Biography | Nynke Laverman

Nynke Laverman is a singer, songwriter, spoken-word artist and explorer. She questions life and in so doing, doesn’t spare herself. Nynke depicts poetic, surreal worlds through predominantly acoustic music and earthy lyrics. Her love of language and her subtle, seasoned voice delicately guide you to new territory of the imagination. This versatile Frisian singer has a voice that stays with you: ‘a leaf-blown shimmer of a voice’, The Independent writes.

Inspiration Mongolia

Nynke already has 6 albums and corresponding theatre productions to her name. For her debut album, Sielesâlt (‘Soul Salt’), consisting of Frisian fado music, she receives a Gold Record and the literary Piter Jelles Prize. In 2007 she goes on tour with De Maisfrou (‘The Corn Woman’), created in Mexico, ending her tour at a sold-out Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Nynke’s stay in Mongolia forms the inspiration for Nomade (‘Nomad’), 2009, which is crowned with an Edison. In 2013 international recognition follows with Alter, an album Nynke records in Madrid with producer Javier Limón. The Evening Standard gives this powerful summary: ‘The language, landscape and sound world seem perfectly connected.’ In the months that follow, the singer performs at international festivals, including North Sea Jazz, WOMAD (UK), Women in (E)motion (D) and La Mar de Músicas (ES).

Waiting

Wachter (‘Guardian’) premiers at Holland’s Oerol Festival in 2016. It is an ode to the art of waiting, an art Nynke admits she hasn’t fully mastered yet herself. The Dutch newspaper Het Parool writes: ‘A powerful poet-singer has arisen’. Two years later Nynke inaugurates Leeuwarden Cultural Capital of Europe 2018, while exploring new disciplines in the short film One of Us.

Traces

The many journeys Nynke makes leave their traces in her music, especially her stay with a nomad family in Mongolia. Their impassioned way of life and their close, respectful relationship to nature leave a deep impression. Since then, our (Western) relationship to our environment has been a recurring theme in her work.

Musical Journey

In 2019, during a sabbatical, Nynke conceives the idea for Plant (2021). She questions where the line lies between man and nature. Living among people, walled in, with her time strictly organised, she sometimes longs for the calm existence of a plant. Plant is a challenging musical journey, made by Sytze Pruiksma (music), Douwe Dijkstra (video), Koos Terpstra (final directing), Dieuweke van Reij (costumes), Ascon de Nijs (decor), Dunja Jocic (dance) and Guy Weizman (advice). In Plant, Nynke for the first time clearly expresses her views on how we treat our environment. Spoken word plays a major part in this performance, and more than ever she inhabits the finest register of her voice: there where it becomes almost a whisper.