musicXport.nl - Buma Cultuur
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<strong>musicXport</strong>.<strong>nl</strong><br />
34<br />
Rock alert:<br />
De Staat is coming<br />
De Staat (‘The State’) is the most spectacular newcomer<br />
Dutch rock had to offer in 2009. Their debut album, Wait For<br />
Evolution - which started out as a solo project by singer and<br />
songwriter Torre Florim, baffled critics and audiences alike,<br />
and the five-piece from Nijmegen performed for sold-out<br />
clubs all over Holland. “It’s a dream come true”, says Florim.<br />
By Alfred Bos<br />
Last year, The Staat rocked Noorderslag 2009 in spectacular<br />
fashion, garnering rave reviews and generating an avalanche of<br />
word-of-mouth support. It lauched the quintet from Nijmegen right<br />
to the top of the Dutch rock scene; and turned Staat frontman,<br />
singer and principle songwriter Torre Floris into a house-hold name.<br />
So it comes as no surprise that ‘the Dutch rockband of last year’ will<br />
play Noorderslag again for this year’s edition.<br />
MXP: What kind of year was 2009 for De Staat?<br />
Torre Florim: “The weirdest and one of the best years of my life; for all<br />
five of us, I suppose. It started at Noorderslag 2009. Life hasn’t been<br />
the same since. It has turned us into nomads and I quite like that.”<br />
MXP: So what has changed?<br />
“Now my life is centred around making music. Obviously with De<br />
Staat, but in collabaration with outside people as well – producing<br />
bands, writing songs with different partners.”<br />
MXP: You toured the UK in the Fall of 2008, supporting dEUS. How<br />
did that come about?<br />
“In 2008, we played the Lowlands festival. I approached [dEUS frontman]<br />
Tom Barman and gave him a De Staat button and later on a copy of our<br />
album, hoping we could support dEUS at Amsterdam’s Paradiso venue.<br />
To our surprise, they asked us to suppport them on dEUS’ UK tour.”<br />
MXP: 2009 was a very succesful year for the band. How do you<br />
follow-up on that?<br />
“We aim to play more abroad. This year we will be playing the<br />
Glastonbury festival in Engeland. And we will be working on the<br />
second album. We recorded the first one at home. The new album<br />
should top that triple time, I’ll produce it myself. I will not use older<br />
and unrecorded songs, I’ll write new ones. The new album will be<br />
different from the first one.”<br />
MXP: The sound of The Staat stands out from most Dutch and<br />
continental rock bands. Is that a frequently-heard comment?<br />
“It certai<strong>nl</strong>y is. People call our album ‘not Dutch’. I don’t know what<br />
that means. It’s a compliment, I suppose. It means we found a niche,<br />
which is a good thing. ‘Not of this world’ would be even better.”<br />
MXP: Where do you find your inspiration for that ‘not Dutch’ sound?<br />
“People call our music stonerrock, which it isn’t. However, I have<br />
been drawing inspiration from bands and singers that have created<br />
their own niche, like Queens Of The Stone Age, Tom Waits, Howlin’<br />
Wolf and Battles.”<br />
MXP: Your expectations for 2010?<br />
“I have no idea. I hope we will be playing festivals all over the world.<br />
And I want to find a nice place to work on the second album. That’s<br />
my wishlist for now.”<br />
Saturday 16 January @ <strong>Buma</strong> <strong>Cultuur</strong> Zaal, 01:00 - 01:45<br />
www.destaat.net<br />
www.myspace.com/destaat