Joost is already on his way to the hospital. The doctor’s verdict hits him like a ton of bricks: total rehabilitation will take two years at least!

In the last months of 2007, halfway through his mental and physical ordeal, Joost takes his old compadre and keyboard player Jeroen Swinnen along to Bangor, a small picturesque village near the coast of Brittany, France and starts writing songs. Back home he calls Wim De Wilde, a well known Belgian soundtrack composer and someone who knew Joost when he was still playing in the streets of Belgium’s main cities for a buck and some joy and asks him to produce the new Novastar album. Joost tells De Wilde he needs him because he wants to go back to his roots. De Wilde says yes.

They book some time in Brussels top notch recording studio ICP and send out invitations to friends they think might be able to help out. International help comes from Kevin Killen (renown for his work with Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, U2, Bryan Ferry and Kate Bush, to name but a few), who records the piano gem ‘Sundance’ at Looking Glass Studio in New York, percussionist Luis Jardim (The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bowie, Björk, Grace Jones etc.), bassist Laurent Vernerey, pianist Claude Salmieri and many others. On the astonishingly beautiful piano ballad ‘Miles’ Joost even gets to work with another one of his all time heroes: Mike Scott from the Waterboys, who makes a lyrical contribution.

The resulting album is called ‘Almost Bangor’. Not ‘Bangor’ because Joost feels he hasn’t arrived yet. “It took me a long time to recover from my injuries,” Joost says, “musically as well as physically. I know I’ll never be able to walk again without a slight dart of pain in my right foot, but at least I found my musical voice again. I had to go back to my roots, to my days as a street musician when I would just play for fun, without any expectations whatsoever. And slowly but undeniably I started feeling that twist in my stomach again. I wrote a bunch of melodies and songs of which I knew: this is it”.

Don’t be mistaken: ‘Almost Bangor’ is not an acoustic affair. It’s an electric and eclectic tour de force of a pop album, with an unplugged heart at the centre, beating all by itself. Could it be a classic? Time will tell, but time is definitely on its side. Listen to ‘Miles’ and realize you’re dealing with timelessness. Listen to the royally arranged ‘Because’ and acknowledge that revisiting ones old moods and sounds doesn’t necessarily imply taking a step back. Or take ‘Weller Weakness’, a wild rock song in which Wim De Wilde demonstrates how a piano sometimes deserves a severe beating.

Since the release of Almost Bangor, the album received a platinum sales status in Belgium and golden status in The Netherlands. Both singles Mars Needs Woman and Because reach the top of the airplay charts in both countries. This April, Novastar received a prestigious 3FM Award for Best Alternative Artist in Holland. After a sold out club tour in the Fall of 2008, Novastar performed in February in a fully packed Antwerp based Lotto Arena (6000 capacity) and is about to play Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall (capacity 5500) this Fall. In between the band performed at the biggest festivals in Holland and Belgium as well, including Pinkpop, Cactus Festival, Dranouter and Bospop.