Senex In Insula is the tenth album by Sinner Songwriter Jean Koning. It was released on 24 September 2026 by FYH Records. It was produced by Jean Koning and recorded in studios in London, West-Friesland, and Amsterdam from November 2025 to March 2026.
Senex In Insula produced two official singles – "Like A Film", and "Dark Water Swim".
It also produced two teaser singles – "Alex", and "Frankenstein And The Thieves"
| 1. Drawing Data-Man (Favourite Year) 2. We'd Know Bedlam 3. Like A Film 4. Dark Water Swim 5. I'll Be Here, Drifting 6. Alex 7. Hard, Heart 8. Frankenstein And The Thieves 9. In That Purple Rain My Purest Of Friends 10. Data-Man |
I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.
–Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Friendship?
If we can't read Bram Stoker's Dracula together whilst sharing dark chocolate cheesecake and a vintage bottle of Château Margaux in a quaint cottage on the French coast during a full moon, listening to the soothing sounds of a lesser known Prince album, then what's the point...
This is a story about friendship, insanity, resilience, and hope...
Without being too much “spilling the juice” here, perhaps this little album called SENEX IN INSULA, which is extremely metaphorically conceptual in form, needs a little guidance to lead people through the stories…
Beginning with its lovely title: SENEX IN INSULA… Which is Latin for Older (Wiser) Men On An Island–that should cover the load completely…
However, the person I wrote this album for insisted–kindly, lovingly–to reveal one or two little details about where this one came from, and what’s the meaning of it all…
And he desperately wants to know “where is that island?”
Because, in his perfect, wonderful little mind: it has nothing to do with growing old–or being 50+ for that matter…
Let’s zoom in on the overall story: we introduce two male friends.
Friends by chance, location, sudden constellation–a chance meeting, which altered both their lives. And the connection, admiration, love, and a small amount of subsidiary lead ultimately to this brotherly love affair.
However, all the reciprocal love and rainbows and blue skies and lovely hideaways in the south of France with perfect food and a couple of wines weren’t sufficient to keep a certain degree of madness out the doors…
Of course, our heroes had to go through a quest of acquired depression and sadness and loss to reach an even stronger kinship, which existed already between the two of them in the first place–you just have to go through certain levels of terror once every while, to truly appreciate what has always been there all the time… You just didn’t see it… That’s life, I guess…
And, taking the “quest”-thing rather seriously, SENEX IN INSULA is the brotherly-love’s DIVINE COMEDY: the Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri.
And like in that poem (the pilgrim Dante is accompanied by three guides: Virgil, who represents human reason, and who guides him for all of Inferno and most of Purgatorio; Beatrice, who represents divine revelation in addition to theology, grace, and faith; and guides him from the end of Purgatorio onwards; and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother, guiding him in the final cantos of Paradiso) the two friends are accompanied by one single guide… Prince… (The one and only… Person Formally Known As And Still Revered To As And Perfect In His Own Style And Genius…).
Through his borrowed lyrics and stolen chord-progressions, the two friends frontier their own Purgatory (in the shape of a little island, preferably hidden underneath the soothing skies of the south of France–accompanied by fantastic food and lovely wine… We’re [the two friends in real life] still trying to locate the damn island for retirement reasons) to establish in one another that one little phrase: “Thank You For Being A Friend”, which is the theme song from “Golden Girls”, and even though we’re talking about men here, it’s all about being 50+... And being a good friend…
Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY is shaped in nine layers and three books. The music for SENEX IN INSULA is divided in two sections.
For the Vinyl that’s the easy part–Side A and Side B–for the CD and the Digital Version, that means the first five tracks and the second five tracks…
Side A (track 1-5) is Madness with hints of hope, Side B (tracks 6-10) is Hope with hints of madness… But trying to feel for each other is the main course (food again)… And wiping away each other’s tears is crucial…
And before we go any further… One of the early listeners of the albums has, legendary, said: "This is a two wine, three hankies affair… "
If we can't read Bram Stoker's Dracula together whilst sharing dark chocolate cheesecake and a vintage bottle of Château Margaux in a quaint cottage on the French coast during a full moon, listening to the soothing sounds of a lesser known Prince album, then what's the point...
This is a story about friendship, insanity, resilience, and hope...
Without being too much “spilling the juice” here, perhaps this little album called SENEX IN INSULA, which is extremely metaphorically conceptual in form, needs a little guidance to lead people through the stories…
Beginning with its lovely title: SENEX IN INSULA… Which is Latin for Older (Wiser) Men On An Island–that should cover the load completely…
However, the person I wrote this album for insisted–kindly, lovingly–to reveal one or two little details about where this one came from, and what’s the meaning of it all…
And he desperately wants to know “where is that island?”
Because, in his perfect, wonderful little mind: it has nothing to do with growing old–or being 50+ for that matter…
Let’s zoom in on the overall story: we introduce two male friends.
Friends by chance, location, sudden constellation–a chance meeting, which altered both their lives. And the connection, admiration, love, and a small amount of subsidiary lead ultimately to this brotherly love affair.
However, all the reciprocal love and rainbows and blue skies and lovely hideaways in the south of France with perfect food and a couple of wines weren’t sufficient to keep a certain degree of madness out the doors…
Of course, our heroes had to go through a quest of acquired depression and sadness and loss to reach an even stronger kinship, which existed already between the two of them in the first place–you just have to go through certain levels of terror once every while, to truly appreciate what has always been there all the time… You just didn’t see it… That’s life, I guess…
And, taking the “quest”-thing rather seriously, SENEX IN INSULA is the brotherly-love’s DIVINE COMEDY: the Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri.
And like in that poem (the pilgrim Dante is accompanied by three guides: Virgil, who represents human reason, and who guides him for all of Inferno and most of Purgatorio; Beatrice, who represents divine revelation in addition to theology, grace, and faith; and guides him from the end of Purgatorio onwards; and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother, guiding him in the final cantos of Paradiso) the two friends are accompanied by one single guide… Prince… (The one and only… Person Formally Known As And Still Revered To As And Perfect In His Own Style And Genius…).
Through his borrowed lyrics and stolen chord-progressions, the two friends frontier their own Purgatory (in the shape of a little island, preferably hidden underneath the soothing skies of the south of France–accompanied by fantastic food and lovely wine… We’re [the two friends in real life] still trying to locate the damn island for retirement reasons) to establish in one another that one little phrase: “Thank You For Being A Friend”, which is the theme song from “Golden Girls”, and even though we’re talking about men here, it’s all about being 50+... And being a good friend…
Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY is shaped in nine layers and three books. The music for SENEX IN INSULA is divided in two sections.
For the Vinyl that’s the easy part–Side A and Side B–for the CD and the Digital Version, that means the first five tracks and the second five tracks…
Side A (track 1-5) is Madness with hints of hope, Side B (tracks 6-10) is Hope with hints of madness… But trying to feel for each other is the main course (food again)… And wiping away each other’s tears is crucial…
And before we go any further… One of the early listeners of the albums has, legendary, said: "This is a two wine, three hankies affair… "
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tags: #art rock, #classical crossover, #contemporary, #orchestral pop, #orchestral rock