Today Amongster releases a third single of his upcoming album 'Told In Motion'. 'Look at me as a game' circels around the concept of ‘play’, a theme I sometimes struggle with; we take everything so seriously. Everything in our busy lives is so goal-oriented, efficient, organized. We've completely forgotten how to approach things playfully, like a child. Just lighter, trying something out—and if it doesn’t work, fine, try it another way. Trial and error. No worries. We could look at almost everything in life as if it were a game. That would fundamentally change our attitude.
Today Amongster also announce that he will be doing a release show at Trefpunt in Ghent, on October 2nd. Live, Amongster has taken a different path in recent years—a shift that began after A New Arrival. The classic five-piece setup no longer worked for him; he wanted a more intimate, stripped-down approach. Only drummer Robbe Vekeman remained, joined by vocalist Flo Delameilleure, who also plays guitar and bass. “I find it more powerful when we play acoustically, allowing more space for the song and the lyrics themselves. I used to focus a lot on making things sound like the record. Letting go of that has been incredibly freeing—if something doesn’t work live, we simply don’t play it.”
Being grand with intimate music—it's what defines Thomas Oosterlynck, the heart and driving force behind Amongster. On his third album, the Ghent-based artist weaves philosophical reflections on self-development and societal issues into beautifully melancholic indie pop and electronica.
Had Oosterlynck not become a father for the second time last year, the album would have been here much sooner. “But it was a tough year, with little sleep. That last half-year, I put everything on hold.” Gradually, he picked up the thread again with close friend and producer Brecht Plasschaert. “No pressure—just recording at his place. We won’t work for days on end, sometimes half a day, sometimes a whole day, seeing what works. That’s the best way for me.”
It was a stark contrast to the pressure following Amongster’s breakthrough in 2014, when he won De Nieuwe Lichting. “Suddenly, you have to do so much: perform, release singles, make an album—it’s part of the deal, I get that. But over the years, I realized that that kind of pressure and pursuit of recognition doesn’t fulfill me. Look, I studied business engineering. If you know me, it's funny how far that is from who I really am. It took me a long time to figure out what truly matters to me.”