Nightporter

Dutch singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Ritsema a.k.a. Nightporter (after his other job) is well known in the Netherlands for fronting cult-bands like Spasmodique (in the eighties), Cobraz (nineties) and Raskolnikov (present). He is also known for taking the centre stage with his manic and intense performances, singing in a deep and hoarse voice, in traditions that go back to archaic blues, soul and rock.On his first solo-album In A Valley Of Wolves, a collection of songs of love and the lack of it, we find him in a more introvert mood. The album was mainly recorded with acoustic instruments, centred on the songs and stories of the singer. The core of the album was recorded in two weeks in Portugal in 2003 in the home-studio of the famous Portuguese singer and guitarist Rui Veloso . Ritsema and producer Jules Otto met Veloso in the summer of 2002, leading to an invitation to work in his Estudio Vale de Lobos. Enthusiastic support was also given by the Portuguese singer/guitarist/songwriter Pedro Freitas Branco (Pedro e os Apostolos) and members of Veloso..s band. Veloso himself – a master of dobro and slide-guitar – enriched several songs with his solos and shares lead vocals with Nightporter on Miss Anthony. Back in Holland a backing band was formed, of which the core consists of keyboard men Eric Lensink and Jeroen Tenty (both of Q-Club ) and Belgian/Dutch guitar legend Dany Lademacher (Herman Brood & his Wild Romance).With Lademacher, Otto and Ritsema returned to Portugal early 2007 to record four new songs for In A Valley Of Wolves.Under the inspired guidance of producer Otto, during 2007 the album was finally finished and released.In A Valley Of Wolves was also released in a special book edition, containing the graphic novel of the same title, drawn by the Dutch artist Arno van de Pol after a scenario by Ritsema.