"HEY! OLD MAN!"
'MZEE!' IS SWAHILI FOR...
I toured throughout Flanders and the Netherlands for years with musical theater productions, singing narratively in Dutch.
I have collaborated with Bram Vermeulen, played with (and received golden life tips from) Maarten van Roozendaal, toured extensively with André Manuel, performed in a packed Sportpaleis with Raymond, promoted living room concerts, once provided the regular opening act for KommilFoo, and sung stories in bizarre locations, in working fountains, beneath medieval castles, or among the dunes close to the sea...
I won the 'De Morgen' musical award for best content (lyrics & music) with one of my musical narratives – which is funny because I don't care for musicals at all ;-)
However, due to circumstances, I hardly touched a guitar for years, nor stroked a piano key. Let alone wrote songs. In the meantime, I toured internationally with automata.
But look, blood is thicker than water. And that creeping tickles... I recently recorded a few new songs again, I'm writing again, I'm in the mood, a great desire. I'm going to perform again. Under the name 'MZEE'; that's Swahili for 'old, wise man' (I got to learn that on one of my solo cycling trips through Africa).
MZEE will also be the title of a new album that will be released in 2027. And the title of one of my new storytelling songs.
Back on tour, as MZEE
After many years of (radio) silence, I am once again piecing together new songs and a rich soundscape: one in which I accompany myself on (foot)drums, electric guitars, Rhodes, synth, and wind instruments.
Live, I let myself be challenged by one top musician: Stefan Wellens, for example (electric viola, electric guitar, synth). We both go a long way back ;-) And that feels incredibly good, as was already evident during the first try-outs!
Are you an organizer interested in a concert by Geert Hautekiet as MZEE? Or would you like to organize a living room concert at home? Get in touch (and ask for info) via the contact form or email via this envelope button.
A HOLE. A CRACK
IN BREAST AND BURG.
SO BIG, SO DEEP
THAT MY WHOLE BROTHER JUST FITS IN IT.
In the midst of the Corona pandemic—it had nothing to do with that virus—my only brother passed away completely unexpectedly.
That hit me hard. And it still does, actually. It took me years to sit down at a piano again. I stared ahead, tapped rhythmically on just the E-flat key, and heard a heartbeat as the basic beat. The beginning of a fresh song...
I have tried to put into words what cannot be put into words...
This song was released in late April 2026, around the anniversary of his death.
SHE SUDDENLY SAYS JUST LIKE THAT
The only upside of 'getting the boot' is that you can write songs about it and let raw, screaming guitars roar without shame. Wonderful!
Three Amuse-bouches
In November 2025—after many years of radio silence—I crept into a studio once again, together with producer Frederik Segers. What a delightful, talented guy he is! In an intense week, we recorded three 'amuse-gueules' as a preview for a new album that should be released in 2027. With Frederik Van den Berghe on drums and Filip Vandenbril on bass. I took care of the guitars, the piano, and, of course, the vocals. And a real angelic choir stopped by.
THOSE FIRST NEW NUMBERS
The result of those recordings is three songs,
'Amuse-gueules' as a preview of a later album.
They are on Bandcamp as a mini mini EP.
Lyrics & music: Geert Hautekiet (vocal, piano, guitars (electric, acoustic, slide, cigarbox)) / Drums: Frederik Van den Berghe / Bass: Filip Vandebril / Mix & production: Frederik Segers / @ 'Mzee': young voices (Mais Quelle Chanson), conducted by Luna Maes (Alma, Rosie, Nel, Lis, Mounia, Tanne, Renée, Ine, Eleonore)
Panamarenko
The Antwerp artist PANAMARENKO (1940-2019) with his (flying) machines—it will come as no surprise that, as an artist/tinkerer/Antwerp native, I feel a joyful kinship with this magnificent grandmaster of the imagination.
Years ago, he came to see one of my musical storytelling sessions (at a location called 'Pluto's Hole'. Great name). A nice chat afterwards. He confided in me at the time that my homemade musical instruments particularly captivated him. I was happy; that's how it goes.
During the Antwerp 'Night of the Museums' in 2025, I was asked if I wanted to come and play a 'spacy soundtrack' with my Theremine among Panamarenko's UFOs at the MUHKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp). That turned out to be a very special night...
And lo and behold, a year later, that same 'Night of the Museums'—to celebrate their 20th anniversary—raffleed off a golden ticket among all visitors. The winner won a guided tour of Panamarenko's birthplace, where he worked and lived for almost his entire life. And yes, I got to play Theremine there again—among his belongings and telescope in the attic...
WANNES ROCKT nog altaâd maân kouw kliejren
WANNES still touches me deeply
HOMAGE (CORONA) CONCERTS WANNES VAN DE VELDE
For most artists, Corona was—to put it mildly—a rotten time: tours were cancelled without hesitation, there was no prospect for any plans whatsoever, and at times there were idiotic—sector-specific—rules. Let’s be simple and clear: Never! Again!
Fortunately, 'sitting still and doing nothing' isn't really my best character trait. And so, I organized and played four corona concerts featuring bluesy and rocking versions of songs by Wannes Van de Velde, the late formidable Antwerp troubadour.
4 concerts, four quarters of a cake. Or ' TOERT ' in Antwerp dialect. Live, but via streaming (so without a live audience) for those interested in their living rooms. Each one lasting about fifteen minutes, totaling 71 minutes (one minute for every year of Wannes' life) . We started on Thursday, April 29 – Wannes' birthday – at 7:37 PM (referencing his birth year, 1937). We repeated this for four consecutive Thursdays in 2021. The concerts were filmed and streamed, and they were illustrated live by painter Frank De Wit. Each concert thus ended with a painting report.
Four concerts featuring, alongside myself as singer and guitarist, Jan Blieck (electric guitars), Dieter De Mits (bass), Gino Campenaerts (drums), and Niels Verheest (Hammond organ, piano) – and with Marie Schoovaerts (backing vocals and vocals), Bob Van Brandt (soprano saxophone), and Frederik Van den Berghe (drums). Video recordings: Johannes Van De Voorden, audio mix: Frederik Segers.
