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74
Flinke Namen
The hip hop world knows super groups too,
though usually retroactively. Think NWA
or Wu-Tang Clan. The masterfully swinging
Flinke Namen also existed before rapper Sef
and dj The Flexican got individually known,
but it took until this year before the quartet,
also comprising of MC Fit and Murth, dropped
its first real album, a smash hit. Live they’re
already much longer successful: Flinke
Namen didn’t reach the finals of the Grote
Prijs music contest of 2005 for nothing. Now
they finally appear at Noorderslag too, where
all and sundry will see and hear that the age
gap between veteran Murth (also known as
comedian and presenter) and the others
doesn’t cause a generation gap but rather
super stunt work!
Typhoon feat. New Cool Collective
Rappers and bands together, that’s old hat.
From Run-D.M.C. & Aerosmith to Dio & The
Madd, it ain’t no surprise anymore. But a rapper
and a jazz formation, that was unprecedented.
That is, up until 2007, when Dutch-speaking
wordsmith extraordinaire Typhoon and jazz
combo ultra moderne New Cool Collective
got joined up at the Amsterdam Uitmarkt.
Later there was a legendary gig in Paradiso,
an appearance in the tv program Raymann
Is Laat and now there is a real EP from this
special combination, ‘Chocolate’. That should
be celebrated, of course. After the official
presentation in the Milky Way, the next logical
festive location is Noorderslag. Let the party
begin!
Elske DeWall
Right, how do these things come about? You
let your child have piano lessons, hoping to
provide her with a bit of culture. The child likes
it, after piano saxophone and guitar follow, and
eventually she ends up at the Academy for Pop
Culture in Leeuwarden, studying singing. One
teacher sees something special in her, records
a demo with her and sends it to a major label,
that’s already offering her a contract the next
day. And so Elske de Walle became star in
the making Elske DeWall, singer/songwriter of
splendidly soulful pop songs, with influences
from roots, gospel, folk and modern country.
Her debut album, recorded in America, is dying
to be released; her band – which includes her
sister – is likewise dying to conquer Noorderslag
with her.
Benjamin Herman
Ask an average Dutch pop music lover to
name a well-known Dutch jazz musician, and
the chances are big that it will be Benjamin
Herman. No wonder, the Hilversum alto
saxophonist of British descent is and plays
everywhere. Be it as band leader of New Cool
Collective (jazz/soul/latin), as a guest musician
with all from Candy Dulfer to C-Mon & Kypski,
or with his own 4tet, as now at Noorderslag.
Then the music is tighter, funkier and more
progressive, without losing an ounce of jazz.
Moreover, the sharply dressed Herman, of all
the Noorderslag artists probably the one with
the most records under his belt and the most
prizes in the closet, always tightly bears the
dance floor in mind.
Charlene
Caro Emerald
It’s the same with Idols (Dutch version of Pop
Idol) as with the Grote Prijs van Nederland
(biggest Dutch band contest): you don’t have
to win to make a profit of it. And so the star
of 21 year-old Charlene Meulenberg, who last
year had to leave the Idols stage as second
before last, is ever rising. So far her self
composed cocktail mix of pop, soul and R&B,
in which also a pinch of rock AND her past as a
gospel singer resound, has been recorded on
two singles (‘Take Me Away’ and ‘Too Bright’)
and a self-titled debut album, together with
her equally tight and smooth band and
produced by the triumvirate of Dean Tippett,
Bart Suèr and Benny Sings. Sounds like it’s in
the bag, and that’s it live too.
Caro Emerald
New year’s eve is coming, or has just been,
depending on when you read this. A moment
of looking back to the old, with the promise of
the new. A good time to also reflect on Caro
Emerald, a new Dutch star with an irresistibly
seductive but powerful voice, who does
exactly the same with her music. Music that
takes its hat off for the ballroom jazz, tangos
and mambos from the Hollywood of the
forties and fifties, but wrapped in smoky beats
and groovy songs of today. Unlikely catchy
singles like ‘Back It Up’ and ‘A Night Like This’
make you very curious about Emerald’s debut
album, to be released by the end of January,
and her appearance at Noorderslag – we
know we can’t wait!
The Madd
Being retro and yet not outdated, that is
an art. And the Rotterdam beat group The
Madd lives that art to perfection. Not only by
reviving the glorious sound of the sixties, but
also by enhancing it with a dose of streamlined
power pop and the energy and urgency of
the here and now. Main Maddman Dave von
Raven and his buddies have earlier been
turning Noorderslag upside down with it; now
that we’re a fist full of radio hits, a successful
album and hundreds of performances (both
also in close collaboration with rapper Dio)
further, and The Madd are more popular than
ever, we can no longer take responsibility for
the consequences.
Knobsticker
It’s a great story: on one of their journeys through
the former Eastern Bloc, two music lovers
from Utrecht come across two music making
lumberjacks in the woods of Rekçitsbonk.
They then drag them home, where the strange
duo (drums and synthesizers) is offered a
record deal. Pity that origin can’t be heard
in the music, but that contract is justified:
Knobsticker creates fresh, funky disco soul
with a futuristic twist, which at first fills the
dance floor, to rub against easy tune later,
aided by local string players and songbirds,
including Benny Sings. Can we keep them?
Daily Bread
If Daily Bread was our daily bread, you would
not hear us complaining. No wonder, with these
young Frisian Flevo dogs, who bark and bite,
with their guerrilla punky-electro sound and
The Madd
singer Kimberly’s voice, changing colour from
Siouxsie Sioux to PJ Harvey. Spearheading
is Kimberly’s authentic Philicorda-organ,
upgraded to a roaring, grunting and sputtering
monster with help from noisebox and other
accessories, and who only gives away its toy
tone at unguarded moments. Combined with
banging drums and fuzz bass, arises the sexy
garage dance sound with which Daily Bread
explicitly claims the Dutch organ rock crown.
DeWolff
Dutch rock & roll godfather Peter Koelewijn
once already sang: “Here comes the wolf / I am
the wolf / you better surrender to me.” With
a telepathic glance into the future, he must
have spoken of DeWolff, three teenagers from
Geleen who relive the hard blues-rock sound
of the late sixties in a fantastic way. Complete
with Hammond tsunami, long jams, lyrical
guitar work and soulful vocals. Deep Purple
meets Taste meets Vanilla Fudge, if you know
who they are. Otherwise: google those bands,
and then play their MP3s all together. Then it
immediately strikes you that DeWolff plays a
lot tighter. Welcome in the tens. Just surrender.