On the road in Haarlem (...with Gerhardt, pt. 4)

Today was going to be a grand day. It’s rare for me to wake up in the sudden and direct manner I woke up this morning. Usually it takes me a while to get clearheaded and focused; today I was out of my bed within minutes of leaving my silent, dreamless slumbers. The night before had been great: A friend of mine, Marijn -a witty, tight-bodied art student- got in touch with me asking if she could come over to hang out; she brought Viola, another cool girl that I've known for years. Both of them never came 'round my house when I lived in Amsterdam. In Utrecht it was all done and dusted within two weeks of my arrival Together with my roommate Prettyboy we hung around my room drinking beer and trading stories while digging Trentemøller’s latest collection of remixes. In the other room, Otto tuned in to watch a live TV-show that featured two guys eating tiny beats of eachother to discover the taste of a Humanbeing. They say most unknown meat tastes of chicken; I made a joke about pussy. It was the first good night of entertaining people at my house. I was still in a good mood from these proceedings, despite the nauseating smell of cigaret butts and empty beer cans lying around the room. After a shower and finishing a stack of dirty dishes-to-be-washed Prettyboy and me drove on the train to meet our beloved Bandleader, whom Prettyboy was meeting to discuss plans for a recording session early next year. I was tagging along for the ride. We drank coffee in the old fashioned student café near Amsterdam’s central station. I would go off in a short while and meet them later in Haarlem, where we were supposed to do a charity gig. It’s the season for playing music without getting paid. I guess it’s a karmathing. I took off for the station as I had errands to run in Haarlem before we played. Got an attitude from the lady at the public toilets on the platform. I was feeling a lot of kindness today and let it slide; there was a lot of suspicion in me that she had plenty to be complaining about. Snapping at me was probably the least of her outlets. In Haarlem I throdded around carrying my heavy bassman’s gear, and more too. It slowed me down and I arrived at my meeting with the boys from Suburban Records half-an-hour late. My apologies were accepted and I met some people; we sat around the conference table in a jolly pre-holiday mood and talked shop. Some of them I met previously at journo gatherings or other public events; we traded some experiences from the field. They were down with what business I had the offer, which caused me to like them even more. It’s funny how the music industry works; sometimes it’s hard to stay positive when somuch shit is being haggled over, then the next moment you’re meeting these great sincere people and you’re utterly happy digging the scene as I do. After that I sat in the Grand Square of Haarlem in a brasserie between the ancient Church and the equally ancient Townhouse. I worked a little, made a few phonecalls and ate a old cheese sandwich that was expensive but worth the expenditure. It was five-ish, and my friends and bandmates walked up from the station to meet me. After an early dinner (I ate nothing, as I had just finished my late lunch) we played together for the first time in five weeks in the hapsnap manner of an improvised acoustic session in a weird glass truck. It was over before we knew it. Unsure of our performance and a little frazzled -at least on my end- we went our seperate ways - Prettyboy back to our mansion, bandleader Gerhardt to his woman in the North. To the movies. I ended up in a little bistro in an alley from the square we played to have some dinner myself and read up on some Original Scrolls from mr. Kerouac. He’s with me on most of my travels of late, and I’m making good headway. I wonder when I’ll be ready to get to BOOK TWO: Patronaat in Haarlem is one of my favorite venues in The Netherlands. It has a down to earth appeal while maintaining a high level of technical and programmatic quality - not counting the shit that goes on in the dreaded ‘main hall’; the café and small hall are nice enough. Tonight a try out of Bombay Show Pig was my destination. In my ever relentless scramble to the finish line for a project on my Day Job, I was eager to check out if their new material was up to the standards I was aiming at. Oddly enough, there we quite a few familiar cats and kittens about. There was a young guy Jens, who did a lot of volunteer work on Popronde; The angry jew chef Weirdbeard from Harlem, NY, who puts on crazy obscure music whenever he gets the chance; a couple of Gerhardt inner-circlers from Alkmaar who came down to dig the music; the esteemed Dazzled Kid and mr. Collignon, among the topranking Dutch artists, who came out to support their friends. It was a enthusiastic bunch, Dazzled Kid rocking out introvertly while standing on a chair in an effort not to miss a second of the on-stage performance, mr. Collignon all smiles and jovial manner. Meanwhile, Bombay Show Pig tried out. The act comprises of two brunettes (M/F), real musician cats with a style all their own and a knack for wisecrack jokes and other witty remarks of sorts. I enjoy hanging out with them as much as I dig their music. It’s good stuff, fresh, crafty, contemporary; and they pull it off with great energy. I talk to their manager, who’s apparently a friendly dude with a good amount of interest for my New Deal and Great Business Opportunities. While I’d rather just hang out and bum cigarettes, I know I’ve come here for some hustlin’. I take to my job. Before I know it midnight is around the corner and soon it won’t be the 3 days before Christmas anymore. My goodbyes are quick and clean, no reason to get smoochie tonight. I hurry to the station, a train is on the platform, rushing off into the night with a day that’s eager to start in precious little time. No reason to get excited, just in time to get my affairs settled and rest while I can before the alarm clock signals the next turn of events.

Le Guess Who? Live Review

Zola Jesus / photograph by Erik Luyten

Le Guess Who? is without doubt one of the finest festivals for (alternative) music discovery in the Netherlands. Held in practically all relevant Utrecht venues (Tivoli Oudegracht, De Helling, Ekko, ACU, RASA, dB's a.o.), Le Guess Who? puts a firm focus on culthero's, underground talent and adventurous audiences.

This year's line-up featured the first ever performance of Panda Bear in the Netherlands, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Bill Callahan, Low, Gang Gang Dance, Zomby, SUUNS, Other Lives, Akron/Family, Okkervil River, Shabazz Palaces, Zola Jesus (see photo) and John Maus to name a few eyecatchers. But the idea is to look for new talent, of which we found plenty.

I was on hand for OOR magazine on Friday and Saturday to witness the underground bliss.

SUUNS was probably my overall favorite. Check out a session with them HERE

Check out the reviews (in Dutch) for Friday and Saturday

BAMM's Global Scene: Amsterdam, Ep. 1

For the past months my colleagues and I over at BAMM.tv have been working hard on the Amsterdam chapter of BAMM's Global Scene, a documentary series that takes an in-depth but concise look at various musical hotspots on the planet. BAMM.tv sets out to speak to the musicans, the promoters, the organisers, the fans, the people sustaining the various scenes around the world. Compiling unique interviews, discussion and live performances Global Scene offers the viewer a series of captivating snapshots of musical hotspots around the planet. Global Scene talks about cultural diversity, cool venues, best practices and developing musical genres (and their fusion), but also about the history, politics and the hardships of earning a living in a fast-paced creative industry.

For this documentary, yours truly participated as a co-producer and performed some 25 interviews with various 'captains of industry' in the field of music. Check out the list below for a quick overview of the talking heads. Also, most of the kudo's should should actually go to:

- Audio/video/post-pro masterminds, Sarah Levitt and Daniela Paes Leão;
- Technical supervisor and guru Jason Hall
- "Office Buddha" Wirjo Hardjono (producer and photographer)
- Cobie Ivens for her help with the locations for our shoots
- Nicholas Hansen for making it all possible!

So, here it is: our first episode of Global Scene. Below that, the list of interviewees


INTERVIEWEES
Bear Damen (@beardamen, NON Records, DJ/producer)
Tijs van Liemt (@tijsv 3FM Serious Talent)
Chris Walraven (@chriswalraven, 3voor12, Radio Mortale)
Jasper van Vugt (@jvanvugt journalist voor o.a. OOR)
Marco Muhring (@marco_KAAS blogger, o.a. Kicking The Habit)
Pien Feith (@pienfeith artiest)
Case Mayfield (@casemayfield singer-songwriter)
Gerhardt Heusinkveld (@gerhardtmusic o.a. Gerhardt, Beans & Fatback)
Melle Kromhout (@mellekromhout lecturer on popmusic at University of Amsterdam)
Mark Coleman (booker, promoter MixTup Online)
Lars Kelpin (@LarsKelpin_GRAP GRAP foundation)
Eyal van der Reep (@evdreep journalist and promoter)
Juha van 't Zelfde (@juhavantzelfde Viral Radio)
Ferry Roseboom (@frrr Excelsior Recordings)
Ronald van Holst (@ro_halfhide Amsterdam Songwriters Guild)
Isis van der Wel (DJ, producer and official Nightlife Ambassador for the city of Amsterdam)
Robert Meijerink (promoter o.a. Doornroosje, De Affaire en Eurosonic-Noorderslag o.a.)
Richard Zijlma (Amsterdam Dance Event)
Benjamin Herman (@benjaminherman jazz-legend, o.a. New Cool Collective)
Bjorn Ottenheim en Daan Schinkel (zZz, LightLight)
Lake Montgomery (journalist & singer-songwriter)
Mihail Ivanov (jazzmusician, o.a. Blazin' Quartet)
Henk Kanning (@henkkanning former DJ @ KinkFM, now producer 3voor12radio)
Rick Treffers (Live In The Living & singer-songwriter)

On the road with Gerhardt pt. 3

Hey everybody,

Just a short word on the last gig of the tour with that 2 weeks ago... yes I know it's a bit late. For me it's been kind of "out of the frying pan, into the fire", but that's another story. In the meantime we've also had some AMAZING NEWS:

WE'RE PLAYING EUROSONIC-NOORDERSLAG!?!!


First of all, whoever feels like reading someone else's thoughts on all things Popronde, Gerhardt wrote a beautiful piece on the Popronde blog

For now, we've wrapped up our tour with Gerhardt in Eindhoven playing the final stage of the Popronde Festival Tour. It was one to remember for several reasons:

1. Eindhoven is my hometown, and as such it always feels a bit special despite running from it at age 18. Utrecht and Amsterdam where I've spent most of my days since then have a special place in my heart but nothing like Eindhoven.

2. The end of the tour. We've played about 30 shows in under 3 months, with a new member in our midst (guitarist Bernard) and a batch of new songs to work out. We were blessed with a lot of great audiences, and have improved considerably as a band and crew. I'm relieved to have come out alive at the other end, but what an experience it has been! We've truly been on the road, visiting many places in The Netherlands I've hardly ever been before.

BTW, we discovered a video from our first Popronde performance in Sid 'n Liv in Nijmegen. Watch Fake Roman Empire below



3. A scramble over drum gear. Our drummer Otto is not one to drop the ball under any circumstance. He's been our logistical brains for most of the tour, but in this case forgot about various pieces of drumkit somehow. So we found ourselves in a scramble over drum-rugs, -seats etcetera. Luckily we managed to work it out just in time.

4. Gerhardt's big trip. Gerhardt had another gig until 22.00 (10 pm), playing with Beans & Fatback in Drachten, Friesland some 234 km (145 miles) up north from Eindhoven. Needless to say he invested a lot to do this final show of the tour. Despite being a little worn out upon arrival, G buckled up and played a great show.

5. The Gig itself was great. Being one of the last acts to play we had a full room from start to finish, compiling Popronde-staff, press, fans, friends and family. Great vibes all around. Very cool ! My mother was on hand (again, thank you mom!) to shoot a few video's. Check out Fire Walk, Alaska and Dig Out Your Soul below.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who came and sung and danced to our 'kekke' tunes the last few months. Much appreciated!

How to grind Coldplay to a bloody pulp

In another edition of the BAMM Argument series, me and my arch-nemesis Chris Davies take opposite sides discussing the new Coldplay album, Mylo Xyloto.

"I just can’t ignore my inner teen mourning over guys who used to be such awe-inspiring craftsmen of pop-rock gems."

Check out the full article HERE

On the road with Gerhardt pt. 2

This is me recovering some of the alcohol-soaked, blurry memories from the past couple weeks of touring... a continuing series of weird journeys.

So, after two weeks that were slightly less abou travelling and music and a little more about alcohol-intake, reading Hemingway and getting a case of the autumn blues, it was back on the road for me and the gang. We picked up our feet to do the usual things, making stupid jokes on the bus and gas-station intermezzos for the most part. The gigs sometimes feel like nothing more than short breaks inbetween endless sessions of tall stories and drinking stale beer from a can. Meanwhile we're getting better and better at mucking up the touring van.

ENSCHEDE

Our first date was at a place called Fellini's in Enschede for Popronde. In fact, all the gigs were Popronde's now, which meant that we'd just had to do one show a day. This makes life a LOT easier. Upon arrival in the far east of the Netherlands, we had the following things going on:

- Fellini turns out to be kind of a posh club that does both food and dancing. Usually, that's not where we find our best audiences.
- It would be my birthday right there on stage. At first it was something I was looking forward to, but my birthday did not turn out the way I wanted it to.
- Because of some dumb mistake of my own, I had misplaced my bass amp, so had to play with whatever was available. Thankfully the PA at Fellini's was pretty good and the in-house technician saved the day.

Despite sounding like a set-up for a big clusterf•ck, the gig was actually pretty good. We drew a small crowd who were listening intently in a very nice setting with great lighting and a cool 50's New York scene on wallpaper along the side of the room. Festivalinfo came along and shot a few pictures. Check them out HERE

Gerhardt + some dude in the background, rocking out.

We had the day off the next day. I spent my birthday in a foul mood for most of the day... I won't bore you with it...

AMERSFOORT

Saturday saw our little gang reconvene for a gig in Amersfoort. I already knew from various account that Popronde Amersfoort was a pretty wild affair, the second largest of them all. And sure enough, the city was out in force. The great atmosphere was courtesy in part of an Oktoberfest celebration going on, drawing all kinds of overdressed drunks to the pubs that were housing the Popronde on the same night. It sounds worse than it was though, Het Nonnetje (The Little Nun), the café we played was packed to the brim with enthusiastic people and we had them on their feet for the entire gig. We also got to make a cameo-appearance in fellow Popronde traveller's The Dance's vid-blog of the night.



TILBURG

A week later, we had a spectacular 3-day stint on the Popronde in Tilburg, Venlo and Den Haag. Tilburg is known for having a huge student population, and a respected educational instution called De Rockacademie. It's the closest thing to a School Of Rock one can find in the Netherlands. It's also the place where Gerhardt took part of his education from. Plus: the local festival-programmer is a friend. Think that's a lead up to a great concert experience? Think again. The atmosphere all across town wasn't great, but we played a decent show. This is a good thing: if you want to be a professional musician you have to be able to cut through all the white noise around you and play through your strengths. It's one of the prime things I've picked up from playing Popronde: Play on stoically, and do it with a smile, whatever the situation. People will always like you better for it.

3VOOR12/Tilburg wrote a review of the concert, which wasn't completely positive but more than fair enough. Check it HERE (in dutch)

Gerhardt regularly mentions Jack Black and School Of Rock as one
of his main sources of inspiration...

Our guitaristic genius Bernard fixed us up with accomodation at a friend's house near Tilburg for the weekend. She proved more than her money's worth, acting as our driver for 2 days, fixing our breakfast and supplying us with some very efficient strong liquor. Lisanne truly is a gift from above, if I was to believe there is such a place as 'the above'. But the most beautiful thing about it was, that she put a little feminine touch in the mix, while being completely unbothered with our horrible masculine bandvan-banter OR us thrashing her student dorm for two nights in a row. She has certainly won my respect over the weekend.

Lisanne at the wheel. Picture by Gerhardt.

VENLO

For those of you that don't know: Venlo is the residency of The Netherlands' most infamous politician Geert Wilders. As such, most people (not counting people who tend to the political rigt wing) perceive it to be the closest thing to hell you can find in the Netherlands. If so, than hell is pretty kind and welcoming embrace. There's a very charming historic city-centre, with nicely lit squares and monumental buildings. We played at a café called De Blauwe Trap, who were very nice to us and provided a great soundsystem and dito engineer. We arrived well in time and had a nice long soundcheck. There was some consternation over equipment that had gone missing the night before but this was quickly resolved as it turned out our fellow Popronde/Serious Talent buddies Capeman found our gear in Tilburg and kindly took it with them the next day.

N.B.: As it turns out, all bands have the same sense of humor. Even worse: it seems that an entire generation can replay and relive entire episodes of Family Guy and/or South Park from memory. It's scary, man. I realised this when Darko of Capeman welcomed me a bit like this:



As a result of all these relaxing factors, we played a good, stress-free, fun gig, despite still nursing a serious hangover from the night before. Among the crowd were also a few dignitaries of the local popscene, whom appeared to like what we did. Hopefully we've sown the seeds for a strong crop so we can harvest during the festival season next year.

DEN HAAG

So, for once I had the leverage. I went to bed early and came out a lot clearer because of it. We said our goodbyes to Lisanne, left her a shitload of forgotten dirty clothes, and got on our way to our last gig. Coming in way ahead of schedule, there was some time to muck about, check emails and talk to Katía, a very nice singer-songwriter also touring the Popronde. She was playing the coffee company where I was weeding through piles of unanswered e-mails. Again, typical touring man's peril.

Den Haag was another night to remember. We had some problems finetuning our sound during soundcheck, but rocked the stage regardless. It was good to see that we are getting to a point where we are utterly untouched by any internal or circumstancial piss-ups and we can just go about performing. The crowd where a little reserved at first, but loosened up soon enough. A few girls were dancing frontstage, which will always brighten our day no matter how indifferent we get being rockstars and all (promise!). Afterwards, we hung out with Amarins & Le Gatte Negre for a bit who were on after us, but couldn't catch their performance as we had to get on our way home. This is another lesson learned: you don't see much of the festival if you're part of the line-up. A big contrast to years before, when I saw a lot of the acts that played.

3VOOR12/Den Haag was there as well and wrote some very kind words you can read right HERE (in dutch).

CONCLUSION

As we reach the end of our fall tour, it's just been one life experience after the other. This has been my first tour of this volume and longitude, and a first taste of what's it's like to be a professional(ish) musician. I know the other guys have had plenty of experience like this, but I'm still finding my way and paying my dues, or so it seems.

Meanwhile, Gerhardt himself has some interesting thoughts of his own on the matter. You can read them at the Popronde blog, which is located HERE

All I can thing about now is playing our final show of the tour in Eindhoven. What will happen in the future is still up in the air. Despite some very cool and very serious plans, it will come down to Lady Luck to guide us through to the endgame. What that endgame will be? I'm sure I don't know.

Triggerfinger (live) review on OOR.nl

Another one for the history books... Belgium's hardrocking trio Triggerfinger sold out Melkweg The Max for an epic 3-day bender this week. Yours truly was on site to witness the madness for OOR.nl. The AWESOME pics that accompany the article were made by the lovely Sanne Glasbergen. A real talent as far as I can tell.

Check out the review (in Dutch) HERE.

photo by Sanne Glasbergen

Time-Space Confusion

Confusion was upon me once again when I realised I must be lost in the time-space continuüm somehow. All of a sudden we're knee-deep in November, the world's population is at 7 billion souls, political and scientific malpractice are suddenly a public matter (instead of hiding in the backrooms of society). But even though it's all out in the open now, it feels like we've shed a little too much light on the matter, like an over-exposed lens. It remains a little bit of a lyric by Tom Smith of Editors (ill-reputed I know, but their first album was great):

Look at us through the lens of a camera
Does it remove all of our pain?
If we run, they'll look in the back room
where we hide all of our secrets

With one big swoop (ta-dah!) we've uncovered some of the rotten intestines of human behaviour. Can't say I didn't see it coming at all, but admittedly it turned out to be more depressing than I would've guessed.

Meanwhile, it just feels like I've been missing out on all these events as they developed. As if they just appeared out of thin air. In the blink of an eye I've turned 24, we're cheating with daylight savings time and all that again. Somehow I've landed on page two-hundred-something of a book I never started to read. I just fell right in the middle of it.

So what the fuck is going on here? How did we get in such a weird mess?

Gekkenhuis!

Right, so everybody knows the Amsterdam electronic scene is great. It's also pretty lame, and getting flatter and dumber by the minute while maintaining a sense of cool that I can't really subscribe to. Thankfully, there are some grungy dudes from the suburbs who have a solution for your hipster-allergy and just BANG with a capital B (also know as the B for Bass, Beats, Brownies and Interactive Installations)


This saturday, november 5th my dear friends over at Gekkenhuis are re-launching their precious event in Amsterdam at the under-appreciated but very awesome VLLA venue.

FOR ALL INFORMATION, CHECK OUT THE FACEBOOK EVENT

It's going to be a full-on 12-hour festival with lots of music, great food, side-events and interactive installations.

The very talented mr. Guiseppe De Bruijn aka Zep aka ReuzeReuze made a lovely promo-mix for the event.

ReuzeReuze - GEKKENHUIS promo by gekkenhuis

Check out the time-table below, with assorted links.

17:30 - 19:00 Inofaith (soundtracky bass-goodness)
19:00 - 21:00 Martin Hooke (wonky beats and DIY beeps)
21:00 - 22:00 Julien Mier (LIVE - eclectic with a dubstep base and smarty pants filling)
22:00 - 23:00 erwtenpeller - War of the worlds (LIVE dubstep MADNESS)
23:00 - 01:00 ReuzeReuze & MegaBonk (random heroes of the LOUD kind)
01:00 - 03:oo T-Mus (happy mash-up kid)

&

Adriaan de Jongh - Fingle (http://fingleforipad.com/)
Teun Hermsen - Foto-exposition on stranded asylum seekers in Italy
Foploncu (www.foploncu.nl)
Marcus Spaapen - Interactive installation
Gekkenhuis' reading hour

Polemics for everybody!

For all you former debate-team enthusiasts and music lovers alike: Here's the first episode of a little polemic I'm working on in collaboration with fellow BAMMster Christopher Davies from London for the blog. First one's about the new Justice album Audio, Video, Disco which has lead to a large variety of critical response good and bad.

Me: "In a classic showcase of ‘no guts no glory’, the Parisian duo dig knee-deep into 70’s hardrock while adopting a more subtle, songlike approach for their second album."

'Mister Conservative Music Critic 2011', Chris D: "The whole record is deeply in thrall to the keyboard-wielding electro-epic forefathers of the late 70s – but it doesn’t do anything else with the sound"

Read all about it at the BAMM.tv Blog

Trendy?

Some peer-to-peer reviewing to feast your eyes on. Dress, the long-running Amsterdam indieband I've been partaking in for the last year or so got a very nice review by Incendiary Mag's very own Richard Foster.

"In fact Dress, (and maybe these unprepossessing Bollenstreekers don’t know this), with their widescreen soundscapes and tales of agro-industrial pyscho/socio dramas sound very trendy indeed"

Read more about it right HERE

Thanks to Corno and all at Next To Jaap studio for all their kind attention and welcome. Very much appreciated.

Dress (photo by Joni Spaan)

Life is imitating art

I've been reading lately. It's something I haven't done for a long while and then I got back into it somehow. It may have something to do with my aversion to the academical in recent years where they force you to feed on information you may not be looking to digest. Or perhaps it's my ongoing digital romance, not taking any time off from my computer than to sleep, fuck or make (analog) music. There is no way I can state here that I've broken up with my computer, but after a little re-evaluation of what my brain really feels like taking on, things are more in perspective. It goes for gastronomy, social contacts, wandering about the city but most certainly also for my daily dose of literature.

So, in a way you could say the subtitle of this chapter could be Philistine Reads A Book. It wouldn't be far off. But there's more going on here. Maybe I forgot how books change your perception of the world around you, or maybe after such a long absence one is more susceptible to the influence of the written word. But it seemed my environment changes with every book I read. As if my books are not only windows to other worlds, but as if they transpose themselves to my actual situation. Reading a Tom Waits biography, I suddenly find myself among all kinds of strange cats wherever I go. Even more poignant, reading a collection of Hemingway stories one day and standing 20 feet from a European Buffalo the next. Is it a trick of the brain? Most probably. But the bull was there, in National Parc Zuid-Kennemerland.

I could see the contour of the arena, the sand beneath my feet, my coat becoming full of golden embroideries and tassles, with the cold steel in my hand. And in the same instance my cloths turn kaki, I find a carrabine in my hands, my eyes peeled on the buffalo, ready to pull the trigger.

Life is imitating art I tell you, and sometimes it's hard to not let it take you for a ride.

Thankfully, my books did not spoke of the Indian Summer going on outside. Still, I was supposed to see Ozark Henry at the Paradiso last week... But I'll write my own songs about the blue skies and the leaves on the trees at the Oudezijds Voorburgwal. For this good mood is all my own and I'll sing when I want to.

Meeting people is easy

In answer to a question that was never asked.

I guess you could say I have pretty schizofrenic livestyle. Getting on the road and do the musician thing one day, then turn it inside out and do the journalism or the wandering bozo routine. Only to change it up the next day and getting some music industry business done. It would appear most of these activities take a large and varied skillset, when in fact it doesn't. Basically what I do is talk to people. There's not a lot more to it. Somehow I've found a sort of impunity when it comes to approaching people that I don't know and shouldn't feel comfortable talking to. Don't know where it comes from, but my total lack of scrupules goes a long way here.

Still, it's not for everyone. Even among peers it can be hard to feel at ease sometimes. And then there's weeding out the bullshit left and right that people tend to sell you on first encounters. I guess most people don't feel secure about who they are so they represent themselves as something bigger. In a way, they are as schizo as my lifestyle, but I don't change my routine. Even if it is different or bigger than my true self, I'll keep it consistent so people don't freak out.

Check out this scene from the amazing motion picture "Coffee And Cigarettes" by Jim Jarmusch featuring Tom Waits and Iggy Pop and you'll know what I mean. Off course with these artists there's a much more complicated scheme going on as they are in fact performers acting in a field of art where authenticity is perceived as the greatest virtue of them all. Maybe I'll get back to that topic sometimes. For now, enjoy the vid.

On the road with Gerhardt pt. 1

This is me recovering some of the alcohol-soaked, blurry memories from the past two months of touring...

So, we've been traversing the plains of The Netherlands in a van to bring our gospel to pop venues, dive bars, festivals, theatres, discotheques and what have you. It's the Gerhardt funky soultrain to pop paradise, and it's catching on. Without the funky soul part, that is.

Starting the tour off with new axeman Bernard on the electric sixstring, everything was fresh and new. Over the course of very few rehearsels we quickly established that we were heading in the right direction. More focused and motivated than ever before, we played our first string of dates. Just one gig in, during a hailstorm at Magneetfestival, my bass malfunctioned and I had to find one to borrow. Great. Luckily we had very little technical fuck-ups, just challenges. We had the honour of opening the Popronde festival in Nijmegen in a very nice little coffee place were we did an impromptu, highly improvisational semi-acoustic thingy. It worked out great! We later repeated it in Den Bosch at a promo-gig at a community college. Somehow when we're not too focused on cues and arrangements, things fall into place. In that sense, Gerhardt's songs seem to work best when you just play them without a lot of fuss about it. Simplicity really ís a virtue, I guess.

(this one's shit soundwise, but fun to watch)

Another impressive notion was the fact we were travelling to all these rather quaint towns I hardly ever been before, such as Zwolle, Maastricht and Deventer. I was rather smitten by so many charming historical city centres. We didn't see much of it though, as more often than not we were playing several gigs a day just to cover our costs. So my most vivid memories touring are from the van and the gas stations we frequently visit just to stuff our faces with whatever's available (the big ass meatballs coming back from Rotterdam deserve special mention here). I'm usually not the type for spending any lenght of time with people stuck in the same room. Thankfully thankfully I'm surrounded by hilariously unfunny jack-offs in this band, and we get along quite well.

In the last few weeks we had the pleasure of playing at the NS Tryout Festival, organised by the Dutch railways as a polite thank you to their customers for continuing to keep up with them (at least, I reckon this must be the case). As it turns out, it was incredibly well organised, and they were very keen on the time schedule (oh, the irony...). Despite the sometimes challenging acoustics in the room, we managed to pull it off quite well. Especially our gigs at the trainstation in Arnhem were a joy, selling and signing over 20 cd's on the first day and ending up late for our second gig of the evening because of it (it's a hard knock life, yes it is...). Lastly, I have to mention the fun time we had in Gerhardt's second home of Hoorn playing at the Pop @ Het Park festival in the local theatre. They've got an interesting little scene going on there, with Tim Knol and Beans & Fatback (Gerhardt's 'other band')

my mother made this one... big fan.

(I actually forgot to mention... we were on TV too! Quite a memorable nighttime thing, playing to people who were trying to break the world record watching TV)

As it is, we've had some 20+ gigs under our belts in 7 weeks. Definitely a crazy amount in such a short time, but I must admit we're faring pretty well. People seem to like the energy that we're emanating from the stage, and we're honing the songs with every performance. Now, we're having a short break before returning to the road for our last string of Popronde dates. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back on stage with these guys, and playing some of the new songs we've been working on...

New Reviews!

Hello everyone,

sorry for being so absent recently, but I'm reviving the blog shortly. For now, there's a few new reviews I want to share with you.

Signe Tollefsen - Hayes


"... Hayes makes for an exciting listen that may take some getting used to for the long-time fans, but is well worth the time invested."

read all about it on the BAMM.tv blog:

http://blog.bamm.tv/2011/10/03/bammsterdam-review-signe-tollefsen-hayes/

Awkward I - Everything On Wheels


"... Sophomore release “Everything On Wheels” does nothing to discard Awkward I’s wayward persona and bleak world view, but does so in a grander, more extravert manner."

check it out:

http://blog.bamm.tv/2011/10/07/bammsterdam-review-awkward-i-everything-on-wheels/

dEUS - Keep You Close


"...one of their most cohesive efforts, with very clear artistic outlining from start to finish"

badaboom:

http://blog.bamm.tv/2011/10/17/bammsterdam-review-deus-keep-you-close/

also, check out this very nice EPK on their latest album.



COMING UP:
- more reviews
- stories from the road with Gerhardt
- attempts at sharing an opinion on current (music) affairs

Swans live review for OOR Magazine

Sometimes I like to accept a (live) review opportunity just to get to know something new, broaden my horizons and delve in the deep end of the great unknown.

As I was returning to work after minor surgery a band called Swans caught my interest, and decided to check out what they were all about. What followed was the discovery of a very enjoyable comeback album My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (2010) from a band that has been around since the early eighties. Their music, best described as a mix of drones, noize, early stonerrock, murder ballads and avant-garde jazz impro, definitely hit the mark, as did their concert at Melkweg last wednesday. It was LOUD, too. A night to remember.

The resulting review really soared from my fingers onto the screen in under an hour. I'm quite pleased with it. Read all about the concert HERE (in Dutch)

Here's a nice shot of frontman Michael Gira in full-blown ecstacy, courtesy of photographer Luuk Denekamp (@lUUk1963)

Tame Impala Live Review for OOR.nl

Another Live review for my friends at OOR (in Dutch)

Het Australische Tame Impala heeft het goed voor elkaar. Binnen een jaar van het piepkleine Charlie-podium op Lowlands, via een centrale plek op London Calling naar een uitverkochte Tivoli Oudegracht. Wie had dat gedacht? De Tivoli zelf in elk geval niet, die boekte deze exclusieve show van de psych-rockers uit Perth in eerste instantie in dependance De Helling. Toch is het succes van Tame Impala niet echt verrassend te noemen. Het debuutalbum Innerspeaker werd alom bejubeld als een van de beste platen van 2010.

Read more over at OOR website

Tame Impala's Kevin Parker (photo by Remco Brinkhuis)

New YX - Slow Boy EP

Young and reckless. It's just two characteristics that seem to fit well with Amsterdam quartet New YX. They're loud, slightly abrasive and compress a truckload of energy into their live performances. It's artpunk meets shoegaze, coming from the heart of the Amsterdam arty-farty squatter scene. As such, you could say they're barely legal. With their second release, they graduate from the demostage of their musical career and plummet themselves into the higher echelons of the Dutch underground scene. This is reïnforced by the fact that their second EP release, Slow Boy, is released by underground label deluxe Subroutine Records as a 12" vinyl record. Nothing quite says you mean business like a vinyl release. So far, so good.

New YX - Slow Boy cover art

A common problem with explosive live bands is their apparent inability to transpose their energy onto the format of a recording. they can sound either dull and clean or uneven and overly noizy. Either way it results in records that are, well, rubbish. New YX avoided this by hiring the right people for the job. Corno Zwetsloot and Zlaya Hadzich (recording engineer and producer respectively) are two indie-industry dinosaurs. They were able to put the right mould on the band's sound, striking the right balance between fuzz and clarity, space and compression. guitarist Liú Mottes' heavy duty guitarwork is sharp and gritty, a nice contrast to Lili Bos' crisp vocals.

It's not all pretty though. New YX is certainly doing fine in the riff department, but the lack of a real songwriter can't be overlooked. For the most part, these tracks carry themselves well, such as the brooding opening track "Tiny Villains" and violent closer "Crystal Math". These tracks are loaded with friction, compressed energy and drive. In between they're much less focused: "Jersey Shore" sounds sluggish and aimless, while title track "Slow Boy" is too fragmented to stick. These songs may hold up well live when powered by the band's unbridled energy, but on record they get lost in transition.

In the end, it's hard not to sympathise with bands such as New YX. Their enthusiasm and energy are a welcome change from the distant cool applied by so many hipster musicians. There's no lack of ideas on this record. Slow Boy is another big step forward for a band coming into it's own. There's still some baby fat to be trimmed, but with a little more structure to their madness they could come a long way. Plenty of potential to be found here.

Listen to New YX - Slow Boy EP on Bandcamp
New YX on Facebook
Subroutine website

Jenny Hval - Viscera

The discovery of obscure talent is always a joyous occasion, and this first encounter with Norwegian singer-composer Jenny Hval is no different. History tells us that this inaugural release is the product of a lengthy career in the Norwegian underground, going back to goth-bands and two releases under a different monniker that didn’t quite make it to the surface. Whether a progressive development or just a ongoing frustration, Jenny Hval and her band sound mature, cohesive and balanced on this first album. At least, to experienced listeners. Hval’s music is far from a walk in the park.

Viscera cover art

The blonde Helsinki-based pixie creates a daunting brand of avant-garde indiefolk on her debut-album Viscera, constantly hugging the wastelands between structure and free form. She has an accute control of her voice, resulting in some impressive vocal feats. Still, the emotive quality remains firmly in the limelight, as does her -quite explicit- lyrical content. For Hval there seem to be no taboos on sexuality. But rather than taking a distant, rational perspective, as if to underplay its impact, she wraps her content in a bizarre fairytale soundtrack. It's Alice in Wonderland esthetics meets sexual liberation anno 2011.



Her songs seem to slowly imprint its structure into the wacky lyrical content. In some instances the song keeps a respectable distance from the experiment. With tracks that reach the seven minute mark more often than not, she asks a lot from one's attention span. In “Blood Fight”, however, she uses song-structure to great effect without losing Hval’s hypnotic, hymnal quality. The bond between her feminine, esthetic outings and musical craftsmanship is strong here. It’s daunting and moving, keeping the listener engaged without sharing too many of its secrets upfront. In “Portrait of the young girl as an artist” she lets the song explode into a Cranberries-like, 90‘s rock anthem. It just goes to show her versatilaty: there are plenty of surprising turns on Viscera.

Jenny Hval

It should be clear that Jenny Hval is not an easygoing artist: Viscera is daunting material both musically and lyrically. But just when the album is about to derail into nomansland, her songs take form, ending in climaxes that one is able to bear with. At least until a certain degree. Like Björk, Thus:Owls and/or Sigúr Ros, one needs to adapt to the given material. But if you’re up to the challenge, Jenny Hval’s reveals a magical affection. Whether it be a fairytale erotica soundtrack or a 'free-folk' (free-jazz mechanics applied to folk sonorities) novelty: Viscera is definitely one of the more bold, enticing records coming from Scandinavia this year. Acquired taste, yes, but great taste.

I Am Oak - Oasem review for BAMM.tv Blog

Yep, another one in the bag! This time I Am Oak gets a thumbs up for his new record Oasem!

Check it out:

http://blog.bamm.tv/2011/05/18/bammsterdam-review-i-am-oak-oasem/

Walk The Line festival review for OOR Magazine

Hello everybody,

Had a well-spent weekend in The Hague covering Walk The Line Festival (@wtlfestival) for OOR Magazine (@oor). A festival with ups and downs: the first day was a bit disappointing, despite the best efforts of London-based indierockers The Boxer Rebellion, the unruly The Pigeon Detectives and indiepop kiddo's Little Comets.

Here's the review of day 1 (in Dutch)

Day 2 however, was a complete success: Amazing performances by French weirdo's Gablé, Idiot Glee, Australian's new indie-hope Cloud Control, the amazing indiefolk of Thus:Owls, Erland & The Carnival and much, much more.

Here's the review of day 2 (in Dutch)

To conclude, here's a little (crummy) impression of Thus:Owls shot by a visitor. I'm in love with this band. I really am.

Alamo Race Track album review @ BAMM.tv blog

Another album review for the SF/London/A'dam peeps... -J

When Alamo Race Track released their breakthrough 2nd album Black Cat John Brown (and eponymous hit single) in 2006, its main songwriter and singer Ralph Mulder was immediately recognized for his ability to craft songs like wonderful little miniatures, bereft of any pretence or grand gestures. The crossover doo-wop / indie the Amsterdam quartet put out was playfully arranged and deeply melancholic at the same time, the fusion of which sounded quirky but very familiar....

read more on http://blog.bamm.tv/2011/05/10/bammsterdam-review-alamo-race-track-unicorn-loves-deer/

Introducing... Gerhardt

As time goes by and I delve deeper into my own distorted reflections, sometimes little introductions will be useful. I will keep referring to them as I talk of certain people, places and projects.

It's only right I start with someone who has made quite an impact on my personal life and career of late: Gerhardt, also affectionally known as 'G' or 'Chefke' (chief)

Gerhardt I've known for about two years now. He's a musician from Alkmaar, a city not far from Amsterdam. He spent most of his twenties playing in all kinds of unruly indiebands, such as Skinnerbox and The Realdolls. He's also known as the bloke who plays piano and cowbell with the soul-pop band Beans & Fatback. A few years ago he left his garage-roots and chose the path of the singer-songwriter.

Gerhardt at 'our' release party in Paradiso

I met him through facebook, as he has been an avid explorer of the social web in the time that I've known him. He responded to a call out I made as I was looking for songwriters to play at a spur-of-the-moment party at my friend Hester's old dorm. In the spontaneous, ad-hoc manner I've come to know so well, Gerhardt agreed to come down and play to a small crowd of international students. In the following year and a half, we met on quite a few occassions: he became a fan of the event Pageturner that I host every month, I became a fan of his witty songs and the suprising twists he gave to them every so often. We became quite good friends considering we didn't see eachother very often.

This past januari, Gerhardt released his first single A Brand New Heart, of his first mini-album All Is There. He recorded it in Belgium with Triggerfinger as his studio band, per chance the best rockband in Belgium. Alas their touring schedule made it impossible to play Gerhardt's liveshows. So he was looking for musicians to play his new 'band songs' live. I just came back from a hiatus as a musician, and somehow managed to talk myself into the band without Gerhardt even hearing me play. In a matter of weeks a band was formed, material was rehearsed and a string of dates were played, including many radio and television appearances and a soldout release-show at Paradiso in Amsterdam.

The band: Marjolein, Akim, Gerhardt, Otto, yours truly

In just 7 months I went from an inactive bassplayer to a pretty professional one. We have some huge festival dates coming up, the record has been received very well by the press and I've learned a lot about professional musicianship and 'the bizz'. It's been quite a trip, but it's one I feel has been worth my time and effort so far. It's great to be out playing music to crowds again.

A few weeks ago, we recorded a special for RTV Noord-Holland. Check it out below:



I will regularly be posting updates about the band as they come up. Also, expect some distorted reflections on this whole touring life. It gets pretty crazy sometimes, so it might make for a very interesting read...!

De Staat (Live) Review for OOR Magazine

Another review I did for OOR Magazine. This time I paid a visit to the sold out concert at Melkweg The Max (cap. 1400) of one of the greatest rock bands around in The Netherlands: De Staat. It was a very hot and sweaty night.

Here's the interview:
http://oor.nl/#reviews/concerts/1616/de_staat_is_steengoed_maar_nog_niet_groots

Found a nice live vid from the concert. It's their very cool single Sweatshop, with guest vocals from Kelly, singer for electro outfit The Routines. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Paris, Bruxelles and other stuff - bulletpoint style

So, with Paris behind me and a lot of stuff in front of me, here's my breakdown of the distant past and the immediate future - bulletpoint style.

PARIS

• Met up with my friend Benjamin of Almost Musique, a great French label/agency that works with Patrick Watson, Bon Iver, Thus:Owls, Ane Brun and many others. And a very amicable guy, too. I got lost in the Metro on the way there, but we laughed it off. He showered me in gifts; 13 promotional copies of the artists he's working with right now. I gave him some cd's from my recent projects and a few others I thought would be worth his time. We'll be working together on some dates early september for his protégés Shimmering Stars, a 50's/60's rock 'n roll band. Lots of echo and breathy vocals involved. Like what you hear? Shoot me an e-mail

• Spending time with my dear friend Hester has been a blast! And will be for the next few days. She's been my friend and accomplice in music and arts since high school, working together on numerous occasions and doing a lot of dancing. She was so kind to give me a place to sleep in Paris. Her great strength: getting to know everyone who's even remotely interesting in music, fashion, psychiatry, art. Even in the short time - 6 months - she has spent in Paris, she's become an impressive spider in a metropolitan web. Hester Velthuis, remember the name!

BRUXELLES

• Hester and I travelled back to the Netherlands together, making a stop in Paris to check out our friends Das Pop. We were lucky enough to be on the guestlist for their album presentation in Ancienne Belgique, the first and foremost popvenue in Bruxelles. The show was fantastic, and the new material on The Game held up really well during the concert. It's such a rarity for a band to keep the attention for 90 minutes, but Das Pop makes it look easy.

AMSTERDAM

So, back in Amsterdam, doing a bunch of things. It's gonna be a busy week.

This is where you'll find me:

- tonight (april 19th)
21.00 @ De Nieuwe Anita, another night of free acoustic behind-bar sessions, courtesy of the wonderful Club Cornflakes. Playing are Ro Halfhide, Case Mayfield and European Daughters. There's also massages, haircuts, tarot readings and others surprises available. Always a good place to go on a tuesday night!

- tomorrow (wednesday april 20th)
the awesome The Benelux (NON Records) are supporting Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ Melkweg.

- thursday april 21th:
another Pageturner (#24) at Café Pakhuis Wilhelmina.
Line-up: Spoelstra (weird-ass analog electro), Spilt Milk (melancholic folk with lyrics by dead poets), Jenny Hval (Norwegian pop princess), Cato Fluitsma (girl with trekzak) and poets Markus Haringa and Florian Kullberg. I'll be spinning records and hosting the evening. Come adn join if you feel like a crazy night of caroussel performance from all four corners of the room.

- friday, april 22nd:
The Netherlands' hardest rocking gentlement De Staat are playing @ Melkweg. The unruly garage duo Death Letters will be supporting. I'll be doing the review for OOR

- saturday, april 23rd:
YEEEEHAAAA I'll be playing De Nieuwe Anita downstairs room with my band Dress for the very first time. Our good friend GRAM will also be playing and presenting her new single. You can listen to her new single on her site Come down and enjoy some cocktails with your rock 'n roll.

- sunday, april 24th:
On the road with Gerhardt. We'll be playing a try-out show at Café Swaf in Hoorn. Yes, I know we've already had our release show. We still need the practice, though.

Well, that about wraps up my last week and the next. Lots of bulletpoints, plenty of hyperlinks.
Enjoy the sun!

cheers,

J.

Das Pop - The Game Review for BAMM.tv

Hey everyone,

wrote another review for BAMM.tv! It's the new album by Belgium's pop sweethearts Das Pop (@daspop)

"When Flemish outfit Das Pop made a comeback with their self-titled 3rd album in 2009, it seemed as if they had never left. Das Pop (the record) delivered some of their best cuts of the infectious seventies disco-pop that made them so enjoyable in the first place. Their airy, upbeat energy, mixed with bittersweet undertones and crisp sonorities, feels like it’s been around forever. Yet, the band’s quality songwriting, plus the instantly recognisable voice (and daft stage antics) of singer Bent van Looy make Das Pop one of the top brands in Belgian pop music...

Read more here: http://blog.bamm.tv/2011/04/18/bammsterdam-review-das-pop-the-game/

Paris, pt. 2. - SG mayhem!

So, second day in Paris and I'm behind my laptop writing a blog again. It's official: I múst be a moron!

It's been about 24 hours since I bought my ridiculous Epiphone SG. I've made a picture for y'all to gasp at. Better pics will be on their way.

SG: AC/DC, Zappa and other reasons (not) to buy it

so, not many people that don't like AC/DC a whole lot (-ta Rosie, like myself) actually like the SG. Angus Young pretty much hi-jacked the guitar's street cred. Most people can't see the SG without the ridiculous schoolboy uniform that hangs so loose around Young's scrawny shoulders even today. Young's iconic appearance has made such an impact on rock 'n roll history, Jack Black's character in the 2003 comedy-flick School Of Rock completely mimics Young's appearance, including the SG.

Old man Angus' signature look, including the SG

But there's more to this spiky, fiendish looking axe than Young's silly classic hardrock antics. The much revered avant-garde rock hero (and personal style icon, I must add) Frank Zappa had a fondness for SG guitars. Off course, Zappa is much less of a cartoon character than Young, despite being a remarkable visual icon himself with moustache and goatee. The extraordinary guitarskills of Zappa being channeled through such a characteristic guitar is something I'm very receptive of, as is generally looking like Frank Zappa! It was Zappa who first sparked my interest for SG guitars.

Frank Zappa in his prime.

I didn't think about it too much for a while (I'm primarily a bassplayer, so no need). But since I've started playing some guitar in my band Dress (whom I'll tell you more about some other time), the purchase of a new guitar became a topic in my head again. Around the same time, I was at FabrIQ Festival (as mentioned in yesterday's blogpost), where I met Joe Haege of the experimental Portland indie outfits Tu Fawning and Menomena. I remembered how much I loved his guitar work in both bands (especially his bottleneck stuff), and especially in Menomena he mostly uses... A Gibson SG! Inspiration struck again.

Joe Haege + SG + bottleneck = bliss

Finally, late one night, I was browsing for some Radiohead live vids. Having never seem them perform live, I spend hours working through and analysing various live concerts. Off course, Radiohead is known for carrying around shitloads of gear, including a plethora of guitars. I was checking out THIS AWESOME LIVE PERFORMANCE from 2008 produced by From The Basement. Two songs in I suddenly noticed that soft spoken, weird-looking, daft dancing songwriting genius Thom Yorke was actually playing a mean-sounding Gibson SG on Bodysnatchers, one of my favorites from their before-last album In Rainbows. You can imagine, this totally tipped the scales for me. I had to get one, at some point, when I had a bunch of money to spend.

The trick was: I wanted something special. Not some glossy, candy apple red item, but something a little rougher looking. I found it, in a second hand shop in Rue Douai in downtown Paris, near the Moulin Rouge. This is my brand spanking new, Parisian, natural finish Epiphone SG. It matches the hardwood floors of my friend Hester's appartment:

Paris, pt. 1

Short blog from Paris. I've been here 8 hours and my head is spinning. It all started at the quartier latin, the university quarter of Paris. I paid respect to tradition and started at Place De Vosges, close to the maison Victor Hugo. After that, meeting up with my dear friend and former partner in all things music and dancing, Hester at her job and getting rid of my luggage.

From there on, to Jardin de Luxembourg, another old favorite from my past explorations of this magnificent city. I had coffee and finished an article on Cloud Nothings, the American powerpop group I interviewed for OOR Magazine last february during Festival FabrIQ (review HERE - in dutch). It will be the first article to be published in the actually (hardcopy) magazine. The great leap forward? Not sure. What popped into my head today was that while it really adds to my street cred to be published in an actual magazine, I would be the first one to close it down in favour of online journalism.

I'm meeting my friends Hester and Benjamin in a bit at a place near Montmartre. I decided to go early and wander around. As soon as I exited the subway, I noticed a huge sign saying "Bass center, for everything bass" (or something of a similar notion). Off course, I was intrigued! Like a rat in Hameln I followed the instructions on the sign and walked to Rue Douai. It turns out this is THE music shopping street of Paris. There's specific shops for bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, amps, effects and what not. And every shop is stacked out with gorgeous, sometimes very rare pieces. It was mesmerizing. I went from shop to shop to look at the goodies, and eventually ended up in the most ragged place of them all. There, covered in dust, stood a guitar I had been setting out to buy for a while now. It's an unlacquered, red Epiphone SG with 2 standard humbuckers. It was an occasion, so only 190 euro's. I had to buy it! I feel like such a tool because even though it's a small price to pay, money doesn't come easy. But still, I'm over the moon with it.

YIPPIKAYEE

so there.

Now I'm off meeting my friends at a club called Carmen. It's in the old mansion of famous composer Georges Bizet, who is said to have written the famous opera the club ows its name to right there. Exciting stuff, looking forward to checking it out...

cheers,

J

Eins, Zwei Orchestra review for BAMM.tv

Hey all,

I will be writing some album reviews for BAMM.tv. The first one is the debut-album of Dutch shoegaze collective Eins, Zwei Orchestra, 100 colors. Check out the article HERE

Mindpark - We Will Adapt

To start on a personal note: Mindpark is at this point a fairly anonymous band, unheard of by most. The release of this debut-album (listen HERE) will not be an event to most music-lovers in The Netherlands. To yours truly, it is a highly-anticipated moment. Not only through years of acquaintance, but also through personal involvement as a booking agent and, briefly, as a stand-in bassplayer. A witness to the events that led up to a sudden change of (musical) course, there’s a lot of inside knowledge and bias in the scope of this article. What will follow is an attempt to examine a few of the qualities showcased on We Will Adapt, from the inside.

Hailing from the southern city of Den Bosch, Mindpark have always profiled themselves as leftwing, alternative artists on a quest for pop sensibilities. Their music is riddled with plenty of rhytmic novelties, layered guitars and unexpected stylistic turns. Whenever they fear the music is at a standstill, they switch gears, taking on different influences and directions as they move along. In other words: the music is always happening, the process of growth is never completed. They pre-released 9 tracks that were to become an album in May 2010, leading many to believe that an album was to follow soon. It took them a full year, and only three songs from this pre-release survived to tell the tale.

A noticeable change with earlier live appearances and released tracks is the more acoustic approach, with lighter percussion elements. The rock stomp is kept to a minimum. Vocals have gained weight in the balance, with some excellent vocal harmonies in Box Is Better, one of the more accessible gems on the album. Throughout the album, (main songwriter) and producer Ralph Timmermans maintains a remarkable clarity and transparency, the only exception being progrock-ballad Closer, one of the older songs that made the cut. It comes armed to the teeth with strings and synthpads. It’s a moving song, but doesn’t sit comfortably with the other songs in this collection.



Experiments, such as the frantic guitar-driven tracks Must Be Chemical and Microwaves add the necessary elements of surprise, without turning the album into a sonic wasteland. The trio has adapted, not only to their own predicaments but also to the Listener, a party they’ve come to appreciate over the years. We Will Adapt is not a record made solely for their own pleasure; Mindpark is a band with stories to tell, full of angst and hope, and with a will to affect audiences with bittersweet melodies and heartfelt lyrics. Despite the many adventurous turns - inhospitable to some ears - on this record, there’s an emotive quality to this inaugural Mindpark record that hits the mark. A solid first effort.

Mindpark - We Will Adapt is available for download from 04-15 and in stores 05-21 through Cavalier Music Management and V2.

Blog on OOR 40th birthday for Bamm.tv

I regularly write blogs on current events in the music scene of Northwestern Europe for Bamm.tv. Here's one I did on OOR's 40th birthday party, happening tonight at Paradiso. Looking forward to checking out Alamo Race Track (@alamoracetrack) and Selah Sue (@selahsue). And of course, shaking a lot of hands...

For now, I'm gonna hang out in the sun for a bit while I can.

Here's the link to the article:

Here's the link to the FB event for the party:

Dazzled Kid review @ Melkweg for OOR magazine (in Dutch)

Dazzled Kid at Melkweg (photography: Marcel Poelstra)

Hey y'all,

Here's the link to the review I did for OOR magzine (@OOR) of the Dazzled Kid (@dazzledkid) show at Melkweg last week. Thought I'd put it on here. It's in Dutch, though. I was thinking about translating the whole thing, but that requires a level of discipline I know I can't live up to. So I won't.

http://www.oor.nl/#reviews/concerts/1586/dazzled_kid_is_goed_op_weg