Charlotte Wessels and Martijn Westerholt give their version of Delain's split in 2021.
A separation marked by irreconcilable differences
In 2021, Dutch band Delain experienced a major upheaval with the departure of singer Charlotte Wessels, bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije, guitarist Timo Somers and drummer Joey de Boer. Since then, founding keyboardist Martijn Westerholt has recruited a new line-up, and the band has released a new album, Dark Watersin 2023. However, the reasons behind this breakup remained unclear, until Wessels and Westerholt spoke out recently to each give their version of events.
In an interview with Scott Penfold for Loaded RadioCharlotte Wessels explained that her departure was due to an insurmountable conflict. She clarified: “There was a conflict, and we couldn't overcome it. This is the short version. We spent a lot of time trying to resolve things. […] We had already invested a lot of energy before we even reached the breaking point, where it became difficult to go back.”
With the confinement imposed by the pandemic, the group no longer had concerts, which gave them a lot of time to evaluate their future. Despite their efforts to find a solution, Wessels concludes: “In the end the answer was no. There was no solution that would allow us to continue in this way.” For her, although the frustration is present, the time spent exploring all the options is a consolation.
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A new dynamic for Martijn Westerholt
For his part, Martijn Westerholt approached the separation from another angle during an interview with the YouTuber Belgian Jasper. He said he felt exhausted by the workload that fell mainly on him, Wessels and, for the last album, Timo Somers. He admitted that this imbalance had become difficult to bear and that he lacked appreciation for his investment: “Doing something like Delain is very demanding. And it’s very important to be supported as a human being.”
With the band's new lineup, Westerholt describes a more balanced atmosphere, where each member contributes more: “Now we share tasks much more. There are less things on my shoulders, and I can concentrate on what is my favorite field, creating music.” This distribution of responsibilities seems to bring him renewed satisfaction and a feeling of gratitude.
