Photo by Charlie De Keersmaecker

The debut solo song of Mickael Karkousse brings back the feeling of being young and full of longings. The tender feeling of first love, and where nothing matters but the depth and uniqueness of a moment.

The Belgium based alt-pop singer-songwriter just dropped the new release ‘Where Do We Begin’ out of his forthcoming debut EP due later this year. This is Mickael’s first song as a solo artist; after being the driving creative force behind renowned indie-electronic band GOOSE he is now ready to take over the music scene on his own.

The track explores the themes around adolescence – echoing the teen movies of John Hughes, say, or Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. “I’m very inspired by teenage drama,” he says. “It’s just so pure. The first time you fall in love, the interactions and insecurities. You have so many questions, but so much confidence, as well.” A hazy gauze of digital sound, ‘Where Do We Begin’ is incredibly subtle, with Mickael leaving the listener to pencil in their own details. “I try to sketch a scene, in a way, or a moment. It’s never a complete story. It’s a snapshot.”

Mickael explains about the video: “I’ve always been fascinated by skate culture. The fuck off mentality, the only thing that counts is friendship and skating. As an ode to skate culture, I wanted to give it a soundtrack and portray it in a romantic way. The fact that everything was filmed in Ostend came as a nice coincidence. I grew up partly in Ostend and I have always had that city in my heart. There is such a good atmosphere there, of maladjustment, rock’n roll, and an incredible artistic heritage, you can feel it in everything you see. The buildings, the people, the sea, everything breathes freedom. ‘Where Do We Begin’ is about drama: the art of turning something very dark into something very romantic.”

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Enjoy the video below: