VI.BE

When silence is not an option, there’s always punk rock.

It’s a common thread running through the life of Stijn Debontridder, producer, recording engineer and musician from Aarschot, Belgium. Having played his part in the rise of Belgium’s punk rock scene fronting Second Base, Nothing Gold Can Stay is the next inevitable chapter in his urge to say what needs to be said.

Stijn spent the last decade writing songs and playing guitar in several bands, leaving the limelight to other (lead) vocalists. In the meantime, he ran the independent record label Thanks But No Thanks Records and worked his way up the ranks as a producer and recording engineer while establishing Masterplan Music, his own recording studio.

But when your mind is a pressure cooker, it’s only a matter of time before you need to let off steam. Nothing Gold Can Stay is the perfect vehicle to do just that. Where his other bands are a rich mixture of everything that compels its members, Nothing Gold Can Stay offers an unobstructed view of where Stijns heart lies.

While Nothing Gold Can Stay is in essence a solo project, some of Belgium’s finest punk rock musicians assisted in recording the album. The first singles Letting You Go and Painful Not To Pretend drew plenty of attention, creating a lot of anticipation for the debut album set to release later this year.

Maybe nothing gold can stay, but at least there’s a silver lining to every cloud.