1-2-3 | Interview w/ Neko

Some albums meet you on the dancefloor. Others find you in the quiet moments between. Neko’s "Crying For Fun" is the latter—a tender, unflinching debut that offers space for the feelings we’re often told to hide. Written for the outsiders, the quiet ones, and anyone still carrying loss or uncertainty, "Crying For Fun" doesn’t try to fix anything. Instead, it holds space. It listens. It reminds us that being soft in a loud world is a kind of rebellion. In this edition of "1 Band - 2 Photos - 3 Questions", Amsterdam-based songwriter Robin lets us in on the creative rituals, unlikely shoot locations, and the quiet power of connection—on stage, backstage, and beyond.

Keep reading & listen to "Crying For Fun" if that is you:

This album is for those who quietly carry a shadow. The ones who struggle, often in silence. We live in a world that worships perfection, where social media shows us only the highlights, the polished moments. It creates this illusion that everyone else is more successful, happier, fitter. And when you’re scrolling through that, it’s easy to feel like you don’t measure up.

So I wrote this for the ones who feel like outsiders. The uncool ones. The quiet ones. The ones who are afraid to mess up, who sometimes don’t know what to say, who feel small in a world that demands big. It’s for the people who have lost someone and are still figuring out how to live with that. This album is a space where those feelings are allowed to exist. Not to be fixed, just to be heard.

1 Band

Hi, I’m Robin, a songwriter from Amsterdam, and I release music under the name Neko. As Neko, I write songs from the heart, often exploring the shadows within myself and shaping them into sound. It’s a way of softening what feels heavy and, hopefully, offering others a space to confront their own darker parts with a bit more light.

Last month, I released Ludo. A song about the tangled bond between siblings, where love and rivalry often live side by side. My debut album will be released at the end of the year. Two more singles will lead the way there, and I’m planning some shows around the release, though the exact dates are still coming together.

2 Photos

This is my favorite press shot. I’ve worked with photo artist Nosh Neneh several times now, and her way of bringing a concept to life always amazes me. She has a clear vision and somehow always finds a way to make it happen. Lately, she’s been branching out into other visual arts, which is exciting to see.

We did this shoot in the fields near Gouda, at to Paisley Kaas, the studio of my other band, 45ACIDBABIES. We used a beamer at twilight, which gave everything a soft, strange glow. The single cover for Ludo comes from this same session.

The top I’m wearing is a custom design by Rosa Veronica, a designer based in Antwerp. I really love her minimalist style, especially the long, flowing details she uses. She's doing great things, definitely worth looking up. The pants, though… they’re just my pyjama bottoms.

One fun memory from that evening, we ended up sprinting through the fields with all the gear, just managing to catch the last train home. A quiet shoot turned a bit chaotic, but in the best way.

My favorite live photo would be this one, taken during the biggest solo show I’ve played so far, at the legendary Paradiso in my hometown, Amsterdam. For a while, I hadn’t played my own music live. I was busy performing with other projects like néomí and 45ACIDBABIES. So when Josephine Odhil, a fellow Amsterdam artist, asked me to open for her album release show, it felt like a sudden turning point.

It was just me, my guitar, and a sampler, facing a crowd larger than I’d ever stood in front of alone. I remember sitting in the small dressing room, completely alone, nerves running wild. It felt a bit like that Harry Potter scene in The Goblet of Fire, when Harry’s waiting in the tent before facing the dragon. Quiet, tense, with no way back.

But the moment I played the first note, something shifted. The fear softened into focus. I felt fully present and strangely calm. That night reminded me why I do this. It made me want to play again. And more.

3 Questions

HOW DO YOU APPROACH PHOTO SHOOTS AND DO YOU ENJOY THE PROCESS?

Usually, there’s already a feeling guiding me, a mood, a concept, or just a direction. But what I really love is co-creating with someone who naturally thinks in images. When you work with someone more than once, they start to understand your rhythm, your style, the way you move through an idea. That familiarity brings a kind of calm, which helps, especially since being in front of the lens still feels a little strange to me. I’m not sure it ever becomes truly comfortable. Maybe it’s not supposed to.

We plan, sometimes bring props, but I always leave space for a little magic to happen in the moment. And when it’s time to choose the final image, it’s not just about what’s technically perfect. It’s the one that stirs something, the one that feels true, that always ends up being the right one.

WHAT CAN PHOTOGRAPHERS EXPECT WHEN THEY ACCOMPANY YOU BACKSTAGE AT A GIG OR ON TOUR?

I want a photographer to feel like part of the family. For me, the connection within a group often matters even more than individual skill. That goes for everyone, photographers, band members, crew. When you’re working closely together, especially in creative settings, the presence or absence of ego can make or break the experience.

There’s something powerful that happens when no one’s trying to prove anything, when everyone is simply showing up as they are, open and grounded. In that kind of space, people listen more. They support each other. There’s a flow. And only then can you really lose yourself in the music, in the moment, without being pulled out by tension or competition. It’s subtle, but deeply felt.

I’ve worked in both kinds of environments. Ones where the energy was generous and effortless, and others where egos got in the way. The difference is huge. On stage, it feels like night and day. In one, you're lifted by the people around you. In the other, you're just trying to stay afloat.

I don’t really have fixed rituals before or after a show. But when the group feels warm, safe, and free of ego, those rituals tend to appear on their own. It becomes a kind of shared rhythm. One that doesn’t need to be spoken out loud.

WHAT KIND OF PHOTO WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE TAKEN OF YOURSELF?

I'd really like to have a photo of me and the band playing a big show somewhere in the States. Maybe Radio City Music Hall. There’s something about crossing the ocean that makes it feel like you've really made it. Whatever making it means. But if I'm honest the photo's I'm more looking forward to are the honest and human ones. The moments backstage, surrounded by the people who made it all happen. Laughing, hugging, all those fuzzy warm things, sharing that strange, beautiful energy that comes just before or after a show. Those are the memories I want to hold onto. And alright, a full stage shot with the crowd stretching out in front of us wouldn’t be too bad either.

But in the end pictures are memories. And the thing I hope to remember most is how much fun we had.

Hooked? Then check out Neko's recommendations:

Go explore the work of the people I’ve had the privilege to create with. They each carry their own kind of magic and deserve far more recognition. Nosh Neneh, whose photography captures something deeper than just an image. Rosa Veronica, a designer with an eye for the surreal and the bold. Amber Veltman, who choreographed and directed the Ludo video with such clarity and emotion. Davey Bakker, who brought that same video to life through his lens.

And then there’s my sister, Sob de Geus. Ludo was written for her. She’s an unstoppable creative force, involved in almost everything, always shaping something new. Go listen to her bands, FFOOSS and Plastic Persoon. They’re loud, raw, and entirely their own.

And finally, check out the band we’re in together: 45ACIDBABIES. I promise, you won’t know what hit you.

FOLLOW NEKO:

Instagram | Spotify | Youtube