The Future Is Better When I Stay Inside Forever
a conversation with Alicia Breton Ferrer
Alicia Breton Ferrer is a musician based in Rotterdam. She sings and plays bass in The Sweet Release of Death, plays guitar in Neighbours Burning Neighbours, and released her debut solo album Headache Sorbet in 2021. This issue features Alicia’s audiowork The Balcony. We met at hoekhuis HQ, talking about the threat of Europoort, new relationship energy, and her new collaborative project with Euroboy.
You grew up in Spijkenisse. What was that like?
This modern notion that the world is going to end already manifested itself back then in Spijkenisse, and everyone in its community. Living with the constant threat of Europoort (one of the world’s largest petrochemical industrial areas, red.) and having only 2 bridges and a ferry when disaster strikes does affect you as a teenager. Somehow it even got worse since you can’t even vote for a socialist party anymore in municipal elections. Good times.
As a former Hoogvliet resident, I remember a lively alternative music scene in Spijkenisse that I was quite jealous of.
Yes, that was the sole reason I was able to enjoy Spijkenisse at all. We hung out a lot at Gordon’s attic, being one of the few places we were allowed to make noise. He was in a band with Frank Goverts at the time, paving the way for us to also start picking up guitars. There was also the Texmex (a former youth center/alternative music venue, red.), which was probably my first encounter with alternative music, and the idea that you can do that yourself.
I still think it's special that you had such a vibrant scene in Spijkenisse, being the ass-end of nowhere it is. No offense.
None taken. Spijkenisse deserves no better.
Speaking of, do you feel like you belong to a scene right now?
I’m not sure. I do feel there's a genre-transcending group of musicians in Rotterdam who are very supportive of one another, easily exchanging things. More so than in the past.
The Sweet Release Of Death has entered its second decade of existence. What has changed over the years?
Like in any long-term relationship we have less sex (laughs). Starting out, we had this blind ambition, following the script in our heads of what a band’s trajectory should look like. That kind of ambition disappeared after releasing our second record, having done all that. After coming to terms with being a niche band, we became much more selective and didn't feel like practicing every week anymore. Being in our thirties, we all have our own lives and needs next to this. But just like in a good marriage you sometimes have to find each other again, and I think we have done that very well over the years. Ultimately, I think we stopped being overly concerned with our own personal needs and desires, but really look at what we want as a collective.
Does this shift in ambition make it more fun?
Absolutely. A lot of frustrations have since been gone. Having less ambition also makes you focus only on the things that are real and fun to do, instead of being too concerned if it fits your own defined narrative of success. Funnily enough, I’m doing all the things I’ve always wanted to do at this point.
Can you tell me about your other project Neighbours Burning Neighbours?
Playing with Neighbours Burning Neighbours is like a playground to me, and enabled me to get comfortable with the unfamiliar. I picked up playing guitar, and having that inexperience allows for a real sense of freedom within that band. Coinciding, this also led me to being more comfortable in regards to recording and releasing solo work.
You also do communications for Roodkapje Rotterdam. What is your attitude towards social media?
I hate social media, and I feel like the urge for things that happen in the real world is shared by more and more people as well. I recently attended a lecture about ad tracking, and how to make sense of all that data. It turns out that legislation around targeted ads is changing all the time, which to me happily justified not having to worry about any of that. So instead, I started making physical posters at Roodkapje, handing them out to these bands that share them with their crowds. My hate aside, I have booked entire tours using social media and I do see the value of staying informed of what people around you are doing. I just think we shouldn’t overemphasize its importance.
I heard you sing ‘the future is better when I stay inside forever’ on one of your latest singles. Do you like being inside?
(laughs) That's from a song together with Euroboy! Our EP Sacrificial Chanting Mood will be out in a few weeks (released Oct 7th). I think Doortje and I are very involved in themes of navigating our inner- and outer worlds. And well, in this case literally staying indoors. I guess we both have hermit tendencies.
Can you tell us something about the song you’ve written for this issue, The Balcony?
Here, I was also thinking about the balcony as a space in between the inner- and the outer world. I finished the song the week before my period, which is always such a spiraling week for me. It’s where I really want to be able to reach the outside world, but can’t because I get completely withdrawn. For a moment I was stuck and thought I wasn't going to be able to finish the song, but after coming back to it I realized it exactly captured what my inner world sounded like and how I was feeling at that moment. In that sense it’s also very much linked to the passing of my father last summer. He was a musician as well and I originally intended to use his Paraguayan harp for this song. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of restringing it just before his passing and took off the old strings all at once, which messes up the frame’s tension and ability to hold its tune. It’ll probably take a while to get that harp in playable condition again.
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