AGUA DE ANNIQUE, ex-THE GATHERING vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen checks in with the following:

"It's been one hell of a week. As you may know, I was in Canada, writing and recording with DEVIN TOWNSEND. Forgive me if I speak too much about it :-), but that was absolutely a great experience. He's one of the best musicians I have ever met and a very nice and genuine person as well. We recorded lots of vocals for his new album Addicted and together we wrote four songs for my upcoming album. Let me tell you in all modesty: It's gonna be marvy!!!

Another memorable experience for me was our show in Amsterdam at the Night of Tibet. We played a show with Agua and I performed the Tibet-song 'Als Je Ooit Nog Eens Terug Kan' together with Holland's finest musicians in front H.H. the Dalai Lama, who was there to speak. I am still in awe of his peaceful message. After we shook hands, I was able to feel his energy and warmth for hours.

I can safely say this has been one of the most inspiring weeks yet. All this good energy will be put into good use, because it's almost time to record our new album. The songs are written, the studio is almost finished and our spirits are high. We have 16 songs to choose from and I guess about 12 will make the album. I will keep you all posted.

Please note that coming Saturday the 13th of June we will play our last Agua show at De Groene Engel in Oss, the Netherlands, before we lock ourselves up in our studio. We are looking FW to see everybody again and we'll have a good party indeed. To us this night will be kinda special, since we played all most non-stop since the release of Air and Pure Air. We'll be back on stage in the fall, but I hope you all come to join this festive show so we can say goodbye and wish you a good summer. Indie band WOOST will also be joining us on stage. They are one of my fave bands in Holland. Doors open at 8.30 PM.

Would you like to keep track of our adventures via our weekly video-dairy? Go to aguadeannique.com, click on the Agua VIP Area banner and become a member. I'm very proud of the number of die-hards that have already joined! Thank you so very much for supporting me and my band. This week you can see all about my days in Canada."

Check out more photos at this location.