About
Kiki Deirdre is a Netherlands-based musician and writer captivated by the beauty, fragility, and complexity of life. Through her songs and writing, she delves into themes of loss, longing, and the often-absurd nature of the human experience. Blending traditional storytelling with modern, progressive themes, her music stands out for its lyrical richness and emotional depth. Accompanied by her Shruti Box and acoustic guitars often tuned to open tunings, Kiki Deirdre's earthy, evocative sound pays homage to folk traditions while pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Growing up in a small coastal village in Zeeland, the Netherlands, she was surrounded by the quiet beauty of sea and sky. From a young age, she loved hearing stories and was always eager to listen to anyone willing to share one. Her love for music started early, influenced by the timeless works of artists like Leonard Cohen and iconic Dutch artists like Maarten van Roozendaal. At just twelve, she came across Mahogany and Cardinal Sessions on YouTube, which introduced her to modern folk artists like Rachel Sermanni, Will Varley, and Johnny Flynn. She spent hours watching these sessions, soaking in the music and creativity from songwriters around the world. This sparked her love for acoustic sounds and meaningful lyrics. At the age of sixteen, she was introduced to Rainer Maria Rilke, which deeply inspired her and enriched her understanding and appreciation for poetic and observant writing. Her curiosity led her to pick up a guitar and start writing songs to express her emotions and thoughts.
Early life
As a teenager, she traveled the country by train, letting the passing landscapes and faces inspire her as she filled notebooks with observations, lyrics and poems. These journeys sparked her imagination and a curiosity about life, both of which continue to fuel her music and writing to this day. In 2014, with encouragement from a friend who worked as a photographer at a music venue, she took the leap to share her songs and words with the world. Her first performance of original material was both terrifying and exhilarating, a moment that marked the beginning of her complex love-hate relationship with the stage. Over time, her passion for songwriting, music, and language grew stronger as she performed at local venues and traveled across the country, carrying her poetry and music with her to connect with audiences wherever she went.
She always had a love for adventure and storytelling. It came as no surprise to anyone when she eventually decided to leave the village where she had grown up. 2017, she took the leap, leaving Zeeland to follow her passion for music and writing elsewhere. After a period of self-discovery in Nijmegen, she found new direction in 2019 when she moved to Utrecht to study Music Performance Art (Musician 3.0) at the Utrecht Conservatory. It was during these formative years that her songwriting really began to take shape. In 2020, she co-founded the Americana folk band Het Volk alongside friends Noah Eamon Hassler-Forest, Wouter Torringa, Yuri Heiligers, and Nemo Arends. This marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in her musical journey. For the next few years, the band brought their passion for storytelling and music to life, sharing stages, streets, and unforgettable moments with audiences everywhere. In 2022, they celebrated their creative chemistry by releasing a live album, a collection of original Bluegrass and Folk songs that captured the spirit of their shared journey. Despite the success of their debut, the band decided to step away from performing together to focus on their individual creative projects and paths. For Kiki Deirdre, this was a turning point. Inspired by her passion for lyrics and storytelling, she dedicated herself to pursuing her own creative projects.
Present-day
After graduating from the Utrecht Conservatory in 2024, she has dedicated herself fully to music and writing. She has combined years of experience to create a style and way of working, where music and writing work together and influence each other. To this day Kiki Deirdre's music repertoire still mainly consists of songs appreciating the sound of the acoustic guitar. Her music and writing draw inspiration from everyday experiences and observations of the world around her. The tone of her songwriting has grown both cryptic and direct over the years, often delivering a critical perspective on today's society. Live performances, whether with a band or solo, feel intimate, drawing the audience in as if part of a personal conversation. With a powerful voice, she invites listeners to experience the layered emotions in her music. Her songs resonate with those unafraid to feel and reflect, who seek genuineness, and who appreciate music born from deep emotion and a love for life.
She remains active as a musician though live performances have been temporarily put on hold as she recovers from nerve damage in one of her fingers. Since this break, she has been working on a new Dutch literary project, (potentially taking the form of a novella, novel, or short story collection) and an English lyrical poetry bundle with complementary instrumental compositions.
2021-2024: How's Life?
Between 2021 and 2024, Kiki Deirdre developed her first large-scale interdisciplinary project, working simultaneously on a novel and its accompanying album. Both works inspired one another throughout the process, with the music directly inspired by the novel’s storyline and written from the perspective of its main character, Suzie Saol. Lyrically dense, the songs explore themes such as the complexities of human existence, the search for meaning, and interpersonal relationships.
For this project, she brought together talented musicians from Utrecht and Amsterdam and collaborated with Greek producer, bass player, and recording artist Minas Vakaloudis. The music for the album was recorded at Touchstone, an intimate stage and community place within a historic Wharf Cellar in Utrecht. Both album and novel came to life thanks to the creativity, skills and contributions of many artists, team members, and collaborators, making it a truly shared effort. The project was supported by a successful crowdfunding campaign and additional funding from Cultuurfonds Utrecht, KF Hein Fonds, the Keep an Eye Foundation, and Gemeente Utrecht. This support made it possible to produce the album and novel, and to celebrate their release at EKKO in Utrecht on 27 June 2024. A pre-release of the novel took place on 12 June at De Utrechtse Boekenbar, where visitors could get an early copy of the novel and and participate in a Q&A, discussion, and interview with Kiki Deirdre, as well as enjoy readings and live music.
The novel and album were self-published and officially released through her independent label, Strange Sea Publishing & Records, on 28 June 2024. In the run-up to the release, she released two singles, Be Ears and How’s Life, both of which were well received by audiences. Be Ears has since been described by Kiki Deirdre as one of her all-time personal favourites. Due to concerns about fair compensation for artists on streaming services, only 5 of the 10 tracks were released on major streaming platforms. The complete album was made available exclusively on vinyl and as MP3 downloads via Bandcamp. If you'd like to support her art, you can listen or purchase it on Bandcamp, or visit her shop to buy her novel and vinyl.
Reflecting on the project, Kiki Deirdre stated:
“I like to feel deeply and intensely, because it reminds me that I'm alive.This project allowed me to experience all of it - the depths of love, highs of happiness, many moments of reflection, and waves of intense confusion.
Picture by Daan Kamerman
2024-2025: Over Zeeland
Kiki Deirdre initially wrote primarily in English, but her most recent project explores the Dutch language. She draws on childhood memories from the Dutch polders, transforming them into stories rooted in the landscape of her upbringing, characterised by muddy boots, the smell of the mudflats, biting winds, long bike rides along the dykes, and steaming plates of stamppot.
She worked in a non-attached style, with self-imposed limitations, in a small studio at De Nijverheid in Utrecht, which she sublet for three and a half months. Over this period, she wrote and recorded 7 tracks, resulting in a raw and candid extended play (EP), Over Zeeland, consisting of 6 nostalgic, humorous, and honest songs, along with 1 interlude. The recordings capture the ambience of the space, including squeaking wooden floorboards and the sounds of the surrounding city.
She celebrated the release and creative process with a live performance at De Nijverheid.
Only one of the seven tracks, Zeeland, sneeuwwit, has been made available online. In February 2025, 25 exclusive copies of the EP were released, though the official release date for Over Zeeland has not yet been announced, and it remains unclear whether the EP will be re-recorded or made more widely available online.
Picture by Cristina Kirstein
Full Discography
Single Zeeland, sneeuwwit (2025)
EP Over Zeeland (2025), exclusively available on CD.
Novel How's Life? (2024), exclusively available as softcover.
Album How's Life? (2024), full album exclusively available on Bandcamp and vinyl.
Album Childish Old Souls (2022), collaboration with Het Volk.
EP Entwined (2017), exclusively available on CD.
