Mart Hoogkamer talks about break: ‘I wasn’t enjoying myself anymore, was pissed’
On Frank Dane’s radio show Monday, singer Mart Hoogkamer opened up about the three-month break he recently took.
“I was severely overworked,” the singer explained.
Mart Hoogkamer
Hoogkamer had a mega hit with Swimming in the Summer of 2021. Because of this success, he was booked across the country for performances. “In the meantime, I wanted to make my own moves by starting my own booking agency,” the singer says. But at the time, he was also affiliated with an outside agency. The result? “The booking offices were scrambling with schedules,” Hoogkamer reveals.
“I was severely overworked. I became aggressive and didn’t like it much anymore,” the singer continues. “Not everything was good anymore, I didn’t enjoy singing anymore. I was pissed off.” Eventually, he decided to seek help from a psychologist. “I was a little close to burnout. This did include talking about the situation in the past, about me and the things that are still going on now.” Hoogkamer already talked about the sometimes difficult relationship with his father in his 2021 documentary From Father to Son.
Mart Hoogkamer Addiction
There has been no question of addiction, Hoogkamer pressed the radio DJ’s attention. “I don’t even like to drink. When I get drunk, I want to spit it out as quickly as possible,” he explains. Still, even his mother was concerned that an addiction was behind his difficult period. “Of course it hurts that when you lose weight and don’t eat as much because you’re going from place to place for work, your mother then thinks you’re on drugs.”
The construction of the house he is building with his girlfriend also cut into Hoogkamer’s heart. “That was perhaps what made me lose sight of the forest for the trees,” he explains. But fortunately, he now feels like his old self again. “The day before yesterday was the first time I had to perform again, but it was exciting. I enjoyed it, I was jumping. People have been blaring along from twelve to one. It was fantastic.”
At least the singer knows how he’s going to handle things from now on. “I’m trying not to take on so many gigs anymore.”