AMBER ARCADES

Annelotte de graaf: “It’s about the falling apart of a story”

“The lush string and horn arrangements for me musically represent the lyrical theme of romanticising the past, both on a personal and on a political level,” explains Dutch songwriter Annelotte de Graaf, aka Amber Arcades, when asked about the elegant instrumental accompaniments offsetting the understated indie-pop vignettes of her second album, European Heartbreak. “The way the drums and guitars and bass sound on the other hand, very lo-fi and sparse, symbolise the other side: being sceptical of this rosy romantic glow and trying to see things ‘as they are’.”

All of which tallies with the multi-faceted ‘heartbreak’ of the title, wherein the qualified lawyer (who at one time worked for the international war crimes tribunal) explores her own personal turmoil alongside that of a continent she sees tearing itself apart around her. “Some events from my personal life were the initial drive to start writing and thinking about the themes on this record, but I’m approaching the concept of ‘heartbreak’ in a fairly universal way. It symbolises the falling apart of a story of any kind. A romantic story, or about the meaning we ascribe to events, or about a national identity or a shared European dream.”