L.A.N.scape

LAN subbacultcha presents

L.A.N. SCAPE

Dollkraut Steadfastly dedicated to his own nostalgia, Pascal Pinkert has eased himself into the public consciousness without changing a beat. His love for 70s synthesizers and the crackle of lo-fi recordings result in sweeping arrangements that could at once erupt in an Eastwood standoff or set fire to a convulsing dancefloor.

Parrish Smith Recommended by Black Decades Parrish Smith is an uncompromised version of himself. With an approach based on impulsive interactions with the machines, he rises to a level where he touches his subconsciousness using his rhythmic drum machine rituals. We would describe it as ‘out of this world’. Everything is so full of energy, bursting to come out.

His music can at once be described as: “no elitism, no prejudices, no 4/4, no genre hypnotic, tense, comprehensible, a state of mind.” We couldn’t have said it better.

Robert Bergman Recommended by Parrish Smith Always bringing us free experimentation and improvisation with mechanical machines.

Pushing moves while Dutch people are still sleeping on sleazy static beats. An avid record selector and live performer that doesn’t look back, instead always looking forward. He is in his own game and that’s why his music is very respected.

Black Decades Recommended by Dollkraut Breathtaking metal from a threepiece band with Mark van de Maat on vocals. They should really get more attention, especially with their upcoming album soon to be released. Put them on your ‘listen’ to do list!

Fluisteraars Recommended by Black Decades Black Metal is a genre that has faced countless waves of change since it’s origins. In every genre, there is a lot of stuff soon to be forgotten. Only a few can stand the test of time and fewer still can transcend the boundaries. Fluisteraars is one such band. Only existing inside the studio, their new album Luwte is a masterpiece born from Dutch soil. We need more music of this quality within and beyond the confines of heavy music.

Sevdaliza Recommended by Parrish Smith The most hard working talent I know. Surrounded by a certain mystery that continues to give unexpected surprises every time. This always puts her a step ahead of the rest of us. Through her hard work is everything possible, and with her given talent she brings people a slow industrial crawl of beautiful music. She is the only female vocalist in the Netherlands that gives me an emotional response.

Dick Raaijmakers Recommended by Robert Bergman Ondanks dat er goede Nederlandse musici zijn ervaar ik de meeste uit Nederlandse afkomstige muziek als afgeleide van muziekstroming die in het buitenland gepioneerd zijn. Wellicht is dit een overblijfsel van een V.O.C.-verleden. Dick Raaijmakers was echter een van de weinige personen die daadwerkelijk bezig was met nieuwe muziek, en muziektechnologie, als een voorvader van elektronische muziek is dit redelijk belangrijk geweest. In moderne muziek zijn z’n invloeden bijna niet weg te denken; van elektronische instrumenten tot aan studio-processen. Dick was de man.

Ronnie Flex Recommended by Sevdaliza Onconventioneel, you love or you hate it, but you can’t deny it. De man van de youtube hits, selfmade. Onmisbaar in een Nederlands overzicht.

Spinvis Recommended by Sevdaliza Een revolutionair op het gebied van electronica in de Nederlandstalige popmuziek.

Al in 2002 bracht hij zijn plaat Lo-Fi uit met gebruik van electronica en allerlei attributen zoals fluitjes en pandeksels. Het is een mix van eenvoudige maar zeer zorgvuldig gearrangeerde popmuziek met hele indringende teksten. Voor mij een ultieme inspiratie.

With this publication, we turn to the vast and vibrant corners of our local music scene to reveal the amazing network that is the Dutch underground.

By no means definitive, L.A.N.scape is the starting point to a comprehensive map of the local music scene that sources connections between musicians according to the musicians themselves.

Beginning with a handful of acts we hold dear, we asked each to name two others that are essential to their local music scene. Asking the same question to the nominees, and to their nominees, and so on and so forth, the publication has grown into a dizzying network of more than 80 Dutch acts linked in unexpected ways, turning up musicians both new and old – many of whom we’d never even heard of – that have shaped the local music landscape.

Explore your Local Area Network.

Bird on the Wire Bird on the Wire embody everything we hold dear in a band both on and off stage. From their humble folk pop beginnings to their newfound kraut and shoegaze leanings, the gang’s live sets consistently transport us to a misty dreamscape and reflect ceaseless progression. Off-stage, the Birds and their Meduse MagiQ have a hand in propping up the local scene, building their own haven for artists and musicians alike.

Herrek Recommended by Bird on the Wire The good part about being a musician is that you meet other amazing musicians. The Dutch music scene is great because there are a lot of good bands who are all really active and collaborative. After playing in bands for several years there were some rumours of a cool band Herrek. I remember hearing some early demo work and being thrilled by the melodies and powerful tunes, the kind of excitement you only feel a few times in your life when you discover music that you really love. After listening to their music I asked myself the question: Can you be a fan of a dear friend’s band? The answer is YES! From the first moment I heard Herrek’s mesmerizing tunes, I was a fan.

Why? Because Herrek combines gloomy harmonies with amazing jungle sounds and powerful vocals. Seeing this band live is a special experience because all the band members give all their energy to create another dimension while bewitching the audience with their beautiful tunes. Also I just love their down to earth and hard working DYI approach, and their drive to create and discover. Bands like Herrek represent everything that is dear to me in music. Check them out, it’s fuel for life!

The Ex Recommended by Bird on the Wire First of all it’s really cool that this band has been around for so long. Their music is real, something that we are always looking for. You believe them. Their music is honest, RAW and inspiring. You can dance to it, you can feel it, and not unimportantly, their drummer is fantastic. They are self made, keep everything their own way, and therefore stand for the underground scene of Amsterdam. The Ex is timeless and their music stands for the core of what music should be.

WOLVON Recommended by The Ex The WOLVONs are the ones you have to call if you, or a connected international artist or band, want to play in Grunnen. WOLVON is a station in the underground railway network, which they travel themselves too. Good hospitality, a good meal, a warm and quiet place to sleep, nice beers, beautiful posters, the exchange of records and well, some money too, make a music night a good night.

Whoever thinks that box office and media hype is more important than that is either a madman or an economist.

Space Siren Recommended by WOLVON Space Siren was and still is – because the music’s still there – an amazing band. When we started WOLVON they were a band we looked up to. They have this amazing sound on record and especially live. We got to know them better through Subroutine Records and because they asked us to support them in OT301 for their album release. This was a big thing for us. It was maybe our 2nd or 3rd show outside of Groningen. We ended up recording our album at Corno Zwetsloot’s studio. And we had a really great time. Thanks again so much.

Cactus Truck Recommended by The Ex It’s all about mattresses instead of managers, something the guys from Cactus Truck understand very well. They have given the underground scene of free jazz and improvised music a big push in Amsterdam by organising many concerts in various places for national and international artists. And they are not alone, people like Oscar Jan Hoogland and Raoul van der Weide are doing the same.

It’s a highly vibrant and super exciting scene.

Homemade Empire Recommended by WOLVON Homemade Empire is, in our eyes and ears, the best singer-songwriter in the Netherlands. If he had joined that shitty TV-show, the judges would have cried waterfalls and would’ve declared him the winner right away. No, enough joking around. We think Homemade Empire really has his own distinctive, unique sound and style. He mixes drones and black metal with his acoustic guitar to create something we really enjoy. And we think he’s the only singer-songwriter in the Netherlands who does such a thing. Additionally, he’s a great person to be friends with, plus he owns a gong.

Index & colophon To see the full network, unfold and tile the pages. Flip the pages to see another network, one of venues, festivals, media and other organizations dedicated to supporting the Dutch music scene. They were also instrumental in making this publication possible. We’d like to thank them for their unwavering support.

Artist index A Made Up Sound / 2562 Antenna Arpatle Arts The Beatdoctor Bird on the Wire Black Decades Bonne Aparte Cactus Truck Cinna Das Ding De Sp Aties De Tuinen Dick Raaijmakers Dollkraut Drvg Cvltvre Earth Mk. II Eddy de Clerq Eerie Wanda Enno Velthuys Erny Green Eva Braun Fluisteraars FNMLAS Ggu:ll Green Hornet Hallo Venray Harry Merry Herrek Het Universumpje HOEK Homemade Empire I-F It Dockumer Lokaeltsje Jacco Gardner Julien Mier Kevin Miller Legowelt Lemontrip Lend Me Your Underbelly Leuk en Ko Lo-Lite Low Point Drains Marc van der Holst Marius HFs

Mark Du Mosch Marsel van der Wielen Michiel Klein MONTEXLMG Naive Set Niels Broos Nouveau Vélo Odal Orlando Voorn Palmbomen Parrish Smith Postmodem Rats on Rafts Razzia BV Ricky DeSire Robert Bergman Ronnie Flex Roy Santiago Santa Fé Sevdaliza Sofie Letitre Space Siren Spinvis Stellar Om Source Sweat Tongue The Anomalys The Check 1-2 The Ex The Homesick The Lumes Tunnelbirds Ulbe Unit Moebius Anonymous Vakantie Venus Tropicaux Walbert MK Waterlelyck WOLVON Yakumo Yuko Yuko Zachte Man Zea ZES zZz

L.A.N.scape Dollkraut Steadfastly dedicated to his own nostalgia, Pascal Pinkert has eased himself into the public consciousness without changing a beat. His love for 70s synthesizers and the crackle of lo-fi recordings result in sweeping arrangements that could at once erupt in an Eastwood standoff or set fire to a convulsing dancefloor.

Black Decades Recommended by Dollkraut Breathtaking metal from a threepiece band with Mark van de Maat on vocals. They should really get more attention, especially with their upcoming album soon to be released. Put them on your ‘listen’ to do list!

Fluisteraars Recommended by Black Decades Black Metal is a genre that has faced countless waves of change since it’s origins. In every genre, there is a lot of stuff soon to be forgotten. Only a few can stand the test of time and fewer still can transcend the boundaries. Fluisteraars is one such band. Only existing inside the studio, their new album Luwte is a masterpiece born from Dutch soil. We need more music of this quality within and beyond the confines of heavy music.

Sevdaliza Recommended by Parrish Smith The most hard working talent I know. Surrounded by a certain mystery that continues to give unexpected surprises every time. This always puts her a step ahead of the rest of us. Through her hard work is everything possible, and with her given talent she brings people a slow industrial crawl of beautiful music. She is the only female vocalist in the Netherlands that gives me an emotional response.

Jacco Gardner Jacco Gardner is the example of what Dutch artists should be doing: 1. make music that is truly great, be dedicated to your art and don’t settle for anything less; 2. forget about Holland, and connect to the international music scene. If you do both those things successfully, then even the Dutch audience will catch on eventually.

Earth Mk. II Recommended by Jacco Gardner Dit is het project van Hugo, waar ik ooit samen mee in The Skywalkers speelde.

Hij combineert 60s psych met grunge op een geheel unieke manier.

Eerie Wanda Recommended by Jacco Gardner Dit zijn vrienden van mij die een toffe melodische pop-plaat hebben gemaakt die komend jaar uit komt.

Live zijn ze ook zeker aan te raden!

Dick Raaijmakers Recommended by Robert Bergman Ondanks dat er goede Nederlandse musici zijn ervaar ik de meeste uit Nederlandse afkomstige muziek als afgeleide van muziekstroming die in het buitenland gepioneerd zijn. Wellicht is dit een overblijfsel van een V.O.C.-verleden. Dick Raaijmakers was echter een van de weinige personen die daadwerkelijk bezig was met nieuwe muziek, en muziektechnologie, als een voorvader van elektronische muziek is dit redelijk belangrijk geweest. In moderne muziek zijn z’n invloeden bijna niet weg te denken; van elektronische instrumenten tot aan studio-processen. Dick was de man.

Spinvis Recommended by Sevdaliza Een revolutionair op het gebied van electronica in de Nederlandstalige popmuziek.

Al in 2002 bracht hij zijn plaat Lo-Fi uit met gebruik van electronica en allerlei attributen zoals fluitjes en pandeksels. Het is een mix van eenvoudige maar zeer zorgvuldig gearrangeerde popmuziek met hele indringende teksten. Voor mij een ultieme inspiratie.

Bird on the Wire Bird on the Wire embody everything we hold dear in a band both on and off stage. From their humble folk pop beginnings to their newfound kraut and shoegaze leanings, the gang’s live sets consistently transport us to a misty dreamscape and reflect ceaseless progression. Off-stage, the Birds and their Meduse MagiQ have a hand in propping up the local scene, building their own haven for artists and musicians alike.

Marc van der Holst Recommended by Naive Set Widely known as a writer, poet, and cartoonist, with his bands Hospital Bombers, Spilt Milk and the Avonden, Marc has proven himself an essential part in the Dutch musical underground. A ceaseless creator, Marc drops his many projects, musical and otherwise, like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs, without much thought as to whether they’re eaten by birds and getting him lost along the way.

Hallo Venray Recommended by Naive Set We’re all fond of this respectable, long-lasting band. A constant presence in the underground, it’s never Goodbye Venray; they’ve maintained an impressive streak of new music, working on side-projects and recording other Dutch artists at their Sahara Sound Studio.

HOEK Quite possibly the youngest of the lot, at 18 Casimir Geelhoed has only just ushered his HOEK project into the light. And yet, his compositions are so meticulous and densely crafted, you’d think it the worked of lifelong craftsman, not a budding apprentice. The first time we heard it, we were speechless. The first time we witnessed it live, we were dumbfounded. So much talent and direction can only precipitate a prodigious catalogue.

The Ex Recommended by Bird on the Wire First of all it’s really cool that this band has been around for so long. Their music is real, something that we are always looking for. You believe them. Their music is honest, RAW and inspiring. You can dance to it, you can feel it, and not unimportantly, their drummer is fantastic. They are self made, keep everything their own way, and therefore stand for the underground scene of Amsterdam. The Ex is timeless and their music stands for the core of what music should be.

WOLVON Recommended by The Ex The WOLVONs are the ones you have to call if you, or a connected international artist or band, want to play in Grunnen. WOLVON is a station in the underground railway network, which they travel themselves too. Good hospitality, a good meal, a warm and quiet place to sleep, nice beers, beautiful posters, the exchange of records and well, some money too, make a music night a good night.

Whoever thinks that box office and media hype is more important than that is either a madman or an economist.

Cactus Truck Recommended by The Ex It’s all about mattresses instead of managers, something the guys from Cactus Truck understand very well. They have given the underground scene of free jazz and improvised music a big push in Amsterdam by organising many concerts in various places for national and international artists. And they are not alone, people like Oscar Jan Hoogland and Raoul van der Weide are doing the same.

It’s a highly vibrant and super exciting scene.

Homemade Empire Recommended by WOLVON Homemade Empire is, in our eyes and ears, the best singer-songwriter in the Netherlands. If he had joined that shitty TV-show, the judges would have cried waterfalls and would’ve declared him the winner right away. No, enough joking around. We think Homemade Empire really has his own distinctive, unique sound and style. He mixes drones and black metal with his acoustic guitar to create something we really enjoy. And we think he’s the only singer-songwriter in the Netherlands who does such a thing. Additionally, he’s a great person to be friends with, plus he owns a gong.

Roy Santiago Recommended by Homemade Empire I got to know Roy when we played as the rhythm section of Pien’s The Masters of The Universe. He had been recording as Roy S., but around that time he stepped into the light under his real name Roy Santiago. Roy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo like some cat from Japan. He could lick ‘em by smiling. He could leave ‘em to hang. Came on so loaded man, well hung and snow white tan. He was the naz with God given ass. He took it all too far but boy could he play guitar.

The Lumes Recommended by Space Siren The Lumes is net begonnen, eerste EP op cassette is net uit.

Het is een band die zich van het podium afspeelt, de zaal in komt, je bij de lurven grijpt en niet meer los laat. Meesleurt in de energie, dynamiek, misere, music noir. Hartverscheurend hard. Worden we blij van, dat te zien. Space Siren had graag een keer het podium met ze gedeeld. Hart en ziel erin, lawaai eruit. Vol Vuur. Heel fijn.

The Ex Recommended by Space Siren Wauw. Ik zag ze voor het eerst toen ik 17 jaar was, drumde net in mijn eerste bandje en keek alleen maar naar Kat. Absorberen. In 2014, Space Siren op het Ex Festival, drie onvergetelijke avonden. Wat een lieve mensen, wat een geweldige muziek, kracht, energie. Waanzinnig. Waanzinnige boost voor onze laatste intense optredens dat jaar.

Energie kan je opkloppen met muziek, The Ex kan dat, de ruimte vullen met energie, je ontkomt er niet aan. Zwetend, luid, meedogenloos en vol vuur. Dat. Is. Muziek. Space Siren’s laatste optreden was samen met hen, het vuur van The Ex, het vuur van ons, van Corno, dat paste goed.

Zea Recommended by Homemade Empire My old band toured with Zea through Russia. They had a unique electronic and eclectic sound and I remember a show we played in Moscow and they were just so intense, weird and so good and they played that Coldplay cover.

Fifty percent of Zea got left behind in Russia, only Arnold de Boer remained. Later I saw a changed Zea with more depth, probably because of everything Arnold is involved in: African music, The Ex (the best Dutch band). I really appreciate the commitment of Arnold to make this out of sync with everything, small and particular sounding project.

Marsel van der Wielen Recommended by A Made Up Sound Delsin’s early releases opened my eyes to different strands of techno than the ones you’d typically hear in a club at the time. They were a major inspiration to me when I started making music myself over ten years ago. It’s great to see the label still going strong in 2015.

A Made Up Sound / 2562 Recommended by HOEK Internationaal gezien denk ik één van de meest invloedrijke Nederlandse elektronische artiesten. Bekend geworden door zijn eigenzinnige interpretatie van Londense dubstep.

Lemontrip Recommended by HOEK Voor mij persoonlijk belangrijk omdat hij mij in de scene heeft geïntroduceerd.

Veelzijdige producer met een goede smaak en oog voor detail.

It Dockumer Lokaeltsje Recommended by The Homesick It Dockumer Lokaeltsje is a Frisian post-punk band founded in 1985. The band existed until 1990, made two great/weird records and came together in 2014 to start playing again.

They blew us a away in an empty bar in ‘Reduzum’ and on Freeze Festival. Their whole oeuvre is comprised of 2-minute post-punk madness and Frisian lyrics. Now, it’s 2015 and they’re still an exciting live act. Maybe they’ll record an album again.

The Ex Recommended by It Dockumer Lokaeltsje We would consider The Ex essential. Even though neither Sytse, Fritz nor myself have that many Ex records in our collection. The way The Ex blends avant-garde and sheer joy of life on stage sets them apart from the rest. Hats off to them. No one in the world outpunks The Ex. Freedom. Enough said.

Bonne Aparte Recommended by It Dockumer Lokaeltsje About eight years ago I saw Bonne Aparte live in Leeuwarden. The fifty people in the audience took them for granted, smiled politely and thought they were rather nice.

They were not nice. They were brilliant. I felt lonely because that night no one really seemed to realise they were. Years later I talked with Sytse who told me a similar story about seeing them live. Bonne Aparte were gone by then. But recently they popped up again. They may not be essential, but they should have been then and we hope they will be soon.

Palmbomen Recommended by Eerie Wanda He’s a unique musician, producer, visual artist and DJ, and he seems to do all those things in a way nobody in the Netherlands has done before him.

Rats on Rafts Recommended by Nouveau Vélo Their exciting metal machine music keeps raising our hairs and banging our heads.

Palmbomen Recommended by Marius HFS Always on the move towards something new.

Leuk en Ko Recommended by Earth Mk. II The absolute best Dutch group ever. Active in the late 1980s, they never really got their music out there. “Niemand Is Perfect” is a masterpiece to which no underground act active now compares.

Antenna Recommended by Marius HFS Very original and personal music from a great guy.

Kevin Miller Recommended by Palmbomen My number one person I trust with music. He listens to the raw structure of songs/songwriting like no other. I really like his Postmodem band and Betonkust electric releases, and it’s a pity how little attention this gets but now he’s slowly getting it all out!

Antenna Recommended by Palmbomen I really admire everything Sasha makes. Everything is so timeless and he makes no mistakes. He’s the best producer I know and his Ukrainian touch in song writing is so special and defined.

ZES Recommended by Lemontrip He’s created a typical and unique “ZES sound” by staying true to himself and his musical roots. He’s not sensitive to hypes or trends within the musical landscape, which makes his music 100% sincere and pure.

Mark Du Mosch Recommended by Antenna I especially like the harmonies and chord progressions in Mark’s music. He finds a way to create a very distinctive sound of an impossible combination of pre midi disco and techno. There are so many beautiful tracks there.

Eddy de Clerq Recommended by Jamez & Dobré For being one of the first to bring house to Holland. He could therefore be called the godfather of Dutch House.

Sofie Letitre Recommended by ZES Incredible vocalist, incredible beats and a lot of polyrhythmic segments. In my opinion, she is the next Bjork.

Arts The Beatdoctor Recommended by ZES Although he doesn’t seem to be very active with his music anymore, he’s been one of my main inspirations from the start. The complexity and emotional depth in his productions still astounds me every time.

Odal Recommended by Drvg Cvltvre The Dutch king of noise Peter Zincken uses this alias for his powerelectronics.

Absolutely mindblowing powerful noise from Amsterdam.

Het Universumpje Recommended by Sofie Letitre One of Holland’s strongest rockbands (à la Queens of the Stone Age) with Dutch lyrics drenched in absurdism.

Unit Moebius Anonymous Recommended by zZz In de vroege jaren 90 maakten deze mannen uit Den Haag kneterharde electro funk, italo en acid. Electronische muziek met een punk attitude. Verantwoordelijk voor Bunker Records, Intergalactic FM, Murder Capital, Motor Wolf, I.F., Legowelt, e.d. Love it. Helden!

De Sp Aties Recommended by The Anomalys Formerly known as The Stilettos, De Sp Aties are relatively new, but already criminally overlooked. With just one guitar and half a drumset, these guys are able to make some of the catchiest, raw punk/rock'n'roll songs. With probably the best Dutch lyrics of the underground in the last 15 years: funny, witty and sometimes gut-wrenchingly heartfelt.

Niels Broos Recommended by Art the Beatdoctor This energetic keyboardist is the secret weapon of many Dutch artists, blessing the works of, among many others, Kyteman, DJ DNA, Jameszoo and my own as well. Until now most of his genius was performed in relative anonymity, but being selected for this year’s RBMA might mean he’s ready to show the world what he is really capable of when left to his own devices.

The Anomalys Recommended by Lo-Lite The Anolamys because right now they embody all that garage punk is about. Searing, mean yet sexy 60s punk, and because of their killer live shows they operate on the very international front of the global trash rock scene.

De Tuinen Recommended by Vakantie Our first date with de Tuinen was at an art exhibition where we played live elevator music for six hours nonstop. We made loops that went on for 10 minutes so we could just hang as much as possible with this guy, who looks like he’s coming straight out of a comic book, makes cosmic ambient collages, but also operates as De Beffende Hooligans. He’s like a new age guru for meditating cyborgs. De Tuinen is a sublime way of getting lost.

Stellar Om Source Recommended by Vakantie When we learned about Stellar OM Source, we soon became spellbound by her introverted mantras on hardware machines and her enigmatic appearance. Back in the day, we were still defining what Vakantie was by running back and forth between techno and new age healing music.

Stellar OM Source inspired us to practice a delicate yin yang balance between the two. Later we found out she is a yoga teacher as well.

Michiel Klein Recommended by De Tuinen Michiel is someone I admire a lot. I believe he has very good ears, because everything he’s involved with has a sonic quality that’s pretty rare. He’s quiet, soft spoken and has this calmness over him that I wish I had. I’ve never heard him swear and he never seems angry.

Other than that, he’s in, like, six hundred bands, he organizes shows, and probably does a lot more that I don’t know about.

Also, he’s not on Facebook, which I think is really cool and mysterious.

Zachte Man Recommended by De Tuinen Apart from being my best friend and genuinely the nicest person I know, Zachte Man is hands down the best musician, designer and human being there is. I hereby challenge you to find someone more awesome. He rarely releases any music (and if he does, it tends to disappear), so good luck finding anything now. But I’m pretty sure that somewhere in the future there will be lots of his stuff to enjoy. How is he important to the music scene? Idk, but he’s very important to me, and therefore my music scene.

Green Hornet Recommended by De Sp Aties These guys have been around for ages and they’re still kicking ass and taking names. Trashrock/blues punks with connections to lots of other bands and labels from Groningen that kept rock ‘n’ roll alive when the rest of the world was walking around in lumberjack shirts and work boots.

Tunnelbirds Recommended by De Sp Aties Free form psych/blues duo from Utrecht with an incredibly imaginative and ingenious use of instruments and electronics.

Low Point Drains Recommended by Lo-Lite Low Point Drains because they’re known for their obnoxiously loud and thunderous live shows, which brought them to large parts of the world. They kept the fire of garage rock firmly lit for many years, so let’s hope they’ll rev up that rusty machinery, just like Lo-Lite recently has.

De Check 1-2 Recommended by Tunnelbirds Great songwriters who can put on a great live show. They know how to play a pretty emotional song without getting soft.

Yuko Yuko Recommended by Venus Tropicaux Yuko Yuko is the Dutch nostalgic psych pop solo-project of Elias Eierbal. Elias E. is a young god from some village up north and only uses old equipment from before he was born to compose and record his music. His songs are poppy, catchy and take you back to the early nineties. Days when you spent all of your time playing Blues Brothers on DOS. Which Elias probably never played.

Rats on Rafts Divisive, stubborn, destructive, hostile and painfully ferocious, the Rats have never been crowd-pleasers.

Sticking instead to themselves, their own ideals and their hometown Rotterdam for the past 10 years, the foursome have cultivated an intensity in sound and performance rarely matched in this little Netherlands.

The Homesick Recommended by Rats on Rafts The Homesick reminds us of being young, but having some special talent to guide all your stupidity, frustration and hunger for eierballs into music. We can’t remember ever being so excited about a band from Holland since… well, our own group. It is a pity the singer is really arrogant and the bass player has an eating disorder. Although it feels like the drummer should lose these guys, he finds a special way to control and guide their energy and knowledge of what a great song should sound like.

Venus Tropicaux Recommended by Rats on Rafts Venus Tropicaux reminds you of why a band gets started in the first place: no ambition, no school, no technique. Just pure feelings, passion and energy to express themselves. The sound, song structures and 15 minute sets seem to connect to the no-wave period or bands like The Slits of The Raincoats. Not sure if they know or care, either way, they are brilliant.

Walbert MK Recommended by Waterlelyck Walbert MK is a project by Jaap van der Velde from Dokkum. He is a fearless, talented and handsome young man. What I like is that Jaap seems to be simultaneously serious and having fun fooling around with casios and delays. For someone already so active, it’s exciting to imagine what lies ahead. Listen to The ‘Walbert MK’ Tape 2k14!

Waterlelyck Recommended by The Homesick Waterlelyck is teenage synth prodigy Lyckle de Jong (which is a Frisian name!). Equipped with 80’s keyboards and sequencers, he makes a great mix between the best classics of Wham and modern EDM. Lyckle is one of the most charismatic Amsterdammer we know and we love the fact he is interested in the Frisian language and culture.

Eva Braun Recommended by Bonne Aparte Back in 2007/08 we often shared the stage with our friends from Eva Braun. When you listen to their music you might wonder if they are really trying to make ‘good’ music. And when you’d watch a live performance it could even seem like the members didn’t really like each other. Drawing from art-school related No wave bands like Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and Rosa Yemen, and adding a touch of noise rock like Arab on Radar and Harry Pussy, they did something a lot of people had never seen back then. And we enjoyed every bit of it. *By the way*: guitarist Ruben Braeken recently started a new project called Paralympics. Check them out.

Enno Velthuys Recommended by Bonne Aparte Probably a name that doesn’t ring a bell for most people, Enno Velthuys was a socalled ‘home-taper’ in the 1980’s. Little is known about him. He lived a reclusive life and died in 2009 in a mental institution. Living with his mum in Den Haag he released 6 cassettes of which some tracks can be streamed on youtube. Every single track he made shows off such luscious handling of ambient synthesizer music and oozes the solitary state in which he must have lived. For some reason his music really, really gets to me, and I’m startled his music hasn’t gotten a proper re-release.

zZz We remember zZz storming onto the scene with their debut album The Sound of zZz back in 2005. They came out of nowhere and did something no one else was doing. Producing exciting, dark en groovy psychrock using just an organ and drums. Their unique sounds brought them all across America, Japan, Russia and beyond. And 10 years on, they are still one of the best live bands in the Netherlands.

Lo-Lite Recommended by The Anomalys One of the the most overlooked Dutch garageblues-trash pioneers who already started in the 90s and they’re still going strong, playing a festival here and there. I think that just like The Anomalys they mostly play shows outside of The Netherlands.

Yakumo Recommended by Sofie Letitre I recently discovered these guys. Two producers on stage with a bunch of musicians around them playing acoustic instruments while they blend it with really uplifting electronic sounds/beats. A new life of the party.

Vakantie Recommended by Herrek Gijs and Rik just really know what fun is about. Don’t we all just want to hang out with friends, look at great drawings and paintings, and dance to some awesome music. So they provide us with a cool place called the Gym, operate in some kind of painters collective, and make some great dance tunes. Vakantie sounds like the coolest dance music you’ve ever heard, but without taking themselves too seriously.

Earth Mk. II Recommended by Postmodem Hugo (Earth Mk. II’s main guy) keeps putting out a lot of cool songs at a very high pace. He does everything himself and doesn’t need the old fashioned music industry. All tracks can be downloaded for free and are accompanied by unique videos.

The Anomalys Recommended by zZz Deze jongens hebben de opkomst en de ondergang van het beruchte Amsterdamse nachtcafe de Diepte meegemaakt. En dat hoor je. Alle 3 verwoede vinyl verzamelaar van de obscure swingende sort. Rock n Roll in hart en nieren.

Julien Mier Recommended by Art the Beatdoctor Julien has steadily been building his own, very recognizable sound over the last couple of years. The only Dutch musician I know to have that Dimliteesque quality; I enjoy both the songs I can understand and those that I don’t.

Ggu:ll Recommended by Drvg Cvltvre Super slow, super heavy sludge metal with black metal vocals.

One of the best bands in the land currently and on the verge of releasing their debut album.

Sweat Tongue Recommended by Herrek There aren’t that many bands who dare to stay so close to what they’re feeling, who really dare to sound crappy to find the beauty that lies underneath. I’ve seen the band perform several times and each time I had the feeling that there was something really important going on.

Like they feel an urge to find something but they don’t yet know what it is. Always with a great punk attitude, always embarrassingly pure.

Legowelt Recommended by Antenna In the past decades Danny Wolfers made so much fantastic stuff! His work has been highly influential for me and a lot of my friends, especially between 2003 and 2010.

Jamez & Dobré Recommended by A Made Up Sound Touché was one of the best house/techno labels the Netherlands ever had and one of my favorite labels full stop. Between the two of them, these guys were responsible for loads of timeless records in the mid to late 90s. There’s still at least one Touché-related record in almost every DJ-set I play.

Orlando Voorn Recommended by Jamez & Dobré For introducing us to techno, that slowly transformed to Dutch techno. He could be called the godfather of Dutch Techno.

Drvg Cvltvre Recommended by Lemontrip Founder and artistic director of Incubate festival. One of the, if not THE Dutch “go to” artists when it comes to Doom techno.

Herrek Recommended by Bird on the Wire The good part about being a musician is that you meet other amazing musicians. The Dutch music scene is great because there are a lot of good bands who are all really active and collaborative. After playing in bands for several years there were some rumours of a cool band Herrek. I remember hearing some early demo work and being thrilled by the melodies and powerful tunes, the kind of excitement you only feel a few times in your life when you discover music that you really love. After listening to their music I asked myself the question: Can you be a fan of a dear friend’s band? The answer is YES! From the first moment I heard Herrek’s mesmerizing tunes, I was a fan.

Why? Because Herrek combines gloomy harmonies with amazing jungle sounds and powerful vocals. Seeing this band live is a special experience because all the band members give all their energy to create another dimension while bewitching the audience with their beautiful tunes. Also I just love their down to earth and hard working DYI approach, and their drive to create and discover. Bands like Herrek represent everything that is dear to me in music. Check them out, it’s fuel for life!

Marius HFs Recommended by Postmodem Marius is a guy who makes electronic music with beautiful harmonies and melodies. His old releases are good, but his new stuff is even better. I can’t wait till it gets released. Criminally underrated.

Postmodem Recommended by Earth Mk. II A true underground group who played grunge before the current big revival but never really found their way to the right audience. The main guy finds his own ways outside of the mainstream to do whatever he wants musically.

Naive Set Recommended by Nouveau Vélo Mighty pop songs full of delightful melodies and harmonies, brought with so much taste and skill it hurts.

Ronnie Flex Recommended by Sevdaliza Onconventioneel, you love or you hate it, but you can’t deny it. De man van de youtube hits, selfmade. Onmisbaar in een Nederlands overzicht.

Space Siren Recommended by WOLVON Space Siren was and still is – because the music’s still there – an amazing band. When we started WOLVON they were a band we looked up to. They have this amazing sound on record and especially live. We got to know them better through Subroutine Records and because they asked us to support them in OT301 for their album release. This was a big thing for us. It was maybe our 2nd or 3rd show outside of Groningen. We ended up recording our album at Corno Zwetsloot’s studio. And we had a really great time. Thanks again so much.

Sweat Tongue Recommended by Das Ding Although their band Sweat Tongue (among other configurations/names) doesn’t really fit any label, it is their hardcore dedication to the freeform format of noise that distinguishes them from the rest. You never know what you’re gonna get but it will always be intense. But above all, it is the work they do in giving a platform to the hundreds of smallish bands and collaborations that pass through the DIY network, with their MiMa nights for Roodkapje, that one has to really appreciate. And no matter where you play in Holland, you will see their name pop up at one point. They also run a tape-label called DeHef, which has done some great tapes.

I-F Recommended by Das Ding Not much needs to be said about this awesome DJ and Internet radio pioneer.

Once again, it is the platform he provides for all those labels, DJ’s, musicians and the otherwise musically-obsessed that prompted me to select him. I’ve played my best modular set at Panama Racing Club, and that is all down to the relaxed vibe he and his club broadcast.

Nouveau Vélo Recommended by Eerie Wanda Their songwriting and great live energy alone.

Their songs are catchy, raw and energetic but also very deep and emotional.

Parrish Smith Recommended by Black Decades Parrish Smith is an uncompromised version of himself. With an approach based on impulsive interactions with the machines, he rises to a level where he touches his subconsciousness using his rhythmic drum machine rituals. We would describe it as ‘out of this world’. Everything is so full of energy, bursting to come out.

His music can at once be described as: “no elitism, no prejudices, no 4/4, no genre hypnotic, tense, comprehensible, a state of mind.” We couldn’t have said it better.

Robert Bergman Recommended by Parrish Smith Always bringing us free experimentation and improvisation with mechanical machines.

Pushing moves while Dutch people are still sleeping on sleazy static beats. An avid record selector and live performer that doesn’t look back, instead always looking forward. He is in his own game and that’s why his music is very respected.

Das Ding Recommended by Dollkraut I don’t think it needs any introduction. Still.. one of Holland’s most influential wave/electro/post punk projects, born in the 80s and still going strong.

Ricky DeSire Recommended by Venus Tropicaux “Dubbele Penetratie” (“Double Penetration”) has been in my mind ever since my stupid male friends played it in class years ago. We still play it once a day at my office, which I share solely with women. I saw Ricky play live at the best festival I’ve ever been to, Ver Uit De Maat festival.

His dance moves, lyrics and overall stage presence are quite impressive and feel a bit eery most of the time, but behind the - if I may say so creepy image he has given himself, his lyrics contain beautiful poetic shit that I dig very much.

Erny Green Recommended by Ricky DeSire Erny Green is alive and kicking in Utrecht.

To me it’s complete weirdness if you have never heard of Erny Green. The songs on his beautiful albums are full of warmth, shitlessness and poetry. I think he made a hundred albums already. I cannot convince you, you just have to believe me. Go on your laptop to Spotify. Check his music there.

Erny Green, the true master of melancholy.

There’s his new song on youtube, “Kiss the girls”. He sings it like a whisper. “Kiss the girls, kiss the girls, kiss the girls”.

Arpatle Recommended by Ricky DeSire Arpatle lives in Utrecht and is in my opinion the New Dutch Hope of the Deep Dark Ambient. He delivered already a true masterpiece in 2012. That album is called The Day After. It is incredibly good. In a few months his next piece-de-resistance will appear on Psychonavigation Records (Dublin). If you ever feel that it’s necessary to hear some wonderful music without words, then close your eyes and listen to the sound of Arpatle’s wonderful record The Day After. Then you guys can cry yourself to A Deep Dark Ambient Sleep.

Lend Me Your Underbelly Recommended by Arpatle Utilizing live loops, guitar and some basic synths, Christian Berends (a.k.a. Lend Me Your Underbelly) creates complex patterns without it becoming a cacophony. Just when you think he kicks in a song, the song gets lost in a jungle of semi-tonal guitar riffs. Riffs you might recognize from more conventional music, but which get another meaning in his Phil Spector-esque sound sculpture. This is a unique kind of shoegaze I’ve never heard before. These kinds of refreshments are important for me.

Harry Merry Recommended by Arpatle Rotterdam based one-man-band Harry Merry shows us a kind of absurd happy fun fair music which is quite weirdly arranged. For me, he seems to carry himself in a way that suggests we shouldn’t take his music too seriously, but his compositions are brilliant. When you see him first you might not be able to tell whether it’s insanely bad or amazingly ingenious. And that’s where it starts to get interesting.

Santa Fé Recommended by Walbert MK Santa Fé is a six-piece semi-garagenineties-pop band from Groningen.

Nice harmonies, guitar solos and groovy tambourines and shakers plus great songs. One of the most hard working, dedicated and cool bands (nicest people ever + out on Purple Noise Record Club!).

Palmbomen Recommended by Waterlelyck Every record Kai Hugo makes is really strong. It takes years to build up a collection of those great gems of songs you only come across once in a while scouring record stores and online. But he manages to bring everything together and provide a neat little package drenched in the Palmbomen sound. Echoes of these gems run through the synthesizers and drum machines in his music, and it’s impressive to see him live, when he brings them along and generates straight from the source.

There’s so much more nice music to make with these instruments, and Palmbomen is the proof.

Ulbe Recommended by Walbert MK Ulbe is a brutally harsh analog noise project hailing from ldwâld in Friesland and is also known as the second son of god.

FNMLAS Recommended by Cinna He’s your favourite producer’s favourite producer and your favourite autotune crooner’s favourite autotune crooner. A young legend at 26, FNMLAS is a bridge between the stark underground and mainstream with his wide array of collaborators. Be on the look out for his upcoming debut EP TOPFIT.

Razzia BV Recommended by Yuko Yuko Razzia BV is a band from Kootstertille, Friesland from the 80s. I’m probably one of the only people who knows the band because there is just one place on the internet where you can find something about Razzia BV. A soundcloud page called rensepens with six songs on it. It sounds like a fucked up version of The Cure’s Disintegration. I contacted the uploader a while ago with the question where the music is from. He replied: “it was recorded in a barn in the 80s”. Nothing more.

Cinna Recommended by Yuko Yuko Cinna aka Finesselande aka Aime Cain is ‘Holland’s Best Rapper’ who never reached the fame of his younger squad mates like Mr. Polska, Ronnie Flex and Boaz van der Beatz.

Cinna sounds like a Gucci Mane locked up in a Roffa Oost studio filled with lean and reverb processors. His inimitable lyrics move from ultimate swagger to emotional wisdom.

A living legend.

MONTEXLMG Recommended by Cinna They call Cinna an Enigma, but Montex is the true Enigma. As a part of the lefensmannenclan (with Ronnie Flex, Cartiez, Mafe, Maximilli), Montex is the odd man out, his left field fashion sense, great taste in style and image, and the fact that he’s wunderkind producer. Just like Cinna, Montex is truly a bridge between multiple subcultures and a master of many trades, building sound modules and crafting pixel paint-ish merch as a designer.

Colophon Concept: Leon Caren and Bas Morsch Editor: Phil Krogt Copy editor: Andreea Breazu Design: Marina Henao and Bas Morsch Partnerships: Loes Verputten Intern: Alex Sadka Published by Subbacultcha Printed by Rodi Rotatiedruk

Roy Santiago Recommended by Homemade Empire I got to know Roy when we played as the rhythm section of Pien’s The Masters of The Universe. He had been recording as Roy S., but around that time he stepped into the light under his real name Roy Santiago. Roy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo like some cat from Japan. He could lick ‘em by smiling. He could leave ‘em to hang. Came on so loaded man, well hung and snow white tan. He was the naz with God given ass. He took it all too far but boy could he play guitar.

The Lumes Recommended by Space Siren The Lumes is net begonnen, eerste EP op cassette is net uit.

Het is een band die zich van het podium afspeelt, de zaal in komt, je bij de lurven grijpt en niet meer los laat. Meesleurt in de energie, dynamiek, misere, music noir. Hartverscheurend hard. Worden we blij van, dat te zien. Space Siren had graag een keer het podium met ze gedeeld. Hart en ziel erin, lawaai eruit. Vol Vuur. Heel fijn.

The Ex Recommended by Space Siren Wauw. Ik zag ze voor het eerst toen ik 17 jaar was, drumde net in mijn eerste bandje en keek alleen maar naar Kat. Absorberen. In 2014, Space Siren op het Ex Festival, drie onvergetelijke avonden. Wat een lieve mensen, wat een geweldige muziek, kracht, energie. Waanzinnig. Waanzinnige boost voor onze laatste intense optredens dat jaar.

Energie kan je opkloppen met muziek, The Ex kan dat, de ruimte vullen met energie, je ontkomt er niet aan. Zwetend, luid, meedogenloos en vol vuur. Dat. Is. Muziek. Space Siren’s laatste optreden was samen met hen, het vuur van The Ex, het vuur van ons, van Corno, dat paste goed.

Zea Recommended by Homemade Empire My old band toured with Zea through Russia. They had a unique electronic and eclectic sound and I remember a show we played in Moscow and they were just so intense, weird and so good and they played that Coldplay cover.

Fifty percent of Zea got left behind in Russia, only Arnold de Boer remained. Later I saw a changed Zea with more depth, probably because of everything Arnold is involved in: African music, The Ex (the best Dutch band). I really appreciate the commitment of Arnold to make this out of sync with everything, small and particular sounding project.

It Dockumer Lokaeltsje Recommended by The Homesick It Dockumer Lokaeltsje is a Frisian post-punk band founded in 1985. The band existed until 1990, made two great/weird records and came together in 2014 to start playing again.

They blew us a away in an empty bar in ‘Reduzum’ and on Freeze Festival. Their whole oeuvre is comprised of 2-minute post-punk madness and Frisian lyrics. Now, it’s 2015 and they’re still an exciting live act. Maybe they’ll record an album again.

The Ex Recommended by It Dockumer Lokaeltsje We would consider The Ex essential. Even though neither Sytse, Fritz nor myself have that many Ex records in our collection. The way The Ex blends avant-garde and sheer joy of life on stage sets them apart from the rest. Hats off to them. No one in the world outpunks The Ex. Freedom. Enough said.

Bonne Aparte Recommended by It Dockumer Lokaeltsje About eight years ago I saw Bonne Aparte live in Leeuwarden. The fifty people in the audience took them for granted, smiled politely and thought they were rather nice.

They were not nice. They were brilliant. I felt lonely because that night no one really seemed to realise they were. Years later I talked with Sytse who told me a similar story about seeing them live. Bonne Aparte were gone by then. But recently they popped up again. They may not be essential, but they should have been then and we hope they will be soon.

Local Area Network is supported by:

De Nieuwe Anita

Down The Rabbit Hole

denieuweanita.nl

downtherabbithole.nl

Gruismeel

Holland Festival

gruismeel.nl

hollandfestival.nl

Jacco Gardner Jacco Gardner is the example of what Dutch artists should be doing: 1. make music that is truly great, be dedicated to your art and don’t settle for anything less; 2. forget about Holland, and connect to the international music scene. If you do both those things successfully, then even the Dutch audience will catch on eventually.

Earth Mk. II Recommended by Jacco Gardner Dit is het project van Hugo, waar ik ooit samen mee in The Skywalkers speelde.

Hij combineert 60s psych met grunge op een geheel unieke manier.

Eerie Wanda Recommended by Jacco Gardner Dit zijn vrienden van mij die een toffe melodische pop-plaat hebben gemaakt die komend jaar uit komt.

Live zijn ze ook zeker aan te raden!

Nouveau Vélo Recommended by Eerie Wanda Their songwriting and great live energy alone.

Their songs are catchy, raw and energetic but also very deep and emotional.

Palmbomen Recommended by Eerie Wanda He’s a unique musician, producer, visual artist and DJ, and he seems to do all those things in a way nobody in the Netherlands has done before him.

Rats on Rafts Recommended by Nouveau Vélo Their exciting metal machine music keeps raising our hairs and banging our heads.

Antenna Recommended by Palmbomen I really admire everything Sasha makes. Everything is so timeless and he makes no mistakes. He’s the best producer I know and his Ukrainian touch in song writing is so special and defined.

Jamez & Dobré Recommended by A Made Up Sound Touché was one of the best house/techno labels the Netherlands ever had and one of my favorite labels full stop. Between the two of them, these guys were responsible for loads of timeless records in the mid to late 90s. There’s still at least one Touché-related record in almost every DJ-set I play.

Orlando Voorn Recommended by Jamez & Dobré For introducing us to techno, that slowly transformed to Dutch techno. He could be called the godfather of Dutch Techno.

Eddy de Clerq Recommended by Jamez & Dobré For being one of the first to bring house to Holland. He could therefore be called the godfather of Dutch House.

路路路

Local Area Network is supported by:

Paard van Troje

Paradiso

paard.nl

paradiso.nl

Patronaat

PITCH Festival

patronaat.nl

pitchfestival.nl

Arts The Beatdoctor Recommended by ZES Although he doesn’t seem to be very active with his music anymore, he’s been one of my main inspirations from the start. The complexity and emotional depth in his productions still astounds me every time.

Julien Mier Recommended by Art the Beatdoctor Julien has steadily been building his own, very recognizable sound over the last couple of years. The only Dutch musician I know to have that Dimliteesque quality; I enjoy both the songs I can understand and those that I don’t.

Yakumo Recommended by Sofie Letitre I recently discovered these guys. Two producers on stage with a bunch of musicians around them playing acoustic instruments while they blend it with really uplifting electronic sounds/beats. A new life of the party.

Niels Broos Recommended by Art the Beatdoctor This energetic keyboardist is the secret weapon of many Dutch artists, blessing the works of, among many others, Kyteman, DJ DNA, Jameszoo and my own as well. Until now most of his genius was performed in relative anonymity, but being selected for this year’s RBMA might mean he’s ready to show the world what he is really capable of when left to his own devices.

De Tuinen Recommended by Vakantie Our first date with de Tuinen was at an art exhibition where we played live elevator music for six hours nonstop. We made loops that went on for 10 minutes so we could just hang as much as possible with this guy, who looks like he’s coming straight out of a comic book, makes cosmic ambient collages, but also operates as De Beffende Hooligans. He’s like a new age guru for meditating cyborgs. De Tuinen is a sublime way of getting lost.

Zachte Man Recommended by De Tuinen Apart from being my best friend and genuinely the nicest person I know, Zachte Man is hands down the best musician, designer and human being there is. I hereby challenge you to find someone more awesome. He rarely releases any music (and if he does, it tends to disappear), so good luck finding anything now. But I’m pretty sure that somewhere in the future there will be lots of his stuff to enjoy. How is he important to the music scene? Idk, but he’s very important to me, and therefore my music scene.

Local Area Network is supported by:

Vera

We Are Public

vera-groningen.nl

wearepublic.nl

Where The Wild Things Are

013

wtwta.nl

013.nl

Ricky DeSire Recommended by Venus Tropicaux “Dubbele Penetratie” (“Double Penetration”) has been in my mind ever since my stupid male friends played it in class years ago. We still play it once a day at my office, which I share solely with women. I saw Ricky play live at the best festival I’ve ever been to, Ver Uit De Maat festival.

His dance moves, lyrics and overall stage presence are quite impressive and feel a bit eery most of the time, but behind the - if I may say so creepy image he has given himself, his lyrics contain beautiful poetic shit that I dig very much.

Erny Green Recommended by Ricky DeSire Erny Green is alive and kicking in Utrecht.

To me it’s complete weirdness if you have never heard of Erny Green. The songs on his beautiful albums are full of warmth, shitlessness and poetry. I think he made a hundred albums already. I cannot convince you, you just have to believe me. Go on your laptop to Spotify. Check his music there.

Erny Green, the true master of melancholy.

There’s his new song on youtube, “Kiss the girls”. He sings it like a whisper. “Kiss the girls, kiss the girls, kiss the girls”.

Arpatle Recommended by Ricky DeSire Arpatle lives in Utrecht and is in my opinion the New Dutch Hope of the Deep Dark Ambient. He delivered already a true masterpiece in 2012. That album is called The Day After. It is incredibly good. In a few months his next piece-de-resistance will appear on Psychonavigation Records (Dublin). If you ever feel that it’s necessary to hear some wonderful music without words, then close your eyes and listen to the sound of Arpatle’s wonderful record The Day After. Then you guys can cry yourself to A Deep Dark Ambient Sleep.

Santa Fé Recommended by Walbert MK Santa Fé is a six-piece semi-garagenineties-pop band from Groningen.

Nice harmonies, guitar solos and groovy tambourines and shakers plus great songs. One of the most hard working, dedicated and cool bands (nicest people ever + out on Purple Noise Record Club!).

Palmbomen Recommended by Waterlelyck Every record Kai Hugo makes is really strong. It takes years to build up a collection of those great gems of songs you only come across once in a while scouring record stores and online. But he manages to bring everything together and provide a neat little package drenched in the Palmbomen sound. Echoes of these gems run through the synthesizers and drum machines in his music, and it’s impressive to see him live, when he brings them along and generates straight from the source.

There’s so much more nice music to make with these instruments, and Palmbomen is the proof.

Ulbe Recommended by Walbert MK Ulbe is a brutally harsh analog noise project hailing from ldwâld in Friesland and is also known as the second son of god.

Yuko Yuko Recommended by Venus Tropicaux Yuko Yuko is the Dutch nostalgic psych pop solo-project of Elias Eierbal. Elias E. is a young god from some village up north and only uses old equipment from before he was born to compose and record his music. His songs are poppy, catchy and take you back to the early nineties. Days when you spent all of your time playing Blues Brothers on DOS. Which Elias probably never played.

Lend Me Your Underbelly Recommended by Arpatle Utilizing live loops, guitar and some basic synths, Christian Berends (a.k.a. Lend Me Your Underbelly) creates complex patterns without it becoming a cacophony. Just when you think he kicks in a song, the song gets lost in a jungle of semi-tonal guitar riffs. Riffs you might recognize from more conventional music, but which get another meaning in his Phil Spector-esque sound sculpture. This is a unique kind of shoegaze I’ve never heard before. These kinds of refreshments are important for me.

Harry Merry Recommended by Arpatle Rotterdam based one-man-band Harry Merry shows us a kind of absurd happy fun fair music which is quite weirdly arranged. For me, he seems to carry himself in a way that suggests we shouldn’t take his music too seriously, but his compositions are brilliant. When you see him first you might not be able to tell whether it’s insanely bad or amazingly ingenious. And that’s where it starts to get interesting.

FNMLAS Recommended by Cinna He’s your favourite producer’s favourite producer and your favourite autotune crooner’s favourite autotune crooner. A young legend at 26, FNMLAS is a bridge between the stark underground and mainstream with his wide array of collaborators. Be on the look out for his upcoming debut EP TOPFIT.

Razzia BV Recommended by Yuko Yuko Razzia BV is a band from Kootstertille, Friesland from the 80s. I’m probably one of the only people who knows the band because there is just one place on the internet where you can find something about Razzia BV. A soundcloud page called rensepens with six songs on it. It sounds like a fucked up version of The Cure’s Disintegration. I contacted the uploader a while ago with the question where the music is from. He replied: “it was recorded in a barn in the 80s”. Nothing more.

Cinna Recommended by Yuko Yuko Cinna aka Finesselande aka Aime Cain is ‘Holland’s Best Rapper’ who never reached the fame of his younger squad mates like Mr. Polska, Ronnie Flex and Boaz van der Beatz.

Cinna sounds like a Gucci Mane locked up in a Roffa Oost studio filled with lean and reverb processors. His inimitable lyrics move from ultimate swagger to emotional wisdom.

A living legend.

MONTEXLMG Recommended by Cinna They call Cinna an Enigma, but Montex is the true Enigma. As a part of the lefensmannenclan (with Ronnie Flex, Cartiez, Mafe, Maximilli), Montex is the odd man out, his left field fashion sense, great taste in style and image, and the fact that he’s wunderkind producer. Just like Cinna, Montex is truly a bridge between multiple subcultures and a master of many trades, building sound modules and crafting pixel paint-ish merch as a designer.

Local Area Network is supported by:

The Daily Indie

The Rest is Noise

thedailyindie.nl

muziekgebouw.nl/ therestisnoise

TivoliVredenburg

V11

tivolivredenburg.nl

vessel11.nl

The Anomalys Recommended by zZz Deze jongens hebben de opkomst en de ondergang van het beruchte Amsterdamse nachtcafe de Diepte meegemaakt. En dat hoor je. Alle 3 verwoede vinyl verzamelaar van de obscure swingende sort. Rock n Roll in hart en nieren.

De Sp Aties Recommended by The Anomalys Formerly known as The Stilettos, De Sp Aties are relatively new, but already criminally overlooked. With just one guitar and half a drumset, these guys are able to make some of the catchiest, raw punk/rock'n'roll songs. With probably the best Dutch lyrics of the underground in the last 15 years: funny, witty and sometimes gut-wrenchingly heartfelt.

Lo-Lite Recommended by The Anomalys One of the the most overlooked Dutch garageblues-trash pioneers who already started in the 90s and they’re still going strong, playing a festival here and there. I think that just like The Anomalys they mostly play shows outside of The Netherlands.

The Anomalys Recommended by Lo-Lite The Anolamys because right now they embody all that garage punk is about. Searing, mean yet sexy 60s punk, and because of their killer live shows they operate on the very international front of the global trash rock scene.

Green Hornet Recommended by De Sp Aties These guys have been around for ages and they’re still kicking ass and taking names. Trashrock/blues punks with connections to lots of other bands and labels from Groningen that kept rock ‘n’ roll alive when the rest of the world was walking around in lumberjack shirts and work boots.

Tunnelbirds Recommended by De Sp Aties Free form psych/blues duo from Utrecht with an incredibly imaginative and ingenious use of instruments and electronics.

Low Point Drains Recommended by Lo-Lite Low Point Drains because they’re known for their obnoxiously loud and thunderous live shows, which brought them to large parts of the world. They kept the fire of garage rock firmly lit for many years, so let’s hope they’ll rev up that rusty machinery, just like Lo-Lite recently has.

The Check 1-2 Recommended by Tunnelbirds Great songwriters who can put on a great live show. They know how to play a pretty emotional song without getting soft.

Local Area Network is supported by:

Melkweg

Motel Moza誰que

melkweg.nl

motelmozaique.nl

Neushoorn

OT301

neushoorn.nl

ot301.nl

Marius HFs Recommended by Postmodem Marius is a guy who makes electronic music with beautiful harmonies and melodies. His old releases are good, but his new stuff is even better. I can’t wait till it gets released. Criminally underrated.

Postmodem Recommended by Earth Mk. II A true underground group who played grunge before the current big revival but never really found their way to the right audience. The main guy finds his own ways outside of the mainstream to do whatever he wants musically.

Palmbomen Recommended by Marius HFS Always on the move towards something new.

Leuk en Ko Recommended by Earth Mk. II The absolute best Dutch group ever. Active in the late 1980s, they never really got their music out there. “Niemand Is Perfect” is a masterpiece to which no underground act active now compares.

Antenna Recommended by Marius HFS Very original and personal music from a great guy.

Kevin Miller Recommended by Palmbomen My number one person I trust with music. He listens to the raw structure of songs/songwriting like no other. I really like his Postmodem band and Betonkust electric releases, and it’s a pity how little attention this gets but now he’s slowly getting it all out!

Legowelt Recommended by Antenna In the past decades Danny Wolfers made so much fantastic stuff! His work has been highly influential for me and a lot of my friends, especially between 2003 and 2010.

Mark Du Mosch Recommended by Antenna I especially like the harmonies and chord progressions in Mark’s music. He finds a way to create a very distinctive sound of an impossible combination of pre midi disco and techno. There are so many beautiful tracks there.

Earth Mk. II Recommended by Postmodem Hugo (Earth Mk. II’s main guy) keeps putting out a lot of cool songs at a very high pace. He does everything himself and doesn’t need the old fashioned music industry. All tracks can be downloaded for free and are accompanied by unique videos.

zZz We remember zZz storming onto the scene with their debut album The Sound of zZz back in 2005. They came out of nowhere and did something no one else was doing. Producing exciting, dark en groovy psychrock using just an organ and drums. Their unique sounds brought them all across America, Japan, Russia and beyond. And 10 years on, they are still one of the best live bands in the Netherlands.

Unit Moebius Anonymous Recommended by zZz In de vroege jaren 90 maakten deze mannen uit Den Haag kneterharde electro funk, italo en acid. Electronische muziek met een punk attitude. Verantwoordelijk voor Bunker Records, Intergalactic FM, Murder Capital, Motor Wolf, I.F., Legowelt, e.d. Love it. Helden!

Local Area Network is supported by:

Academie voor Beeldende Vorming (AHK)

Amsterdam Alternative

ahk.nl/beeldende-vorming

amsterdamalternative.nl

Bimhuis

Crossing Border Festival

bimhuis.nl

crossingborderfestival.nl

Rats on Rafts Divisive, stubborn, destructive, hostile and painfully ferocious, the Rats have never been crowd-pleasers.

Sticking instead to themselves, their own ideals and their hometown Rotterdam for the past 10 years, the foursome have cultivated an intensity in sound and performance rarely matched in this little Netherlands.

The Homesick Recommended by Rats on Rafts The Homesick reminds us of being young, but having some special talent to guide all your stupidity, frustration and hunger for eierballs into music. We can’t remember ever being so excited about a band from Holland since… well, our own group. It is a pity the singer is really arrogant and the bass player has an eating disorder. Although it feels like the drummer should lose these guys, he finds a special way to control and guide their energy and knowledge of what a great song should sound like.

Venus Tropicaux Recommended by Rats on Rafts Venus Tropicaux reminds you of why a band gets started in the first place: no ambition, no school, no technique. Just pure feelings, passion and energy to express themselves. The sound, song structures and 15 minute sets seem to connect to the no-wave period or bands like The Slits of The Raincoats. Not sure if they know or care, either way, they are brilliant.

Walbert MK Recommended by Waterlelyck Walbert MK is a project by Jaap van der Velde from Dokkum. He is a fearless, talented and handsome young man. What I like is that Jaap seems to be simultaneously serious and having fun fooling around with casios and delays. For someone already so active, it’s exciting to imagine what lies ahead. Listen to The ‘Walbert MK’ Tape 2k14!

Waterlelyck Recommended by The Homesick Waterlelyck is teenage synth prodigy Lyckle de Jong (which is a Frisian name!). Equipped with 80’s keyboards and sequencers, he makes a great mix between the best classics of Wham and modern EDM. Lyckle is one of the most charismatic Amsterdammer we know and we love the fact he is interested in the Frisian language and culture.

Eva Braun Recommended by Bonne Aparte Back in 2007/08 we often shared the stage with our friends from Eva Braun. When you listen to their music you might wonder if they are really trying to make ‘good’ music. And when you’d watch a live performance it could even seem like the members didn’t really like each other. Drawing from art-school related No wave bands like Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and Rosa Yemen, and adding a touch of noise rock like Arab on Radar and Harry Pussy, they did something a lot of people had never seen back then. And we enjoyed every bit of it. *By the way*: guitarist Ruben Braeken recently started a new project called Paralympics. Check them out.

Enno Velthuys Recommended by Bonne Aparte Probably a name that doesn’t ring a bell for most people, Enno Velthuys was a socalled ‘home-taper’ in the 1980’s. Little is known about him. He lived a reclusive life and died in 2009 in a mental institution. Living with his mum in Den Haag he released 6 cassettes of which some tracks can be streamed on youtube. Every single track he made shows off such luscious handling of ambient synthesizer music and oozes the solitary state in which he must have lived. For some reason his music really, really gets to me, and I’m startled his music hasn’t gotten a proper re-release.

Local Area Network is supported by:

Red Light Radio

Sonic Acts

redlightradio.net

sonicacts.com

State-X New Forms

Sugarfactory

state-xnewforms.nl

sugarfactory.nl

Sofie Letitre Recommended by ZES Incredible vocalist, incredible beats and a lot of polyrhythmic segments. In my opinion, she is the next Bjork.

Drvg Cvltvre Recommended by Lemontrip Founder and artistic director of Incubate festival. One of the, if not THE Dutch “go to” artists when it comes to Doom techno.

Ggu:ll Recommended by Drvg Cvltvre Super slow, super heavy sludge metal with black metal vocals.

One of the best bands in the land currently and on the verge of releasing their debut album.

Odal Recommended by Drvg Cvltvre The Dutch king of noise Peter Zincken uses this alias for his powerelectronics.

Absolutely mindblowing powerful noise from Amsterdam.

Het Universumpje Recommended by Sofie Letitre One of Holland’s strongest rockbands (à la Queens of the Stone Age) with Dutch lyrics drenched in absurdism.

Vakantie Recommended by Herrek Gijs and Rik just really know what fun is about. Don’t we all just want to hang out with friends, look at great drawings and paintings, and dance to some awesome music. So they provide us with a cool place called the Gym, operate in some kind of painters collective, and make some great dance tunes. Vakantie sounds like the coolest dance music you’ve ever heard, but without taking themselves too seriously.

Stellar Om Source Recommended by Vakantie When we learned about Stellar OM Source, we soon became spellbound by her introverted mantras on hardware machines and her enigmatic appearance. Back in the day, we were still defining what Vakantie was by running back and forth between techno and new age healing music.

Stellar OM Source inspired us to practice a delicate yin yang balance between the two. Later we found out she is a yoga teacher as well.

Sweat Tongue Recommended by Herrek There aren’t that many bands who dare to stay so close to what they’re feeling, who really dare to sound crappy to find the beauty that lies underneath. I’ve seen the band perform several times and each time I had the feeling that there was something really important going on.

Like they feel an urge to find something but they don’t yet know what it is. Always with a great punk attitude, always embarrassingly pure.

Michiel Klein Recommended by De Tuinen Michiel is someone I admire a lot. I believe he has very good ears, because everything he’s involved with has a sonic quality that’s pretty rare. He’s quiet, soft spoken and has this calmness over him that I wish I had. I’ve never heard him swear and he never seems angry.

Other than that, he’s in, like, six hundred bands, he organizes shows, and probably does a lot more that I don’t know about.

Also, he’s not on Facebook, which I think is really cool and mysterious.

Local Area Network is supported by:

Incubate

Le Guess Who?

incubate.org

leguesswho.nl

Lowlands

Mediamatic

lowlands.nl

mediamatic.net

Das Ding Recommended by Dollkraut I don’t think it needs any introduction. Still.. one of Holland’s most influential wave/electro/post punk projects, born in the 80s and still going strong.

I-F Recommended by Das Ding Not much needs to be said about this awesome DJ and Internet radio pioneer.

Once again, it is the platform he provides for all those labels, DJ’s, musicians and the otherwise musically-obsessed that prompted me to select him. I’ve played my best modular set at Panama Racing Club, and that is all down to the relaxed vibe he and his club broadcast.

Naive Set Recommended by Nouveau Vélo Mighty pop songs full of delightful melodies and harmonies, brought with so much taste and skill it hurts.

Marc van der Holst Recommended by Naive Set Widely known as a writer, poet, and cartoonist, with his bands Hospital Bombers, Spilt Milk and the Avonden, Marc has proven himself an essential part in the Dutch musical underground. A ceaseless creator, Marc drops his many projects, musical and otherwise, like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs, without much thought as to whether they’re eaten by birds and getting him lost along the way.

Hallo Venray Recommended by Naive Set We’re all fond of this respectable, long-lasting band. A constant presence in the underground, it’s never Goodbye Venray; they’ve maintained an impressive streak of new music, working on side-projects and recording other Dutch artists at their Sahara Sound Studio.

HOEK Quite possibly the youngest of the lot, at 18 Casimir Geelhoed has only just ushered his HOEK project into the light. And yet, his compositions are so meticulous and densely crafted, you’d think it the worked of lifelong craftsman, not a budding apprentice. The first time we heard it, we were speechless. The first time we witnessed it live, we were dumbfounded. So much talent and direction can only precipitate a prodigious catalogue.

Lemontrip Recommended by HOEK Voor mij persoonlijk belangrijk omdat hij mij in de scene heeft geïntroduceerd.

Veelzijdige producer met een goede smaak en oog voor detail.

Sweat Tongue Recommended by Das Ding Although their band Sweat Tongue (among other configurations/names) doesn’t really fit any label, it is their hardcore dedication to the freeform format of noise that distinguishes them from the rest. You never know what you’re gonna get but it will always be intense. But above all, it is the work they do in giving a platform to the hundreds of smallish bands and collaborations that pass through the DIY network, with their MiMa nights for Roodkapje, that one has to really appreciate. And no matter where you play in Holland, you will see their name pop up at one point. They also run a tape-label called DeHef, which has done some great tapes.

Marsel van der Wielen Recommended by A Made Up Sound Delsin’s early releases opened my eyes to different strands of techno than the ones you’d typically hear in a club at the time. They were a major inspiration to me when I started making music myself over ten years ago. It’s great to see the label still going strong in 2015.

A Made Up Sound / 2562 Recommended by HOEK Internationaal gezien denk ik één van de meest invloedrijke Nederlandse elektronische artiesten. Bekend geworden door zijn eigenzinnige interpretatie van Londense dubstep.

ZES Recommended by Lemontrip He’s created a typical and unique “ZES sound” by staying true to himself and his musical roots. He’s not sensitive to hypes or trends within the musical landscape, which makes his music 100% sincere and pure.

SuPPort your LoCAL ArEA NEtWork