WARHAUS

Elegant pop or feverish club frenzy? Without further ado, Warhaus opts for both. With his fifth studio album “The Donkey”, Maarten Devoldere moves into rougher, more rhythmic terrain without sacrificing the sophistication of his solo project. Hypnotic lyrics and unbridled vocal outbursts meet driving grooves.

The Belgian originally became known as the singer and guitarist of the band Balthazar. With his debut album “We Fucked a Flame into Being”, released in 2016, he opened up his own musical world under the name Warhaus: dark, sensual and carried by his unmistakable baritone. With echoes of singer-songwriters such as Leonard Cohen, he combines chanson, jazz and cinematic pop to create a sound that is as exciting as it is melancholy. He further developed this sound language on “Warhaus” (2017) and “Ha Ha Heartbreak” (2022). With “Karaoke Moon” (2024), surreal stories and playful divides between orchestral pop, folk and spoken word finally came to the fore.

The new album “The Donkey” is now once again shifting the balance. Where elegant melancholy once dominated, raw singing, rhythms inspired by South African gqom and energetic up-tempo grooves are now moving forward. The familiar dandy pop doesn't disappear, but is expanded to include faster facets. This tension is particularly evident in the new pieces “Simple Pleasures” and “The Baby”: here stylish seduction, there a surprisingly untamed song that evokes the atmosphere of an overheated club just before the end. “The Baby,” produced by long-time companion Jasper Mäkelberg, actually began as an attempt to write a lullaby. However, the result is anything but soft bedtime music. Instead, this first pre-release single combines edgy rhythms, gloomy synthesizers and nervous energy aimed at the dance floor.

Devoldere only showed how versatile this project is on stage in summer 2026 at his reduced concerts with classical pianist Julien Libeer, including a stop at Hamburg's Laeizshalle. For the upcoming tour, the consequences may now get bigger again: The new songs from “The Donkey” meet familiar Warhaus classics, sophisticated pop moments with an unbridled urge to move. In February 2027, the audience in Berlin will be able to see for themselves and be carried away.