Interview with The Sunrise Paradise: ‘It’s got a typical Britney Spears chorus, it’s very catchy!’

Amsterdam feel-good and, in their own words, ‘retrorock’ band – The Sunrise Paradise have released their second EP, ‘My Kind Of Rainbow’, which chronicles their struggles with loneliness, toxic relationships and trips down memory lane.

The Sunrise Paradise comprises Robin Smit (lead vocals and guitar) and Jaap Koopman (vocals and guitar), who met a few years ago when Koopman applied to be one of Smit’s housemates. ‘The name stands for the upcoming sun in paradise which, metaphorically, speaks for hope,’ Koopman said when we spoke last time. ‘Our logo is based around the ‘infinity sign’ ‘cos the sun will always rise and set. Therefore, it also reflects the personal ups and downs we go through in life.’ Recently, they added Dennis Notebaart (bass) and Jesper van der Meer (drums) to the line up, which has significantly intensified their sound: ‘Finally, you can perform the songs the way you want because we have a synth player,’ Koopman said. ‘We all have ear pieces so you can hear the “click”, it’s been quite a game changer!’

Smit describes ‘My Kind Of Rainbow’ as ‘self-explanatory, thematically’: ‘The colours (on the artwork) are dark purple, gold, blue and red to show a great variety of subjects,’ he said. ‘There’s spicy juice there! I didn’t expect that it would all blend so well, sound-wise, that’s all thanks to our producer – it could have gone left or right!’

The standout track for me is the closer ‘Black Levi’s’ a poppy, 80’s style track set to a sunny melody with a big singalong chorus that sits in sharp contrast to the darker lyrics about a toxic relationship: ‘It’s based on Jaap’s story, he put a notebook on my bed,’ Smit said. Koopman weighs in: ‘It was a on again/ off again fling I had over the course of one and a half years, it was intense,’ he said. ‘Then it started again, you know, when you fall back into what you left. It was a vicious circle. After the second break, I was going to see her for the third time when I wrote about it not being that healthy and dropped it on Robin’s pillow.’ Smit laughs: ‘He wrote me a diary! He wasn’t blaming her at all, I just rewrote some things and made a song out of it. The line in it “And you said you like ‘em young, right, baby?” that was a quote from Jaap. The verses are from your perspective,’ he said, looking at Koopman. ‘The grammar is not always correct but that’s intentional. It’s got a typical Britney Spears chorus, it’s very catchy!’ I ask them where the title ‘Black Levi’s’ comes from: ‘She said I’d look great in black Levis, so I bought them…but she never saw me wear them!,’ Koopman said.

‘I got the inspiration from The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album cover and Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The U.S.A.’

That torturous vicious circle is neatly encapsulated by the artwork for the single, depicting a man wearing painted on black jeans, holding roses behind his back in one hand, whilst the other hand is in chains, who turns out to be Koopman: ‘Jaap just wanted to show his arse,’ Smit quipped. Koopman is laughing: ‘I got the inspiration from The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album cover and Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The U.S.A.,’ he said. Smit looks at him: ‘We did a video for it where I spanked Jaap full gas and he was shaking so hard (laughs) that Instagram said it was too rude to post!’

As the track goes: “I think I need you, ‘cos I don’t know me, I think I want you, I like a troubled mind. And you said you like ‘em young, right, baby? Falling in love is a distraction, maybe.”

One of the highlights in the song is the thundering 90’s-style guitar solo written by Koopman, which he plays on his new favourite pink Jackson guitar: ‘I just went back to my Bon Jovi years when I was 16-17 old, ‘ he said. ‘Originally, I wanted to bring some blues notes in, I played the minor third instead of the major third but in the end, I had to cut the solo by half, so i took that out, to get to the smooth part. Live, it’s the full solo!’

Other tracks, such as ‘Golden’, also hark back to 90’s power riffs. It has a similar dancey energy to ‘Black Levi’s’ but is more nostalgic, as the title suggests: ‘It’s the only song on the EP that we wrote in a writing session,’ Smit said. ‘We’d been listening to Nothing But Thieves and our producer brought along some The 1975. I was looking at the idea of something happening about a small girl in a big city. Some of the small bits in the verses are slices of life where time is fading, there’s an undertone to it.’

‘I always had it on singing along loudly and my parents were like “Shush, Dennis”!’

The track asks the question: what was the first song you knew all the lyrics to, so I ask them what theirs was: ‘When I was really young, I was really into ‘Shot Through The Heart’ by Bon Jovi,’ Notebaart said. ‘I always had it on singing along loudly and my parents were like “Shush, Dennis”!’ Smit says Las Ketchup. ‘I went through a big Queen phase, so maybe one of theirs,’ van der Meer said. ‘Or the Dutch song ‘De Bom’ by Doe Maar!’ Koopman’s was Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’: ‘I used to listen to my father’s CD of it but there was a scratch on it, so it never got to the ending (laughs). The first time I heard the whole song might have been 10 years later!’

‘The Only One’ is one of the most soul-searching tracks on the EP and was written during COVID: ‘It’s a song about loneliness and worrying about getting out of bed and doing stuff,’ Smit said. ‘At the time, it seemed that there was no purpose, no reason to get up or get dressed, it could become dark and nasty, especially if you’re creative. The song is saying that it’s ok not to be ok. Jaap wrote a guitar scheme, the whole song was written in five minutes. I like that, it works best for me when there’s no bells and whistles. It was maybe the easiest song on the EP. It’s synth pop rock, I like the vocal scaping, the guitar sound and the synth lead. It has a lot of ingredients that could make it a radio hit, I hope, at least.’ 

Smit is a big fan of Di-rect, a rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, which was formed in the late 90’s. Koopman loves Dutch rock bands De Staat, Prins S. en De Geit and Goldband. Smit also cites five-piece Amsterdam pop band, ‘Chef’Special. Notebaart is also a Di-rect fan: ‘I’ve seen them live multiple times! In addition, Bløf is one of my favorite Dutch bands.’ Van der Meer is a fan of Muse, Royal Blood and Florence + The Machine.

‘When we perform the old songs, we stay true to the originals but add small touches, which mostly involve public participation’

‘My Kind Of Rainbow’ moves away from their debut EP ‘Dear Tomorrow’, which they released in March 2021 and which was a heartfelt letter to themselves about life in their 20’s. However, their new tracks take on deeper and darker themes. ‘The recordings speak for themselves now, it’s reflected in our rehearsals and live performances,’ Notebaart said. ‘When we perform the old songs, we stay true to the originals but add small touches, which mostly involve public participation. They have evolved ever so slightly as our aim and direction for our music changes. The new style elements naturally bleed over into the older work to a certain degree.’

If they could go for a pint with anyone, Koopman picks David Bowie: ‘He’s one of my heroes, not just because of his music,’ he said. ‘I bloody love his accent! He’s my number one hero in general, even if you take the music out of it.’ Smit picks American singer-songwriter Jack Johnson: I would like to sit down with him in Hawaii to play the guitar,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘He’s also been a world class surfer!’ Notebaart is thinking: ‘My first thought was Paul McCartney because he’s a great bass player and arranger but maybe John Deacon (bass) from Queen? I’d love to have a sit down with him and ask him about their compositions and the great bass lines in Queen songs.’ Jesper is still mulling who to pick: ‘I think I’d go for Ringo Starr because he had so much fun making that music. What are their stories?’ Smit jumps in: ‘Ask him: “Were you the worst drummer in The Beatles?!”‘

Life on the road can be dicey, as Smit recounts: ‘Jesper fell down a cliff during our summer tour. He fell down a few metres with a big drummer bag on his back. One moment we saw him and the next he had vanished!’

(Top photo from left to right: Jaap, Robin, Dennis and Jesper.)