350 pressed limited - Very Rare!
Well, this is going to be a very interesting review as three legendary Dutch folk groups have a new album released. Something to look forward to seen the fact that Dutch folk is still a rarely recorded style. In the series about Dutch folk which I wrote for Folkworld, I interviewed all three the bands, so even for you the names might sounds familiar. First of all the band Folkcorn.[25] A band that was founded almost forty years ago and is one of the last survivors of the golden area of Dutch folk during the seventies. The group kept on releasing albums during the past years and always in a constant good quality. This new one is called Wie sal dan and contains eighteen traditional songs and dances from the period 1500-1850 from known sources such as Oude en nieuwe hollantse boerenlietjes en contredansen. The sound will sound familiar to all of you following the band and the Dutch traditional folk in general. Accordion, recorders, guitar and percussion are the main ingredients and the voices of all four of the musicians. Although they use the accordion and guitar, I think Folkcorn is one of the few groups that stay close to the original acoustic atmosphere of the songs and dances. A nice new album which will be enjoyed by the lovers of the more authentic traditional style.
The second album is by the trio Twee violen en een bas you can read an interview with violinist Jos Koning.[23] Like Folkcorn, Jos Koning has been part of the golden area of the Dutch folk and played in groups such as Crackerhash and Perelaar. With twee violen en een bas, Konings plays with Niki Jansen on violin and Willem Raadsveld on bass. This new album I personally consider as a highlight in the career of Koning and the best album by Twee violen en een bas, until today. They focused on music from the eighteenth century which tells about the Dutch royalties. The seventeen tracks show a trio that is passionate for their music and through the years has created an own, highly professional sound. I love the combination of the two violins and the way Raadsveld supports the gracefulness of the violins with his deep sound of the double bass. Their choice of asking Sytse Buwalda, with his high pitched voice, to sing on two tracks, gives an extra dimension to the album. This is the more romantic, almost classical approach of Dutch traditional music. Played by musicians who are capable of putting the music in a historical perspective and doing this in such a way that brings them at the top of Dutch (folk) music.
The third album is from the legendary group Chimera. They recorded two albums in the late seventies, early eighties, both considered as being a highlight in Dutch folk(rock). It is almost thirty years after their last album Obstakels and the past two years Bas Verkade, one of the founding members, kept telling me that together with his wife Marry Verkade, the other founding member, and their son Maryn Verkade they were planning a restart of the band. Occasionally a demo track was send by MP3 and suddenly this new album is there. Only 350 CD’s are made, so when interested you need to be fast. They can be ordered through the webpage of the band. The album contains nine new tracks, no remakes of old folk songs this time. Most of the lyrics are written by Marry and the music she wrote together with Bas. The trio is backed by Hans de Lange on drums and percussion. The first thing that you will notice is the recognizable voice of Marry, who sounds exactly like thirty years ago. Also the sound of the recorder with the strings played by Bas en Maryn, it all sounds very familiar and trusted. Somehow it really feels like a first new step, the recordings are not made in a professional studio and that can be heard occasionally and somehow I have the feeling that they feel a bit shy to really bring their music out in the open, which is understandable thirty years after the last output. But this album shows that Chimera has raised and is slowly finding a new balance and own sound. On this album you will find a few beautiful songs and tunes, still a bit unpolished, but very promising. Keep following this band as I’m full of confidence that they will surprise us in future, for now ... good that they are back!
© Eelco Schilder
01 - Memory Song
02 - Uitgevlogen
03 - De Basiliek
04 - Romein
05 - Handen
06 - Dromer
07 - Afscheid
08 - De Slaapwandelaar
09 - Hart van Steen
Marry Verkade / vocals, flutes, recorders
Bas Verkade / guitar, bouzouki, vocals
Marijn Verkade / bass, bouzouki
Guest:
Hans de Lange / drums, percussion