Instagram story viewer> @oakiam> Posts

I am Oak

@oakiam

2.5K

followers

380

following

New album Time Drifts out now!

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Een verjaardag vier je nooit alleen. Tenminste, dat wensen we niemand toe. Daarom nodigen we als slotstuk van ons 40-jarig jubileum drie Utrechtse indie-iconen uit om hun 10-jarige albums integraal te spelen in EKKO, op zondagmiddag 20 december 2026. Een heuse tijdmachine naar 2016 dus, toen het leven nog simpel was en Utrecht gold als indiehoofdstad van Nederland.

Neem nou Amber Arcades, die haar debuut Fading Lines uitbracht op het smaakmakende Britse label Heavenly Recordings, nog altijd de thuisbasis van Baxter Dury, Saint Etienne en onze eigen Pip Blom. Ook mag op een viering van de Utrechtse indiescene Thijs Kuijken alias I am Oak niet ontbreken. Kuijkens discografie kent meerdere parels, en het jubilerende Our Blood behoort daar absoluut toe. De meest literaire indiefolkband uit het rijke indiefolkverleden van Utrecht is ongetwijfeld The T.S. Eliot Appreciation Society, dat in 2011 werd opgericht door singer-songwriter Tom Gerritsen. Met Turn It Golden! ontstond een stemmige zwanenzang met onder meer een ode aan auteur T.H. White, dat destijds in EKKO werd uitgebracht én nu een speciale integrale uitvoering krijgt.

Artwork door @aardkluit by @oakiam

138

4

11 days ago

The push and the pull of woe and wisdom 🌊

Playing through some songs for our show at @m_metropool / @vestzakenschede on the 12th of June

🕊️ by @oakiam

148

16

5 months ago

Today it is sixteen years ago we released I am Oak’s debut album ‘On Claws’. Sixteen years... we just let that sink in. This album was an important release for the label, and created a scene with many other bands, releases and shows. The original first pressing is long sold out, but we still have its 2013 reissue with two bonus tracks available on cd for only 5 euro, and on beer-coloured transparent vinyl for only 15 euro. Get them on snowstar.nl. by @oakiam

108

4

5 months ago

Hi all! It’s the one year anniversary of Time Drifts this month! 🎉

This photo was taken about two years ago, in the midst of recording Time Drifts, in the home studio where almost all of the album was recorded.

Hope the album found its way to some of you. Thanks for listening!
🦤

📷 @immennimmen by @oakiam

403

7

6 months ago

Op vrijdag 12 juni staat I Am Oak in Vestzak in Enschede voor een bijzondere avond vol dromerige indie-folk. De band rond singer-songwriter Thijs Kuijken groeide sinds de oprichting in 2008 uit tot een vaste waarde binnen de Nederlandse muziekscene. De kaartverkoop voor dit intieme seated concert start op vrijdag 6 maart om 10:00 uur.

#poppodium #metropool #vestzak #concert by @oakiam

54

1

7 months ago

Show at @cafedeloge in Gent, BE tomorrow! by @oakiam

80

1

8 months ago

Big thanks to everyone at the shows in Manchester, London and Brighton 🇬🇧. We had a great time and met some lovely people along the way. We had some off time to enjoy some of the beautiful English nature as well. ⛰️ What a treat!

Heading out to Belgium at the end of the month for a show at De Loge in Gent on Feb 25th! by @oakiam

119

0

8 months ago

The best movie I saw last year was Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies. Moving, rich, intimate, authentic and absorbing. Strong characters and strong acting. Recommended! The best book I read last year was Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse. I had made peace with the thought that Woolf wasn’t for me, after giving up on Mrs Dalloway twice about 15 years ago, but To The Lighthouse came to me at the right time (surrounded by water and silence in Sweden) and everything fell into place. Very rewarding read! Both of these “last year’s best things” happen to be British and we happen to be heading over to England next week! Looking forward to it. Come by if you’re around!
27 jan - Gullivers - Manchester
1 feb - The Grace - London
2 feb - The Folklore Rooms - Brighton by @oakiam

111

6

9 months ago

What a nice way to end the year: I am Oak’s new album is one of the 3 Best Utrecht Albums of 2025 (3voor12/Utrecht) and Time Drifts is also highlighted by de Volkskrant as one of the most beautiful album covers of the year. by @oakiam

44

1

10 months ago

We are proud to release this special project on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. Three Friends of Winter is an intercontinental collaboration between Hako (Osaka, Japan), I am Oak, and The World of Dust (both Utrecht, the Netherlands).

Beyond the fact that the song is released by three friends on the first day of winter, Three Friends of Winter is also an art concept inspired by pine, bamboo, and plum. Together, these three symbolize steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience. We are all very happy we finished this recording and are finally putting it out into the world!

The music was composed by Hako, Stefan, and Thijs. The lyrics were written by Stefan (first part) and Thijs (second part). The single is now available digitally on a platform of your choice, as well as on a limited-edition transparent square 7” (in the Tiny Room Records Bandcamp store).

#newmusic #iamoak #theworldofdust #hako #osaka japan japaneseculture threefriendsofwinter indiefolk homerecording wintersolstice wintermusic by @oakiam

46

3

10 months ago

Thanks a lot to everyone who came out to one of our shows this year. We’ll continue into the next year, starting with shows in the UK. Hope to see some of you there!

Jan 27 – Manchester – @gulliversnq
Jan 28 – Glasgow – @thegladcafe
Feb 1 – London – @thegraceldn
Feb 2 – Brighton – @thefolklorerooms

Check iamoak.com/shows or bio

#iamoak #handoftime #timedrifts #uktour #indiefolk by @oakiam

128

8

10 months ago

Release news!
Three Friends of Winter — the collaborative song and limited 7” of I am Oak, Hako and The World of Dust — is coming out on December 21st, the first day of winter.

We first met in Osaka back in 2019, while touring Japan. During covid, the three of us started creating music together from afar, sending files back and forth and slowly shaping a song. Hako plays mbira, noise box, and whispers; Thijs sings and plays electric taishogoto; and Stefan plays the rest.

The result is Three Friends of Winter, which will be released digitally when winter begins. We also pressed a limited square 7” — just 50 copies! Preorders are now live on the Tiny Room Bandcamp.

We’re really happy to share this final release of the year, and we hope you’ll enjoy it when it arrives. ❄️✨ Love, Thijs, Emiko and Stefan by @oakiam

91

3

10 months ago