‘You can choose one: Football or Music,’ said my parents in the car. I wasn’t much of a football player in school, so I went for music. I wanted to play the piano, but there was this violin that passed down from father to son in the family. And so, my father introduced me. He can’t play himself, but his knowledge and collection of classical music is vast. He took me to a concert and, as I saw all the violinists playing, was persuaded. I studied the Suzuki method for 3 years, but barely passed. ‘No talent’ said the teacher and away went the violin.
As a small boy, I saw a guitar at my aunts home. She played herself, very beautifully, and let me try it out. It made a lasting impression and although my preference for piano, the guitar would become an important support in life. It wasn’t until I was 13 that I got to play with a piano, in the guise of a keyboard.
I went looking for other fellows who played it to learn, and I found the perfect tutor: Jeroen. We sat down for days and weeks playing quatre-mains blues accords and solo’s. He also taught me the same chords and progressions on guitar. We often jammed and made recordings, and most of what I play today is based upon his teachings.

I moved from Antwerp to Leuven and went on to study and record on my own. I had a very productive couple of years, where I made around 20 tracks, some with video. I recorded crude video’s in zoo’s and museums and animated clay and other stuff using stop-motion. I had a bit of success, but mostly with friends and family. The Spherehead artwork is made by lo-fi (Germany).
Guitar I play mostly on my own, but here is a rare recording I made with my phone.
I have recently bought a Korg Piano to satisfy my childhood dream. I make time to play it almost every day. I took a little detour playing violin, but it taught me discipline and what it takes to play an instrument. In the end, I’m happy with my keyboard.
Thanks for hearing me out, and see you in the next project!
Mark Florquin