Dutch harpist Remy van Kesteren’s new album Leave What You Know, released May 16 on the V2 label, is now available digitally on all streaming platforms. Though van Kesteren describes the songs on the album as “from the same musical universe as my earlier work,” he says this album takes a new path. “It’s the first time I’ve written lyrics, and you can also hear my voice in every song. The harp is still there, but not always in the foreground,” he says.
The compositions on the album developed over seven years. “During Covid, I realized that the demos I had written weren’t just instrumental pieces—they were songs that were missing something: a melody and lyrics,” van Kesteren says. To create the album, he reached out to vocalists he deeply admires, including Kim Janssen, Robin Kester, Marcel Veenendaal, Pitou, Tessa Rose Jackson, Luwten, Banji, Roufaida, and Nana Adjoa. “Collaborating—especially on something as personal as a song—was delicate and humbling. It forces you to rewire your brain, find common ground, and admit you don’t have all the answers. But in that space, so much beauty can emerge,” van Kesteren says. “Each song found its own path, and the process stretched me in new directions. I learned so much about songwriting.”
The album’s title, Leave What You Know, is a reflection of van Kesteren’s personal and musical journey. “Growing up as a musician, a so-called childhood prodigy, music was what I was,” van Kesteren says. “So if you leave that behind, what’s left? This album reflects on that question: about music, love, life, my children—everything. I love how things in life only gain real meaning once you experience them.” For van Kesteren, the most interesting work is to venture into the unknown. “When you’re a child, you’re completely open, with an unlimited receptivity to the world. As we grow older, our view narrows. We start to define what belongs to us, what we love, and what we reject,” van Kesteren says. “For me, curiosity always wins over cynicism. That’s also what I did with this album: I diverted from my path as a classical soloist to discover… well, whatever needed to be discovered. Leave What You Know is a token of this personal search for what was waiting inside of me to come out.”
A Dutch harpist recognized internationally for his genre-crossing approach to the instrument, van Kesteren studied at the Conservatories of Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Paris, founded the Dutch Harp Festival, and won the gold medal at the USA International Harp Competition in 2013. He has released multiple acclaimed albums, with music streamed more than 12 million times worldwide. His self-titled debut album earned the first-ever perfect rating from Harp Column’s recording reviewer Alison Young.
Learn more about van Kesteren on his website.
