Johannes Luttik, founder and mastermind of Full Moon, dives into his memoirs to bring, for the first time, Full Moon’s story to full view.
Editing: George Rossolatos / PQR-Disques plusqueréel
“In the summer of 1977, Lucas [Amor] and I met for the first time. It was an unexpected happening in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Lucas was playing on his violin, surrounded by a small crowd. As soon as he noticed me, we exchanged greetings, walked for a while, and then I joined him with my guitar. He had an old gypsy violin. I was the proud owner of a lovely Martin guitar. We felt good in each other’s company, and soon after we had dinner at Lucas’ place. We set up Full Moon shortly thereafter, and started performing in and around Amsterdam. Lucas’ father, Fons Jansen, was a famous Dutch singer, piano-player and entertainer. Especially Ruigoord was a very vibrant area. Thanks to him, we managed to book live-venues. Let it be mentioned that before we begun performing as Full Moon, we had a small band of mechanical monkeys playing samba balls, drums and cymbals.
Full Moon early line-up (1976)
Lucas and I owned the same small station car, Renault 4, the same Fender Twin Reverb, two microphones, and two stands. Our performances were straightforward and well-received by audiences. In 1978 we made the Full Moon album which was recorded on equipment that had been left over by the Beach Boys at a studio in Baangruggee during their Dutch tour. We produced 500 copies and launched it with a nice party. Although none of us was into drugs or a heavy drinker, save for an occasional beer here and there, we were having a good time, and even making some money.
Then, in early 1979, I went to India to visit Bhagwan (a famous and controversial public speaker and mystic). This was the end of Full Moon (at least with me on the guitar, as Lucas Amor went on to record one more Full Moon album, in a completely different musical direction to our first one- also released as a private pressing). I recently found out about the passing of Lucas.
While in Poona, India, I received the blessing of Master Osho, and became a Sannyasin. During my 3-month stay in Poona where I had the opportunity to meet various musicians, I was playing guitar ever day. I also performed once in Buddha Hall with the Ceremony of Initiation.
Johannes Luttik (2021)
I discovered in the creative energy field of Master Osho a different guitar tuning method which you can hear in the Divine Dust cd that was recorded with Alphonz Wertwein on tablas. The tuning is D-A-D-A-D-E. Since I like to dig deeper and always return to my own practice, I started playing entirely to my own linking. The next recording featured the female singer Sadhya and was released on the cd entitled Wings of Love. My latest release was with Shruti. This recording was both an adventure and a joy.
Currently, Divine Dust have reformed with renewed energy. Two family members are involved, my nephew Roland on contra-bass, and my cousin Carmen Luttik, on vocals, piano, and, as always, good company! The strings are always ready!”
Johannes Luttik’s post-Full Moon releases:
Mystic Strings
Wings of Love
Shruti
https://shruti21.bandcamp.com/releases
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