Martin Kuiper

“Prison Of Modesty is the album I’ve always wanted to make: rock in the vein of Nirvana and Thin Lizzy, and beautiful vocal lines like you hear on The Beatles and The Beach Boys’ records,” says Kuiper. “The ten songs are snapshots from my life and really mean something, from my first bout of depression and the time pressure to shape my future to the pitfall of an oversized ego. On this album, you really get to know me.” The songs on Prison Of Modesty were written over a period of more than thirty years. “Low On Love, Leave It, and You & I are the oldest songs, dating back to 1998, when I made a seven-song band demo with a housemate,” Kuiper recalls. “The other tracks were created in fragmented installments over the years that followed, with a number of them only truly being written off when I knew they would end up on Prison Of Modesty.” The album title Prison Of Modesty is a line from Ego. “Modesty is a great virtue, but being too modest keeps you small,” Kuiper smiles. “My parents were sweet and caring, but they weren't really ambitious. I did have ambitions and a lot of talent in several areas, but I didn't dare to go for it fully. ‘That isn't meant for us,’ I heard often. So, a Prison Of Modesty.” When a small inheritance came his way following the death of his father in 2021, Kuiper looked in the mirror. “Do I keep dreaming or do I go all in for my music? If I didn’t do it now, I would have to stop daydreaming. That was the starting point of my musical career.”