The Amsterdams
Encyclopedia
The Amsterdams are a Romania
n indie rock
band formed in Bucharest
in 2005. Their current line-up consist of Andrei Hațegan (lead vocals
, keyboards
, guitar
, percussion), Andrei Ungureanu (guitar
), Augustin Nicolae (bass
, percussion) and Ovidiu Bejan (guitar
, keyboards
, backing vocals, percussion).
The band toured in countries like UK
, France
, Spain
, Holland, Italy
, Hungary
and Czech Republic
and opened for bands like The Cranberries
, Wolf Parade
and Handsome Furs
.
Up to date, The Amsterdams released two studio albums, an EP and four videos. Their second studio album, Electromagnetica, was mastered by Harris Newman
(also known for his work with Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire) and features Dan Boeckner
, who plays guitar on "This Burial Ground's For Two".
, The Smashing Pumpkins
, Travis
, Oasis
and The Stone Roses
. Shortly after, they were joined by bassist Dan Olaru and drummer Vlad Stoica. The name of the band was especially chosen to express the idea of artistic freedom, or, as Andrei Hațegan puts it:
The band played their first gig in 2006, in Big Mamou Club, Bucharest
. That summer, Vlad Stoica and Dan Olaru left The Amsterdams due to musical divergences, and formed a new band, called The Guillotines. Olaru was replaced by Augustin Nicolae, and shortly after the band was joined by guitarist Ovidiu Bejan. During the following months, The Amsterdams struggled hard to find a new drummer, working with no less than thirteen people; eventually, they chose Alex Ghiță.
In 2007, the band recorded two songs, "Taking Care Of Anna" and "Fireworks". "Taking Care Of Anna" was aired on a local radio station, 89FM, while "Fireworks" was included on a compilation called "The Next Dog Desert Island Selection", produced by Roadrunner Music. Later that year, The Amsterdams were invited to play at the third edition of UnderLondon2 Festival, in Bucharest. They were also part of the line-up for Stufstock 5 Festival, which featured The Dandy Warhols
as headliners. Their performance impressed the American
band, and made Courtney Taylor-Taylor
to dedicate them the song "Country Leaver", while calling them "the best Romanian band".
Autumn brought them a new line-up change; drummer Alex Ghiță left the band, and was later replaced by Paul Ballo (Go to Berlin).
Following this release, The Amsterdams played at Europa Vox Festival, in France
; after this performance, they went to London for a gig in Dublin Castle Club. The EP was promoted in the United Kingdom, gaining some favorable reviews. "Suffering And Surfing" and "Petrolize All Mice" were broadcasted on several local radio stations, like Cambridge University Radio and at BBC6 Music.
In the summer of 2008, the band was invited to several festivals, such as Peninsula
, B'Estfest
and Stufstock
, this time on the main stage, with Apocalyptica
and Air Traffic
. Meanwhile, Vlad Stoica rejoined the band, replacing Paul Ballo.
At the end of February 2009, the band opened the series of live concerts broadcasted on MTV Romania's official site, a project destined to promote local alternative music. In April, The Amsterdams performed an unplugged gig at the local radio station ProFM, during which they also played some songs from their debut album. The radio station subsequently invited them to play during their sixteenth anniversary.
The album was produced, distributed and edited by the band, under the name of their own label
, Post Pop Records. It was registered at the Studio ISV, mixed by Alex Dragomir at Raza Studio and mastered by Christian Mike Sugar at CSM-Lab Bucharest. Andrei Hațegan explained the title in an interview:
The band also filmed and released a video for the first single, "Chased by the Housewives". The video was directed by Anamaria Lazarovici and premiered on MTV Romania's official site. Singer Andrei Hațegan explained this choice by stating "We chose to make a video for this song because we like it a lot, it has less than four minutes, so it can be aired on TV without any problems, and, least but not last, because we were forced to do so." while bassist Augustin Nicolae specified "We thought that it's the kind of infectious song - it's like when you get a flu and it sticks with you from April until August. Even after you get well, you'll remember perfectly why you got sick in the first place."
In September 2009, following an invitation from The Blog Parties, the band performed two gigs in two cities from Holland, Utrecht
(Ekko Club) and Amsterdam
(Winston Club).
In October, The Amsterdams and The Mono Jacks played as opening acts for the Canadian band Handsome Furs
in Control Club, Bucharest. Impressed by The Amsterdams, the lead singer of Handsome Furs, Dan Boeckner
agreed to collaborate with them on a song. Initially called "Burial Ground For Two", the song would later appear on their second studio album under the name "This Burial Ground's For Two".
At the beginning of 2010, The Amsterdams had their first national tour, HOME AND DRY TOUR 2010; they performed in several cities from the north-east of Romania and also in Chişinău
, Moldova
.
On April 17, 2010, the band released a new video, for the song "Apple". The video, directed by Irina Stănciulescu (also known as Color Nurse), was projected during the concert held by the band on a roof above a record store from Bucharest, called Off the Record.
In May, The Amsterdams were invited to tour with Wolf Parade
as opening act; the Canadian band was promoting at that time their newest studio album. The Romanian band performed in Budapest
, Prague
, Salzburg
, Bologna
and Torino. In July, The Amsterdams opened for The Cranberries
concert in Bucharest.
During the winter, drummer Vlad Stoica left the band. The remaining members eventually decided to give up the search for a new drummer and continue as a four piece band instead.
The official release of Electromagnetica took place on March 31, at Kulturhaus Club, Bucharest. The release concert had Hot Casandra and Sophisticated Lemons performing as opening acts and featured Electric Brother (the producer of Electromagnetica) and Vlad Stoica as guests. The name of the album comes from Electromagnetica, a factory in Bucharest, inside of which the band has the rehearsal room.
The album was released as a digital download on April 1, and received several positive reviews. The band described their new material as being more elaborated than their debut album, Adolessons.
At the end of May, The Amsterdams performed in Zaragoza, Spain. Their gig was part of a multidisciplinary project called Zaragoza Latina, which was supposed to encourage the development of interest for the Latin culture.
On August 31, the band released their fourth video, "Summertime", directed by Alina Manolache. The song features Roxana Niculae (We Singing Colors) on vocals and was registered at The Great Below Studio, mixed by Paul Ballo and mastered by Cristian Varga. Andrei Hațegan declared in an interview that the band will release a video for the song „Coalmine” as well.
On October 8, The Amsterdams performed at Sala Polivalentă
from Bucharest, along with Electric Brother, Morcheeba
and Parov Stelar Band
.
page as it follows: "We play around at home and sometimes music comes out. oh, really?" Andrei Ungureanu is part of a band called Nebulosa, with Noamme Elisha on vocals and bass guitar and Vladimir Proca (Robin and the Backstabbers) on drums. Nebulosa released an EP called Chimes in 2010. Augustin Nicolae plays in The Division of Joy, a Joy Division
tribute band, with Gabi "Pipai" Andrieș on vocals, Janin Pasniciuc (Dekadens
, ex-AB4
, ex-Zebre) on guitar and Paul Neacșu on drums. Ovidiu Bejan and Vlad Stoica are involved along with Color Nurse in a band called Coughy, which is described as "Experimental Shoegaze Screengaze Electronica Noise Neo-Post-Rock" on the official Facebook page. Paul Ballo is known for his activity as a drummer in Go to Berlin and Kumm
, and for his two electronic projects, Hot Casandra and Trouble Is, the former being a collaboration with Matei Țeposu, his ex-bandmate from Go to Berlin.
EP's
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band formed in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
in 2005. Their current line-up consist of Andrei Hațegan (lead vocals
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, 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...
, 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...
, percussion), Andrei Ungureanu (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...
), Augustin Nicolae (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussion) and Ovidiu Bejan (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...
, 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...
, backing vocals, percussion).
The band toured in countries like UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Holland, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and opened for bands like The Cranberries
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
, Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is currently on an indefinite hiatus as of May 31, 2011.-History:...
and Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs is a Montreal-based indie rock duo which consists of Dan Boeckner, of Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic, and his wife, writer Alexei Perry.-Music:...
.
Up to date, The Amsterdams released two studio albums, an EP and four videos. Their second studio album, Electromagnetica, was mastered by Harris Newman
Harris Newman
Harris Newman is a mastering engineer working out of Grey Market Mastering in Montreal, Canada. His studio shares a building with the Hotel2Tango recording studio, as well as Constellation Records. Newman has mastered hundreds of albums since 1998, for artists including Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, A...
(also known for his work with Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire) and features Dan Boeckner
Dan Boeckner
Dan Boeckner is a Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He currently fronts the indie rock bands Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs and was previously a member of Atlas Strategic.-Overview:...
, who plays guitar on "This Burial Ground's For Two".
Formation and early years
The Amsterdams were formed at the beginning of 2005 by Andrei Hațegan and Andrei Ungureanu, following an ad posted by Hațegan. Both musicians were big fans of British alternative scene, listening to bands like RadioheadRadiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
and The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
. Shortly after, they were joined by bassist Dan Olaru and drummer Vlad Stoica. The name of the band was especially chosen to express the idea of artistic freedom, or, as Andrei Hațegan puts it:
"We weren't actually fond of the hard, garage, underground, chemical elements or funeral-like names, so we thought that the best we could do was to choose a name that would've express the idea of free spirit, in all of its aspects, which is why Amsterdams came up really naturally. The is because people had to know that we were those Amsterdams... The only ones!"
The band played their first gig in 2006, in Big Mamou Club, Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. That summer, Vlad Stoica and Dan Olaru left The Amsterdams due to musical divergences, and formed a new band, called The Guillotines. Olaru was replaced by Augustin Nicolae, and shortly after the band was joined by guitarist Ovidiu Bejan. During the following months, The Amsterdams struggled hard to find a new drummer, working with no less than thirteen people; eventually, they chose Alex Ghiță.
In 2007, the band recorded two songs, "Taking Care Of Anna" and "Fireworks". "Taking Care Of Anna" was aired on a local radio station, 89FM, while "Fireworks" was included on a compilation called "The Next Dog Desert Island Selection", produced by Roadrunner Music. Later that year, The Amsterdams were invited to play at the third edition of UnderLondon2 Festival, in Bucharest. They were also part of the line-up for Stufstock 5 Festival, which featured The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
as headliners. Their performance impressed the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band, and made Courtney Taylor-Taylor
Courtney Taylor-Taylor
Courtney Taylor-Taylor is an American singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. He is the lead singer and guitarist of alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, a band he co-founded. The vast majority of the band's songs are written by Taylor-Taylor, including hits "We Used to Be Friends" and...
to dedicate them the song "Country Leaver", while calling them "the best Romanian band".
Autumn brought them a new line-up change; drummer Alex Ghiță left the band, and was later replaced by Paul Ballo (Go to Berlin).
Automatic
On May 28, in Fire Club, the band released their first studio material, an EP called Automatic, which featured four songs. They also released their first video, for the song "Petrolize All Mice".Following this release, The Amsterdams played at Europa Vox Festival, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; after this performance, they went to London for a gig in Dublin Castle Club. The EP was promoted in the United Kingdom, gaining some favorable reviews. "Suffering And Surfing" and "Petrolize All Mice" were broadcasted on several local radio stations, like Cambridge University Radio and at BBC6 Music.
In the summer of 2008, the band was invited to several festivals, such as Peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
, B'Estfest
BestFest
BestFest is a music festival taking place annually in Bucharest, Romania. The first edition was scheduled in July 2007, at the Romexpo, lasted 3 days and had an audience of almost 50,000 people.-2011 lineup:July 1 : Skunk Anansie Flogging Molly...
and Stufstock
Stufstock
Stufstock is a music festival that has taken place each year since 2003 in Vama Veche, Dobrogea, Romania, to protest against what some people may consider bad quality music Stufstock (Stuf - Romanian for reed - and stock from Woodstock) is a music festival that has taken place each year since 2003...
, this time on the main stage, with Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén...
and Air Traffic
Air Traffic
Air Traffic was a British alternative rock band from Bournemouth. Formed in 2003, the band consists of Chris Wall , David Ryan Jordan , Tom Pritchard and Jim Maddock ....
. Meanwhile, Vlad Stoica rejoined the band, replacing Paul Ballo.
At the end of February 2009, the band opened the series of live concerts broadcasted on MTV Romania's official site, a project destined to promote local alternative music. In April, The Amsterdams performed an unplugged gig at the local radio station ProFM, during which they also played some songs from their debut album. The radio station subsequently invited them to play during their sixteenth anniversary.
Adolessons
On May 22, 2009, The Amsterdams released their first studio album, called Adolessons. The release gig took place at The Silver Church Club in Bucharest, and featured Doru Trăscău (AB4, The Mono Jacks), Dan Olaru and Alex Ghiță (Rain District) as guests. The band performed the new songs from the album and some old songs.The album was produced, distributed and edited by the band, under the name of their own label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Post Pop Records. It was registered at the Studio ISV, mixed by Alex Dragomir at Raza Studio and mastered by Christian Mike Sugar at CSM-Lab Bucharest. Andrei Hațegan explained the title in an interview:
"We're still living in a musical adolescence, as we're not playing together for a long time, and the album tells the story of all these years. It's like a lesson we have to learn while we're adolescents, for having a happy life afterwards..."
The band also filmed and released a video for the first single, "Chased by the Housewives". The video was directed by Anamaria Lazarovici and premiered on MTV Romania's official site. Singer Andrei Hațegan explained this choice by stating "We chose to make a video for this song because we like it a lot, it has less than four minutes, so it can be aired on TV without any problems, and, least but not last, because we were forced to do so." while bassist Augustin Nicolae specified "We thought that it's the kind of infectious song - it's like when you get a flu and it sticks with you from April until August. Even after you get well, you'll remember perfectly why you got sick in the first place."
In September 2009, following an invitation from The Blog Parties, the band performed two gigs in two cities from Holland, Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
(Ekko Club) and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(Winston Club).
In October, The Amsterdams and The Mono Jacks played as opening acts for the Canadian band Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs is a Montreal-based indie rock duo which consists of Dan Boeckner, of Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic, and his wife, writer Alexei Perry.-Music:...
in Control Club, Bucharest. Impressed by The Amsterdams, the lead singer of Handsome Furs, Dan Boeckner
Dan Boeckner
Dan Boeckner is a Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He currently fronts the indie rock bands Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs and was previously a member of Atlas Strategic.-Overview:...
agreed to collaborate with them on a song. Initially called "Burial Ground For Two", the song would later appear on their second studio album under the name "This Burial Ground's For Two".
At the beginning of 2010, The Amsterdams had their first national tour, HOME AND DRY TOUR 2010; they performed in several cities from the north-east of Romania and also in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
.
On April 17, 2010, the band released a new video, for the song "Apple". The video, directed by Irina Stănciulescu (also known as Color Nurse), was projected during the concert held by the band on a roof above a record store from Bucharest, called Off the Record.
In May, The Amsterdams were invited to tour with Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is currently on an indefinite hiatus as of May 31, 2011.-History:...
as opening act; the Canadian band was promoting at that time their newest studio album. The Romanian band performed in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
and Torino. In July, The Amsterdams opened for The Cranberries
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
concert in Bucharest.
During the winter, drummer Vlad Stoica left the band. The remaining members eventually decided to give up the search for a new drummer and continue as a four piece band instead.
Electromagnetica
At the beginning of 2011, The Amsterdams finished the recording of their second studio album, Electromagnetica. In February, a month before the official release, the band went in the UK to promote the new material. A song from it, "Coalmine", had been previously aired at BBC6 Music.The official release of Electromagnetica took place on March 31, at Kulturhaus Club, Bucharest. The release concert had Hot Casandra and Sophisticated Lemons performing as opening acts and featured Electric Brother (the producer of Electromagnetica) and Vlad Stoica as guests. The name of the album comes from Electromagnetica, a factory in Bucharest, inside of which the band has the rehearsal room.
The album was released as a digital download on April 1, and received several positive reviews. The band described their new material as being more elaborated than their debut album, Adolessons.
At the end of May, The Amsterdams performed in Zaragoza, Spain. Their gig was part of a multidisciplinary project called Zaragoza Latina, which was supposed to encourage the development of interest for the Latin culture.
On August 31, the band released their fourth video, "Summertime", directed by Alina Manolache. The song features Roxana Niculae (We Singing Colors) on vocals and was registered at The Great Below Studio, mixed by Paul Ballo and mastered by Cristian Varga. Andrei Hațegan declared in an interview that the band will release a video for the song „Coalmine” as well.
On October 8, The Amsterdams performed at Sala Polivalentă
Sala Polivalenta
Sala Polivalentă is a multi-purpose hall in Bucharest, Romania, located in Tineretului Park. It is frequently used for concerts, indoor sports such as tennis, gymnastics, dance, handball, volleyball, weightlifting, judo, boxing, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. The hall was opened in...
from Bucharest, along with Electric Brother, Morcheeba
Morcheeba
Morcheeba are a British band, mixing influences from trip hop, rock, R&B, and pop.They have produced 7 albums since 1995, two of which reached the UK top ten.-Biography:...
and Parov Stelar Band
Parov Stelar
Parov Stelar aka Marcus Füreder is a musician who lives and works in Linz, Austria. He performs with his Band - the Parov Stelar Band - and as a DJ worldwide...
.
Additional projects
Many of the band's former members, as well as the current ones, have additional musical projects. Andrei Hațegan and Roxana Niculae have a band called We Singing Colors, described on the official FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page as it follows: "We play around at home and sometimes music comes out. oh, really?" Andrei Ungureanu is part of a band called Nebulosa, with Noamme Elisha on vocals and bass guitar and Vladimir Proca (Robin and the Backstabbers) on drums. Nebulosa released an EP called Chimes in 2010. Augustin Nicolae plays in The Division of Joy, a Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
tribute band, with Gabi "Pipai" Andrieș on vocals, Janin Pasniciuc (Dekadens
Dekadens
-Personnel:Lifelover* - lead vocals* B - vocals, guitar, piano* H. - guitar* Fix - bass* Non - drumsProduction* Lifelover - pictures, layout* B - mixing* Gok - mastering* Henrik Jonsson – band photography...
, ex-AB4
AB4
-External links:*...
, ex-Zebre) on guitar and Paul Neacșu on drums. Ovidiu Bejan and Vlad Stoica are involved along with Color Nurse in a band called Coughy, which is described as "Experimental Shoegaze Screengaze Electronica Noise Neo-Post-Rock" on the official Facebook page. Paul Ballo is known for his activity as a drummer in Go to Berlin and Kumm
Kumm (band)
Kumm are a Romanian alternative rock band formed in Cluj in 1997. The band currently consist of Cătălin Mocan , Eugen "Oigăn" Nuţescu , Kovács András , Mihai Iordache , Uțu Pascu and John Ciurea...
, and for his two electronic projects, Hot Casandra and Trouble Is, the former being a collaboration with Matei Țeposu, his ex-bandmate from Go to Berlin.
Discography
Studio albums- Adolessons (2009)
- Electromagnetica (2011)
EP's
- Automatic (2008)
Current members
- Andrei Hațegan - lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA 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...
, guitarGuitarThe 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...
, percussion (2005–present) - Andrei Ungureanu - guitarGuitarThe 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...
(2005–present) - Augustin Nicolae - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussion (2006–present) - Ovidiu Bejan - guitarGuitarThe 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...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA 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...
, backing vocals, percussion (2006–present)
Former members
- Dan Olaru - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2005–2006) - Alex Ghiţă - drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
(2006–2007) - Paul Ballo - drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
(2007–2008) - Vlad Stoica - drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
(2005–2006; 2008–2010)