Belgian expat Wim Hoste has always been a fan of the James Bond movies – it’s the cool factor, you see; daredevil stunts conducted by a spy who can never seem to lose. As a musician – singer and songwriter – it only made sense for Hoste to dive deep and pay homage through a few tunes.
“I wrote the lyrics and split it into four songs; it was too long for just one. It took time to get it together. I spent something like three years to get these done,” he tells Gulf News in an interview. The first three numbers, ‘Through the Darkness’, ‘Impossible Love’ and ‘Mission of Love’ are out now on Spotify and YouTube. The final release, ‘Inside Me’ is out on June 20th.
This quartet of songs tells of a love story, one where Bond falls in love with another spy. Sounding familiar? That’s because it echoes the tune of the latest Bond movie, ‘No Time to Die’, which, says Hoste wasn’t out when his project began. “But my lyrics are about James Bond being fragile in a way, because he is in love with a woman who is also a dangerous woman. He’s torn and yet wants to protect her. It’s kind of trying to connect on-screen plot points with real life – asking what would happen if you were actually in such a situation? And what would it be like for the people you loved?”
Now Bond has a distinctive vibe – of action, high speed chases and grand romances – and to tell it through music comes with challenges. For one thing, the signature tune is copyrighted. “But we found something similar, something that gives that ambience, which put you immediately in that frame of mind. Of course, some songs are upbeat and other songs are slow; so, I also made a nice mix of it.”
Hoste, who swapped a nine to five career for a life of music and drama, of performance and excitement on the daily, says he’s aiming for a concert and an album. For now, he’s got six originals on record and is working on creating the final few. “My inspiration is unlimited so I will continue writing songs and making them. And then as an artist you want to perform and show them to the world,” he laughs.
Well, if you are going for drama, isn’t James Bond just the way to go?
