Hold me tight – De Dijk (2011)

Directed by: Suzanne Raes | 83 minutes | music, documentary

It was actually too good to be true. De Dijk, a band that has been working in the Netherlands for thirty years, comes into contact with authentic soul legend Solomon Burke and he even wants to record an album with the band. The band members can hardly believe that Burke is serious, but when he insists in several emails, the realization begins to dawn that he really wants to make it work.

For the album, De Dijk plays his own work and Solomon sings English translations of the existing lyrics. In the recording studio, director Suzanne Raes shows how the collaboration takes shape. The first rehearsal of a slow ballad is still difficult, so the band decides to play the new version of ‘Hou Me Vast’ first. What happens then gives the band members goosebumps weeks later: Solomon steps in and sings, moans and improvises like it’s nothing the whole song is full. It’s the first take; he is immediately good enough for the album. Five recording days later, the album is ready and De Dijk dreams aloud about a foreign tour with the singer.

But as Murphy’s law teaches us, things that seem too good to be true usually aren’t. This is where tragedy strikes when Solomon dies shortly after arriving at Schiphol on the morning of their first joint performance, which was to be held in Amsterdam’s Paradiso. The defeat is complete. Not only because of the loss of a close fellow musician and legendary soul singer – although those seem to be the main emotions – but also because De Dijk sees their chances of finally going on a foreign tour run down. After some deliberation, the performance of that evening continues, without Solomon but with his entourage. The emotions of the performance can be felt through the screen.

De Dijk is then allowed to leave the villages and towns of the Netherlands to fill the same beer halls that they have played dozens of times. Ambiguous feelings prevail: touring is what the band prefers to do, but the prospect of taking that step higher that is no longer in the offing in the Netherlands makes that same round of host cities a bit wry. This erupts at a dinner party celebrating the band’s 30th anniversary. Here Huub van der Lubbe, singer, lyricist, figurehead and probably the only one of the band who is recognized on the street, raises the question of how long the band thinks it will continue to play. Surely not another 30 years?

Raes beautifully portrays the changing moods: the enthusiasm when De Dijk is allowed to play and record together with Burke, the bewilderment and sadness after his death, another performance in a community center in Abcoude. The confluence of circumstances surrounding the band is almost incomprehensible and in all its tragedy offers gold for the documentary maker. As a documentary, it all fits seamlessly. The only objection you can raise here is that the film is a bit distant in tone. With its 83 minutes, the film is so streamlined that De Dijk’s songs only pass by in bursts; it can hardly be called a music film. That was undoubtedly a conscious choice, but certainly at a time like the performance after Burke’s death, the viewer yearns for an eruption, a moment of catharsis; a moment of soul.

Nevertheless, ‘Hou Me Vast – De Dijk’ is a good documentary, which is easy to watch and for everyone concerned with the Dutch film, De Dijk and/or soul music is highly recommended. And De Dijk himself? He is still going strong and will probably perform in a concert hall near you soon.