Storybox


“Hello, this is Roger Bechirian speaking, I really like your music and I think we should work together!” That’s probably what Helge Slikker, Storybox front man and songwriter, heard when he picked up the phone and found out he was talking to legendary British record producer (Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Tom McCrae and others).

A week later Helge was in London. Over lunch they decided that Bechirian was going to produce the Storybox album.
May 2008, the band headed to the Chapel Hill Studios in Lincolnshire, England, to record the album You Can Be Replaced. This meant intense long days, focusing on the music and nothing else. “The fact that you’re in England and working with an English producer keeps you on your toes. It makes you want to show what you’ve got as a musician,” says Helge.

And they did. The songs on You Can Be Replaced are hard-hitting and compact, which is where the Becherian influence comes in. “Roger gets right to the heart of a song, both musically and lyrically.” says Helge. “He can really set the tone of a song. We’re always thinking like musicians, and sometimes we might get a little too into it, but he sticks to the essence and the power of the song.”

Storybox was formed in 2006 for the show ‘Vernon God Little’, created by Amsterdam theatre company ‘Huis aan de Amstel’. After their tour the band recorded the album ‘A Fool’s Attempt’, which was well received. From there, Storybox went on to do a club tour and performances on major Dutch stages like Crossing Border, Noorderslag and the Uitmarkt. Soon they found themselves doing supports for names like Calexico, Ilse de Lange, and most recently, Pete Murray, who invited Storybox on his German tour.

In an age of instant pop music, Storybox embraces and challenges the proposition they present with the album’s title, You Can Be Replaced. “Just like everything else, in music it’s all been done before,” says Helge. “But not by us! Storybox is all about the authentic band feeling. We don’t go for a genre; leave that to everybody else. We aren’t out to make it big overnight. What we want to do is make another ten albums.” This makes You Can Be Replaced, with its eleven irreplaceable tracks, just the latest episode in the continuing Storybox serial.

Storybox made an appearance on national Dutch talk show ‘De Wereld Draait Door’, this was directly before they headed to their sold-out tour kick-off concert at Tivoli De Helling, Utrecht. Recently the band announced tat they are going to release a new album, we can’t wait to hear it. 

For more info about Storybox see www.storybox.nl
For Sync inquiries please send an E-mail to Aron van der Ploeg