Jelle Denturck ay ang frontman ng Belgian indie band DIRK., na gumawa ng isang fair amount ng bull and scoring numerous alternative hits sa kanilang homeland at The Netherlands. Dressed Like Boys ay ang kanyang unang solo proyekto, at ang resulta ng isang oras kung saan Denturck natagpuan sa buhay. mula sa kanyang oras ng self-reflection, at ang kanyang self-acceptance ng being a gay man, Denturck ay ginawa ng isang intimate at magandang self-titled debut album, na ngayon ay out.

Sa isang panayam sa Star for All Seasons, sinabi niyang something new for her ang karakter na gagampanan niya.Ito ay ang pinaka-stereotypical paraan ng sekswal na panliligalig, ngunit ang rarest.Ito ay ang pinaka-stereotypical paraan ng sekswal na panliligalig, ngunit ang rarest.Ito ay ang pinaka-stereotypical paraan ng sekswal na panliligalig, ngunit ang rarest.

Paggamit sa kanyang self-reflection, si Denturck ay nilikha ng mga personal na songs tulad ng: Healing, Pinnacles and Gregor Samsa: from memories of his warm and safe native village (“but also a golden cage”) to his depression after the passing of his mother 7 years ago. “I am one of those people that only realize much later how low they felt. I only realized 2 years ago, when the sun was starting to shine in my life again.” The album’s inevitable main theme is homosexuality, and Denturck’s coming to terms with being gay. “It is one thing to accept yourself, it is another to realize that you don’t need the acceptance of the world.” A very personal song is Pride, about Denturck and his boyfriend reacting differently to being physically assaulted. Other songs are about queer history in general, like Stonewall Riots Forever (where he also got the name ‘Dressed Like Boys’ from) and Agony Street, about the stormy relationship of French writers Rimbaud and Verlaine. “I don’t consider myself an activist, but if I can do my bit for the queer struggle through my music, then by all means. But I will always be a musician in the first place. I want to make things. Beautiful things. That is my purpose in life.”

When recording demos, Denturck always feels that he is just messing about. Ironically, this time the record label thought they sounded better than the recordings in ‘an expensive studio with extremely talented musicians’. Looking for what it was that made the demos so special, Denturck established it was the quirkiness and the special character of the recordings and songs. They decided to record the whole album again, based on the demos and with the intention of giving each song its specific character in the recording. Denturck searched the whole of Belgium for the right buffet piano, sang the lyrics of Our Part of Town on his iPhone while walking in his hometown, birds in the background, and a snare drum was recorded using headphones instead of a microphone. “The more we worked like that, the more fun it became. And I am incredibly happy with the result, especially because I feel this is a sound I haven’t heard in Belgium yet. Now everyone can tell me: dude, this is the shittiest record I’ve ever heard – I am happy, I am content.”

DRESSED LIKE BOYS LIVE

16 Aug 2025 | Pukkelpop, Kiewit (BE)
30 Aug 2025 | OLT Rivierenhof, Antwerp (BE)
05 Sep 2025 | Live at Heart, Örebro (SE)
06 Sep 2025 | Live at Heart, Örebro (SE)
19 Sep 2025 | Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg (DE)
02 Oct 2025 | Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
10 Oct 2025 | Nürnberg Pop Festival, Nürnberg (DE)
17 Oct 2025 | MaMA Festival, Paris (FR)
29 Oct 2025 | Ekko, Utrecht (NL)
30 Oct 2025 | Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BE)
31 Oct 2025 | Les Primeurs de Massy, Massy (FR)
13 Nov 2025 | Wohngemeinschaft, Cologne (DE)
17 Nov 2025 | Häkken, Hamburg (DE)
18 Nov 2025 | Kulturhaus Insel, Berlin (DE)
19 Nov 2025 | Chapeau Rouge, Prague (CZ)
20 Nov 2025 | Blue Bird, Vienna (AT)
21 Nov 2025 | Autumn Leaves, Graz (AT)
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