Meindert Talma & the Negroes
Encyclopedia
Meindert Talma is a Dutch
lo-fi
singer and keyboardist
whose backing band goes by the name of "the Negroes." He sings in Dutch
as well as West Frisian
and English and has released seven albums .
In 1998, the follow-up album Ferhûddûker was recorded in the Pet Sound studio and produced by Jan Heddema. The album was released by Hooverflag (De Konkurrent). With this album Meindert Talma & The Negroes became a permanent band. Aside from Talma, the band then consisted of Janke Brands (bass), Janpier Brands (drums, guitar), and Nyk de Vries (guitar, drums).
Dammen met ome Hajo ("Checkers with uncle Hajo") was the band's third release. It was recorded at Studio Enterprise, produced by Frans Hagenaars, and released in 1999 on independent record label Excelsior Recordings
. The album functioned as the soundtrack to a book of the same title and both were based on Talma's childhood memories and his early student years in Groningen.
In early 2001 the band recorded Leave stumper with Frans Hagenaars taking the production chair once again. The album was released in November and contained a special CD booklet with illustrations from Gummbah and Jeroen de Leijer. In May of that year, Ben Onderstijn took the place of drummer Nyk de Vries until the end of 2002 when de Vries returned.
For his next album, Talma asked labelmates from Excelsior Recordings
to participate with Anne Soldaat (guitar), Jeroen Kleijn (drums), and Cor van Ingen (bass) lending their services. This album was also accompanied by a book which appeared with publisher Thomas Rap. The covers of the book and the CD were created by Peter Pontiac. Titled Kriebelvisje, the album was released in March 2003. The Negroes returned for the subsequent live performances but Talma also performed solo as an opening act for Spinvis during a theater tour.
With the song "Callgirl," Talma previewed his English language project Tamango. The song appears on the compilation The Pet Series volume 3. In addition to this Talma also contributes a cover of "Someone Loves You Honey" (June Lodge) to the compilation More Than A Woman in February 2004. In October of that year, Meindert Talma & the Negroes won the Frisian songfestival with the song "Dunsje wyldekat dunsje."
This song also appeared on the fifth untitled release by the band, once again released by Excelsior Recordings. The album was self-produced and was recorded in a home studio in Drachster Compagnie. Meindert Talma & the Negroes also contributed to Schaamte en woede ("Shame and Anger"), a charity compilation, with the song "Datst du net mear bestiest."
On 11 January 2006 Iemand moet het doen ("Somebody Has to Do It") opened at the Grand Theatre in Groningen. It was the first theater show that Meindert Talma & the Negroes performed under their own name. Together with media artist Jan Klug, the band played out a filmic love story.
In December 2006, album number six, Nu geloof ik wat er in de Bijbel staat ("Now I Believe what the Bible Told", was released on Excelsior Recordings. The album, whose title is a line from the song "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
", was recorded in a little abandoned church in Drachster Compagnie and consisted of Dutch-language reworkings of old American folk traditionals. Meindert Talma selected 9 songs of the Anthology of American Folk Music by Harry Smith and made these his own. Coinciding with the album release, the band celebrates ten years of Meindert Talma & the Negroes at Vera in Groningen.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
singer and keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
whose backing band goes by the name of "the Negroes." He sings in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
as well as West Frisian
West Frisian language
West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
and English and has released seven albums .
Biography
In 1995, friends of Meindert Talma pressed some of his home recordings on a single as a birthday gift. Unexpectedly the record was a hit and Talma became popular in the alternative music scene in Groningen. Two years later, Talma and a group of friends (the Negroes) recorded a debut album, Hondert punten ("Hundred points").In 1998, the follow-up album Ferhûddûker was recorded in the Pet Sound studio and produced by Jan Heddema. The album was released by Hooverflag (De Konkurrent). With this album Meindert Talma & The Negroes became a permanent band. Aside from Talma, the band then consisted of Janke Brands (bass), Janpier Brands (drums, guitar), and Nyk de Vries (guitar, drums).
Dammen met ome Hajo ("Checkers with uncle Hajo") was the band's third release. It was recorded at Studio Enterprise, produced by Frans Hagenaars, and released in 1999 on independent record label Excelsior Recordings
Excelsior Recordings
Excelsior Recordings is an independent record label located in Utrecht, Netherlands, born out of a love - for 7" vinyl, and anger - over almost-famous Dutch band’s Daryll-Ann's luck. First up was a single release; Nothing sucks like Electrolux...
. The album functioned as the soundtrack to a book of the same title and both were based on Talma's childhood memories and his early student years in Groningen.
In early 2001 the band recorded Leave stumper with Frans Hagenaars taking the production chair once again. The album was released in November and contained a special CD booklet with illustrations from Gummbah and Jeroen de Leijer. In May of that year, Ben Onderstijn took the place of drummer Nyk de Vries until the end of 2002 when de Vries returned.
For his next album, Talma asked labelmates from Excelsior Recordings
Excelsior Recordings
Excelsior Recordings is an independent record label located in Utrecht, Netherlands, born out of a love - for 7" vinyl, and anger - over almost-famous Dutch band’s Daryll-Ann's luck. First up was a single release; Nothing sucks like Electrolux...
to participate with Anne Soldaat (guitar), Jeroen Kleijn (drums), and Cor van Ingen (bass) lending their services. This album was also accompanied by a book which appeared with publisher Thomas Rap. The covers of the book and the CD were created by Peter Pontiac. Titled Kriebelvisje, the album was released in March 2003. The Negroes returned for the subsequent live performances but Talma also performed solo as an opening act for Spinvis during a theater tour.
With the song "Callgirl," Talma previewed his English language project Tamango. The song appears on the compilation The Pet Series volume 3. In addition to this Talma also contributes a cover of "Someone Loves You Honey" (June Lodge) to the compilation More Than A Woman in February 2004. In October of that year, Meindert Talma & the Negroes won the Frisian songfestival with the song "Dunsje wyldekat dunsje."
This song also appeared on the fifth untitled release by the band, once again released by Excelsior Recordings. The album was self-produced and was recorded in a home studio in Drachster Compagnie. Meindert Talma & the Negroes also contributed to Schaamte en woede ("Shame and Anger"), a charity compilation, with the song "Datst du net mear bestiest."
On 11 January 2006 Iemand moet het doen ("Somebody Has to Do It") opened at the Grand Theatre in Groningen. It was the first theater show that Meindert Talma & the Negroes performed under their own name. Together with media artist Jan Klug, the band played out a filmic love story.
In December 2006, album number six, Nu geloof ik wat er in de Bijbel staat ("Now I Believe what the Bible Told", was released on Excelsior Recordings. The album, whose title is a line from the song "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is a blues song recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927 that became "one of his most famous compositions". Son House used the melody on his 1930 recording of "Mississippi County Farm Blues"....
", was recorded in a little abandoned church in Drachster Compagnie and consisted of Dutch-language reworkings of old American folk traditionals. Meindert Talma selected 9 songs of the Anthology of American Folk Music by Harry Smith and made these his own. Coinciding with the album release, the band celebrates ten years of Meindert Talma & the Negroes at Vera in Groningen.