Meet Rik ‘Ricky’ Bontinck | Musician, Poet, Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rik ‘Ricky’ Bontinck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rik ‘Ricky’, why did you pursue a creative career?
It took me a really long time to figure out where to distribute my commitment in life. My ambitions and passion for things as a teenager had always been short lived and desultory. Apart from my average competence on a guitar, performing played a minimal role and poetry even less. I did love music and all my idols were (and are) brilliant writers the likes of Alex Turner, Buckley, Ben Howard, Leonard Cohen …

During the pandemic, carrying an intense desire to outsource these collective feelings of impotence on the back of an identity crisis, I started writing. I became obsessed with poetry and semantics. The works of Peter Doherty, both as one of the Libertines and as a poet, were a crucial influence here. I wanted that. I wanted to be that. I tend to look back on that period as the one where the foundations for ‘LIGHTSPEED’, my band, were constructed.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
LIGHTSPEED remains a newborn. We released our debut single ‘If We Could Learn to Fly’ in January 2023, which makes us just over a year old. Last year, we’ve played over 30 shows which was quite an accomplishment for a band yet to have its first birthday. Especially when you’re all still tied to day jobs in order to pay the rent. We barely knew each other before the band, so the transformation from four strangers to four friends sharing a stage required a lot of hours on the road. I do consider the first months of a band’s start up as perhaps the most important. It’s usually clear from early on whether you’re all on the same page and how the ambitions are divided.

We won two contests, also in 2023. The first one was regional and really propelled us in the area surrounding our hometown. The city granted us a free rehearsal space and the main concert venue offered us an artist residency. A couple months later, we eventually won a national contest that put us on the radar of some professional partners. We signed with our management and recently delved into the studio to record our debut ep which will land in autumn.

We’ve still got a long (and presumably arduous) road to go, but it’s all well exciting really.

A piece of advice is to stop weighing yourself to others, it sounds simpler than it is in reality I found. Comparison is the thief of joy and everyone has their own pace and journey that shouldn’t impede your own.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I moved to Ghent (BE) last year. These are some of my favourite places to hangout.

Coffee:
– Mokabon, Donkersteeg 35, 9000 Gent
– Bidon, Bisdomkaai 25, 9000 Gent
– Vandekerckhove, Brabantdam 55, 9000 Gent

Breakfast / Lunch:
– Kultur Bakery, Voldersstraat 8, 9000 Gent
– GUST, Papegaaistraat 55, 9000 Gent
– O’yo, Sint-Baafsplein 12, 9000 Gent

Shopping:
– De Slegte (2nd hand books & poetry), Voldersstraat 7, 9000 Gent
– De Vitrine (Vintage interior items), Ottogracht 35, 9000 Gent
– Wunderkammer (Vintage interior items), Onderstraat 21, 9000 Gent

Dinner;
– Astro Boy, Kongostraat 2, 9000 Gent
– La Malcontenta, Haringsteeg 7, 9000 Gent
– By Chef Yoshi, Oude Houtlei 13g, 9000 Gent

Drinks;
– Little Red Rooster, Waaistraat 16, 9000 Gent
– Vol Pension, Ottogracht 38A, 9000 Gent
– Le Bal Infernal, Kammerstraat 6, 9000 Gent

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The list grows big and bigger. The more obvious ones, my family and friends. I’m fortunate to have a very close-knit friend group that has been together for over a decade. We don’t see each other as much as we used to, but I cherish them dearly. There’s something about the bonds you form growing up together that is hard to replicate with other people in later stages of your life. I’ve met many new people who I love dearly along the way but you get what I mean, right?

Our management (HARDT Management) for taking a chance on us and allowing us to grow under their guidance.

My partner, who’s a phenomenal photographer and visual artist. She plays a critical role in my own artistic endeavors. She’s my companion, both in love and in art. She oversees and directs every visual aspect surrounding LIGHTSPEED and does so incredibly. For me, no one else’s creative output compares to hers. Plus, she makes us looks great and I love that.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeed.band/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightspeed.band.be

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6AKqwXVRN32svEj6t8gD3Q?si=ssg94d9mRxeErgEpTnsz3w

Image Credits
@bytaike