Bløf
Encyclopedia
BLØF is an award-winning four-piece Dutch
rock
band from Vlissingen, Zeeland
, the Netherlands, which has become popular regionally and internationally for its music, its frequent collaboration
s with bands from other parts of the world, willingness to incorporate other genres into their "sound", and focus on bettering the world around them. It has twice won the prestigious Edison Award for "Best Band" in the Netherlands.
Pop-Rock band, founded
in 1992 by musician
Peter Slager, and originally consisted of four musicians: bass
ist Peter Slager, guitar
ist Paskal Jakobsen, Bas Kennis, playing keyboards
, and Henk Tjoonk as drummer
. By late 1994, the band recorded their first album, Naakt Onder De Hemel, (roughly translated as "Naked under the heavens"), which took just one week. Drummer Henk Tjoonk suggested distributing it themselves, and their self-produced, self-promoted record was a hit in Zeeland
; a province of The Netherlands. The record was well-received by critics and drew enough attention to score promotional support and a contract from EMI Music, to take over distribution of the album nationwide. The single "Aan de Kust" became a hit song in Zeeland
, despite the fact that it got little airplay from national radio stations. Keyboardist Bas Kennis credits their first rudimentary website that was up and running as early as 1995, before other local bands. He maintains the website gave fans access to the band and a way to find out more about their music and tour dates. BLØF received an award for "Best New Talent" for the album. The money that was included with the award was used for recording of their second album, Helder, which was released in September 1997.
manager Frank van der Meijden they got a full recording contract with EMI
. The changes in the group worked as the first single released after this, a piano ballad called Liefs uit Londen, became a huge success. On 10 March 1998, BLØF recorded live material in "The Nighttrain", a discotheque in Middelburg
. This material appears on an extra edition of Helder. The next two singles the band released were songs from the live recording: a new version of Aan De Kust and Wat Zou Je Doen. The original version of both songs appeared originally on Naakt Onder De Hemel. Both songs became hit singles.
) and Ronald Vanhuffel. It had a stronger rock sound than before and the single Harder Dan Ik Hebben Kan became a single in less than a month. By early 2000, the band received an Edison Award for Best Dutch Band. Before the release of Watermakers, the group released the singles Dansen Aan Zee and Hier. At the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney, the group gave a concert for the Dutch Olympians and their crew. In October 2000, Watermakers was finally released and became an incredible success. The band gave a huge concert in Ahoy in 2001 and they again received an Edison for Best Dutch Band.
On 17 March 2001, the band received a shock. Drummer Chris Götte died in a motorcycle accident. Stunned by the news, the band stopped performing for some time to mourn the loss of their friend. A year later, they released the Live-CD Oog In Oog — Live In Ahoy, the last concert featuring Götte. They finally decided to continue, and chose a new drummer; Norman Bonink, who had experience playing in Frank Boeijen
's band. Their first album in this new line-up was Blauwe Ruis in 2002 dedicated to Chris Götte and his family, followed by another Live DVD
, Tussen Nacht En Morgen. While Blauwe Ruis is clearly influenced by the passing of Chris, the band decided to create a lighter, more positive album in 2003 called Omarm.
BLØF travelled to Kenya
in 2003 to play with artists there, and they later used their experiences there as an inspiration for their seventh studio album. The band performed internationally after this. In 2004, the American band Counting Crows
toured with BLØF, forming a strong friendship, and together, both bands recorded and performed during the summer. They made a single together called "Holiday in Spain
", singing the song as a duet, in both languages, which has added to its popularity, and gained increasing visibility and interest in the United States
.
In 2005 BLØF began travelling around the world for exposure to new cultures and inspiration for a new album, and were successful in their efforts, with a new album, Umoja being recorded. It was eventually released in 2006. The Umoja project tries to raise awareness for the Millennium Development Goals
, collaborating with artists from 12 countries they visited on their tour., The project has resulted in many spinoffs: concerts in the Netherlands with almost all musicians that participated in the Umoja project, a special concert with the Kodo
drummers from Japan, a book Umoja Travel Lodge, and a DVD of the Umoja concerts. While being a very successful project it's also very demanding for the Band. They say they greatly underestimated the amount of work that goes into such a project.
In BLØF's next album, Oktober, released in October 2008, they went back to basics, with a stripped down sound, and all tracks recorded in one take with no overdubs. The recording sessions in January and February, 2008 produced enough material for 2 albums so a second album appeared in early 2009 named April.
Both Oktober and April were no big success, so after the 2010 club tour they went back to the drawing board and promised to come back with a new album with the old BLØF-sound. This album came out on February 25, 2011 and is called Alles Blijft Anders (Everything Stays Different).
(1992–1997)
(1997–2001)
Paskal Jakobsen — lead vocals, guitar
Bas Kennis — keyboard, backing vocals
Peter Slager — bass, backing vocals
Chris Götte - percussion, backing vocals
(2001–present)
Paskal Jakobsen — lead vocals, guitar
Bas Kennis — keyboard, guitar, backing vocals
Peter Slager — bass, backing vocals
Norman Bonink - percussion, backing vocals
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Vlissingen, Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, the Netherlands, which has become popular regionally and internationally for its music, its frequent collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
s with bands from other parts of the world, willingness to incorporate other genres into their "sound", and focus on bettering the world around them. It has twice won the prestigious Edison Award for "Best Band" in the Netherlands.
Early history
BLØF is a DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Pop-Rock band, founded
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
in 1992 by musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Peter Slager, and originally consisted of four musicians: bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Peter Slager, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Paskal Jakobsen, Bas Kennis, playing keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, and Henk Tjoonk as drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. By late 1994, the band recorded their first album, Naakt Onder De Hemel, (roughly translated as "Naked under the heavens"), which took just one week. Drummer Henk Tjoonk suggested distributing it themselves, and their self-produced, self-promoted record was a hit in Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
; a province of The Netherlands. The record was well-received by critics and drew enough attention to score promotional support and a contract from EMI Music, to take over distribution of the album nationwide. The single "Aan de Kust" became a hit song in Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, despite the fact that it got little airplay from national radio stations. Keyboardist Bas Kennis credits their first rudimentary website that was up and running as early as 1995, before other local bands. He maintains the website gave fans access to the band and a way to find out more about their music and tour dates. BLØF received an award for "Best New Talent" for the album. The money that was included with the award was used for recording of their second album, Helder, which was released in September 1997.
First years
The first two singles, Helder and Zeven Nachten didn't make it to the charts. Because of internal struggles within the band, threatening an eventual breakup, by the end of 1997 the band fired Tjoonk and hired Chris Götte in his place. With the help of ex-Doe MaarDoe Maar
Doe Maar was a Dutch ska band with punk and reggae influences. Their career ran from 1978 to 1984 and they were one of the most successful pop bands in Dutch history. Doe Maar translates as Go Ahead or Just do it, a phrase mostly used in a deprecatory, sulky manner.-Early years:Doe Maar was formed...
manager Frank van der Meijden they got a full recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The changes in the group worked as the first single released after this, a piano ballad called Liefs uit Londen, became a huge success. On 10 March 1998, BLØF recorded live material in "The Nighttrain", a discotheque in Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
. This material appears on an extra edition of Helder. The next two singles the band released were songs from the live recording: a new version of Aan De Kust and Wat Zou Je Doen. The original version of both songs appeared originally on Naakt Onder De Hemel. Both songs became hit singles.
Years of success
In the summer 1998, the group performed more and received awards for their efforts. They released the album XXL Live Met Het Zeeuws Orkest, a live album recorded with an orchestra from Zeeland, and a new album called Boven. This album was recorded with the help of Peter Bauwers (2 Unlimited2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited is a Dutch Eurodance/Hi-NRG act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart...
) and Ronald Vanhuffel. It had a stronger rock sound than before and the single Harder Dan Ik Hebben Kan became a single in less than a month. By early 2000, the band received an Edison Award for Best Dutch Band. Before the release of Watermakers, the group released the singles Dansen Aan Zee and Hier. At the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney, the group gave a concert for the Dutch Olympians and their crew. In October 2000, Watermakers was finally released and became an incredible success. The band gave a huge concert in Ahoy in 2001 and they again received an Edison for Best Dutch Band.
On 17 March 2001, the band received a shock. Drummer Chris Götte died in a motorcycle accident. Stunned by the news, the band stopped performing for some time to mourn the loss of their friend. A year later, they released the Live-CD Oog In Oog — Live In Ahoy, the last concert featuring Götte. They finally decided to continue, and chose a new drummer; Norman Bonink, who had experience playing in Frank Boeijen
Frank Boeijen
Frank Boeijen is a Dutch singer and guitarist. His best known songs are Kronenburg Park about a prostitute, Zwart Wit about the racial murder of Kerwin Duinmeijer in Amsterdam and Twee gezichten about a split personality...
's band. Their first album in this new line-up was Blauwe Ruis in 2002 dedicated to Chris Götte and his family, followed by another Live DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Tussen Nacht En Morgen. While Blauwe Ruis is clearly influenced by the passing of Chris, the band decided to create a lighter, more positive album in 2003 called Omarm.
BLØF travelled to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in 2003 to play with artists there, and they later used their experiences there as an inspiration for their seventh studio album. The band performed internationally after this. In 2004, the American band Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
toured with BLØF, forming a strong friendship, and together, both bands recorded and performed during the summer. They made a single together called "Holiday in Spain
Holiday in Spain
"Holiday in Spain" is a song originally performed by Counting Crows on the album Hard Candy, and was later recorded as a duet with Dutch pop-group Bløf. A notable aspect of this version is the fact that the parts performed by Bløf are sung in Dutch, whereas the parts performed by Counting Crows are...
", singing the song as a duet, in both languages, which has added to its popularity, and gained increasing visibility and interest in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 2005 BLØF began travelling around the world for exposure to new cultures and inspiration for a new album, and were successful in their efforts, with a new album, Umoja being recorded. It was eventually released in 2006. The Umoja project tries to raise awareness for the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
, collaborating with artists from 12 countries they visited on their tour., The project has resulted in many spinoffs: concerts in the Netherlands with almost all musicians that participated in the Umoja project, a special concert with the Kodo
Kodo (taiko group)
is a professional taiko drumming troupe. Based on Sado Island, Japan, they have had a role in popularizing taiko drumming, both in Japan and abroad...
drummers from Japan, a book Umoja Travel Lodge, and a DVD of the Umoja concerts. While being a very successful project it's also very demanding for the Band. They say they greatly underestimated the amount of work that goes into such a project.
In BLØF's next album, Oktober, released in October 2008, they went back to basics, with a stripped down sound, and all tracks recorded in one take with no overdubs. The recording sessions in January and February, 2008 produced enough material for 2 albums so a second album appeared in early 2009 named April.
Both Oktober and April were no big success, so after the 2010 club tour they went back to the drawing board and promised to come back with a new album with the old BLØF-sound. This album came out on February 25, 2011 and is called Alles Blijft Anders (Everything Stays Different).
Personnel
Line-ups
>- Paskal Jakobsen - lead vocals, guitar
- Bas Kennis - keyboard, backing vocals
- Peter Slager - bass, backing vocals
- Henk Tjoonk - percussion, backing vocals
Studio albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Naakt Onder De Hemel |
| 1997 | Helder |
| 1999 | Boven |
| 2000 | Watermakers' |
| 2002 | Blauwe Ruis |
| 2003 | Omarm |
| 2006 | Umoja Umoja (album) Umoja is an album made by the Dutch band BLØF. It was made in 2006. It was produced with help of many foreign artists. It had already been sold 50.000 times before it was released. It was the number one album sold in the Netherlands in the month after the release date. Umoja is Swahili for 'be... |
| 2008 | Oktober |
| 2009 | April |
| 2011 | Alles Blijft Anders |
Compilations
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Het Eind Van Het Begin |
| 2007 | Platinum |
Live albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1998 | XXL Live Met Het Zeeuwse Orkest |
| 2001 | Oog in Oog: Live in Ahoy |
| 2002 | Tussen nacht en morgen - Live met het Metropole Orkest (bonus CD with "Blauwe ruis") |
| 2004 | Live 2004 |
| 2006 | XXS |
| 2007 | Een Manier Om Thuis Te Komen: Umoja Live |
| 2009 | XXS 2 |
DVDs
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Tussen Nacht en Morgen: Live Met Het Metropole Orkest |
| 2004 | Live 2004 |
| 2005 | Tussen Schemer en Avond: Live Met Het Metropole Orkest |
| 2007 | Beste Clips & Documentaires |
| 2007 | Een Manier Om Thuis Te Komen |
Singles
| Year | Song | Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Liefs uit Londen" (Greetings from London) | #13 | Helder |
| 1998 | "Aan de kust" (At the coast) | #27 | Naakt onder de hemel |
| 1998 | "Wat zou je doen" (What would you do) | #5 | Naakt onder de hemel |
| 1999 | "Harder dan ik hebben kan" (Harder than I can take) | #11 | Boven |
| 1999 | "Niets dan dit" (Nothing more than this) | -- | Boven |
| 1999 | "Zaterdag" (Saturday) | -- | Boven |
| 1999 | "Eén dag op de grens" (One day at the border) | -- | Boven |
| 2000 | "Dansen aan zee" (Dancing at sea) | #9 | Watermakers |
| 2000 | "Hier" (Here) | #15 | Watermakers |
| 2001 | "Ze is er niet" (She's not there) | #33 | Watermakers |
| 2001 | "Dichterbij dan ooit" (Closer than ever) | #12 | Blauwe ruis |
| 2002 | "Blauwe ruis" (Blue noise) | #36 | Blauwe ruis |
| 2002 | "Mooie dag" (Beautiful day) | #17 | Blauwe ruis |
| 2002 | "Meer van jou" (More from you) | -- | Blauwe ruis |
| 2003 | "Omarm" (Embrace) | #8 | Omarm |
| 2003 | "Misschien niet de eeuwigheid" (Maybe not eternity) | #39 | Omarm |
| 2000 | "Barcelona" | -- | Omarm |
| 2004 | "Hart tegen hart" (Heart to heart) | #32 | Omarm |
| 2004 | "Holiday in Spain" (with Counting Crows Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"... ) |
#1 | Hard Candy (Counting Crows album) |
| 2004 | "Opstand" (Insurrection) | #13 | Het einde van het begin |
| 2005 | "Dat wij dat zijn" (That we are them) | #25 | Omarm |
| 2006 | "Aanzoek zonder ringen" (Proposal without rings) | #2 | Umoja |
| 2006 | "Hemingway" | #8 | Umoja |
| 2006 | "Mens" (Human) | #10 | Umoja |
| 2006 | "Een manier om thuis te komen" (A way to get home) | #5 | Umoja |
| 2007 | "Donker hart" (Dark heart) | #8 | Een manier om thuis te komen: Umoja live |
| 2007 | "Alles is liefde" (Everything is love) | #2 | Alles Is Liefde OST |
| 2008 | "Oktober" (October) | #7 | Oktober |
| 2008 | "Vallende engel" (Falling angel) | #28 | Oktober |
| 2009 | "Vandaag" (Today) | #7 | April |
| 2009 | "Midzomernacht" (Midsummer night) | #36* | April |
Listening
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86MESzaYp9g"Holiday in Spain" sung in two languages as a duet with the Counting CrowsCounting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
] - "Blof: de wereld draait door"
External links
Official website- Interview in English with keyboard player Bas Kennis about the band Chris Götte memorial website
- Review of 'Oktober' (in English)