Dotan Harpenau is a Dutch singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and also a producer. He is the founder of 7Layers which is a group that hosts festivals and other musical events. On his Twitter, he is self-described as: ‘I write and sing songs. Dotan is my real name, yes and I’m not a band.’ But his Twitter account recently went viral after he tweeted about his experience with a young woman who was sitting on the plane next to him.
The 31 year old was sitting next to a girl on the plane when he noticed that she was listening to his album. He tweeted: ‘ok…so I am currently on a plane (hello expensive wifi) and the girl next to me is listening to my album. Every single song.’ He went on to explain that despite listening to his entire album the young woman had no clue that it was Dotan sitting right next to her! Dotan continued his story: ‘it is pretty awkward and nice at the same time. Especially since she just asked me what I do in life.’
The Dutch singer and songwriter decided to be honest (but not totally spill the beans.) He tweeted: ‘so I told her I write music….Still not connecting the dots. I left it there and she continued listening to my music. I realize she might follow me on Twitter.. Well.. hello plane neighbour. Thanks for listening to my music and singing along quietly.’
As his more than 20,000 followers saw this story unfold, they began tweeting him with ideas and suggestions on how he approach his fan. One person by the name of Fadui tweeted: ‘this is the best thread ever! Why don’t you start singing along until she realizes it?’ Another by the name of Jules said: ‘I’m starting to lean towards not telling her and letting her find out through twitter once you land.’
While still on the plane, Dotan and the young woman began to talk. She asked him if he enjoyed live music and whether he wrote in Dutch or English. He tweeted: ‘I answered: ‘I love gigs, nothing beats live music. And that I write in English.’ Dotan went on to ask her where she found the music she was listening to and she replied with ‘I heard it on my favourite tv show. It bring me comfort and peace.’
But it was Helga van Leur’s idea that Dotan decided to go with. She tweeted: ‘leave her a note when you get out of the plane and tell her to read it at home.’ So in order to keep his many followers updated, Dotan tweeted: ‘I didn’t want to ruin this experience or embarass her in an way. It’s about the music and this was actually the biggest compliment ever.’
But the adorable and heartwarming story doesn’t end there. Apparently, the young woman’s name was Alicia, and Dotan had left his contact information with her so that they could stay in contact! Alicia replied by calling her encounter with him an ‘epic fail’ and ‘ignoring all the subtle hints’ he was giving her. In the end, Dotan tweeted: ‘it might sound cliche but these moments motivate me to keep going. Back in the studio tomorrow!’
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