Roel van Velzen
| VanVelzen | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roel van Velzen |
| Born |
20 March 1978 Delft, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, pianist |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Foreign Media Music |
| Website | www |
Roel van Velzen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrul vɑn ˈvɛlzə(n)]; born 20 March 1978), better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Besides being known for his short stature, he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Netherlands, shared the stage with Queen's Brian May, and supported Kelly Clarkson, Bon Jovi and German megastars Reamonn. He also had an international airplay hit when DJ Armin van Buuren remixed VanVelzen's song "Broken Tonight".
Van Velzen was born in Delft, The Netherlands. His father was a musician, and had a large influence on him as a child. On his sixth birthday, his mother's present was a drum kit. The young Van Velzen was actively involved in several bands at school and wrote music for the annual Christmas musical. He went on to study Creative Communications at the Inholland College of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam, and won the Heineken Student Music Award in 1999 with his band The Goldfish.
He went on to play with Crazy Pianos and during a concert at the GelreDome, he met his current manager, Ruud H. Vinke. Between 2002 and 2005, he was part of the improv theatre group Op Sterk Water, with whom he performed twice at the Lowlands Festival.
In early 2005, VanVelzen was introduced to Dutch music producers Holger Schwedt, Nando Eweg and John Ewbank, and they decided to start working on an album.
VanVelzen's first single, "Baby Get Higher", was a cover of songwriter David Sneddon's 2003 single, and peaked at #17 on the Dutch Top 40 and the song was also a big radio airplay hit.
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