Top 10 Albums 2011

Normally I don't do top 10 lists myself. But since I'm a writer for ROAR E-Zine, a Dutch music website, and they asked all their writers to come up with one I might as well post it over here as well.


The hard thing about year lists is, that they seem final, but in reality are just snapshots. So here's my 2011 snapshot:



01. The Black Keys - El Camino

And then The Black Keys release a great album just before the closing of the year that ends up at the top of my list. They seem to have found the perfect formula for great rock tunes: songs that are great compositions, keep on going and that I want to hear over and over again.



02. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
Just like the Arctic Monkeys who took revenge with Suck It And See for the, in my opinion, unjustified moderate response on predecessor Humbug. When they can keep up this level I expect a true classic in one or two albums.



03. White Denim - "D"

White Denim also keeps on delivering quality. "D" turned into a true piece of art.



04. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Girls had their definite breakthrough with their Father, Son, Holy Ghost that is full of nice indie songs.



05. dEUS - Keep You Close

And 2011 is without a doubt dEUS' year. Keep You Close left a big impression and meantime they are doing a true victory tour around clubs and festivals.



06. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Beasty Boys came back hard this year with a great album, that can measure up to their greatest work.



07. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

With a smart promotional campaign no one could ignore Foo Fighters' Wasting Light. And it's just as I like it: like a hit in the crotch and a kick in the ass.



08. TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

TV On The Radio is a different cup of tea; a well thought through album with intelligent songs.



09. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Just like Radiohead and their The King Of Limbs. Sometimes they are too much for me, but this album is nicely balanced.



10. Happy Camper - Happy Camper

And there were great Dutch releases, that just missed my list. Happy Camper did make it with its beautiful atmospheric songs and the wonderful varied vocals.

So there you have it. 2011 was a good year with great music and some great gigs as well. I can't wait for 2012! Happy New Year!
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Lowlands 2011 Day 3: Taking It Easy

When you're partying it's time for the last day before you know it. A bit of coffee to get us going (that DE coffee really is horrible) and we're on our way for day three!


Lowlands 2011 Day 3, August 21 2011
Looking at the program this is gonna be a relaxed day. Which is good because our bodies are aching from head 'til toe and we could use some rest now and then.



Frank Turner (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
First up is the man I heard a lot about. He used to play punk but traded his electric guitar for an acoustic one and...kind of still is playing punk music but with an acoustic ring to it. Which works really well. Not all songs are equally appealing especially when they're turning into Scottish folk. But the songs that are more melodic are quite good. He looks comfortable on stage, is chatting away making funny comments and his voice is just really powerful.

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De Staat (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
With their first record they dropped a bomb on the Dutch music scene and filled up the Grolsch stage two years ago. This year with their second album they make it to the biggest stage. And they play a good set. Not all songs are real crowd pleasers; they are good but maybe not that rocking as the older songs. However they balance their set nicely and put down a good show. "The Machine" seems to have a bit of a slow start in 'Back To The Grind', but it still impressive to see it laying down the groove for the song. And 'Ah I See' is a great way to close their performance.

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The Kills (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
You never know what you're gonna get with Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince. They're off to a good start, the dark and a bit cold songs sound good and rock bitch Mosshart is going through all her poses. It's far from party music so the crowd is not exactly jumping. Then a beer hits Hince's guitar. He seems to kind of ignore it, but at the end of the song he's pretty pissed (and for a good reason). It takes the fire out of the show and they finish it on routine. Too bad with such a promising start.

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Happy Camper (Ronald Says 9 out of 10)
I've mentioned this project many times on my blog so I won't go into details about the story behind it. All guest vocalists are present today, so the songs get the interpretation they deserve. The Lima stage is the perfect setting, the weather is lovely and it ends up in a dream for initiator Job Roggeveen. It is showing once again how strong his compositions are.

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Interpol (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
With this band from New York you can't really go wrong. Their dark music is always impressive and they play a very tight set. But I can imagine that for many it isn't really appealing to see those static musicians on the dark stage. Of course they also play songs off their last album that simply isn't as good as the other three. Fortunately the end of the show is the best part where 'The Heinrich Maneuver' and 'Slow Hands' come up and where they close the set with the great 'Obstacle I'.

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Karnivool (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
I was making sure not to go see The Offspring and decided to go see Karnivool. I heard many good thing about them and especially the part where people say they play Tool-like compositions triggered my interest. But it's a disappointing show. The music is complex and creative but nothing near Tool. The musicians have no charisma at all and singer Ian Kenny's vocals sound alike most of the time. The songs and set list are lacking variation because of that and it makes this show a hard one to sit out.

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And so Lowlands 2011 comes to an end. But not before we party out our last bits of energy. Maybe the program wasn't that great on paper but we had a great weekend with many good performances in the end. Lowlands 2012 anyone?

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Lowlands 2011 Day 1 Review >
Lowlands 2011 Day 2 Review >

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Camping In The Park With Happy Camper

Earlier this year you could already read about Job Roggeveen's special project Happy Camper. The musical project keeps groing and after the successfull release of its album and a theater tour he will be playing the Lowlands festival as well later this month. His performance today in the Vondelpark is a good warm up.

Happy Camper at Vondelpark Amsterdam, 7 August 2011



After many days of rain it finally clears up and we're treated to some well deserved sunshine. Not all guest vocalists can make it today due to full schedules and business elsewhere but still Janne Schra (Schradinova), Leine, Ricky Koole, Marien Dorleijn (Moss), Bouke Zoete (The Kevin Kostners) and of course David Pino with his own Volunteers are present and that makes quite an impressive list. Troubadour Case Mayfield is filling in as well.



The only one missing today seems to be yeti Manfred but he keeps missing the boat a lot. And so with this nice weather, cold beers and wine, great musicians and good vibes this turns out into a great camping trip. I left the park as a happy camper myself anyway.



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Perfect Camping Trip With Happy Camper

Making an album with eleven guest vocalists is one thing, but playing it live with all those musicians is an even bigger challenge. Job Roggeveen, master mind behind Happy Camper, managed to make such an album although it took him a few years to complete his project. It resulted in an album with beautiful tracks. But what he thought was close to impossible happened anyway: he gathered the busy vocalists on stage to play all those nice songs live.

Happy Camper at De Kleine Komedie Amsterdam, April 5 2010 (Ronald Says 9 out of 10)

Case Mayfield is the one that has to warm up the crowd. The theater is full of friends, fellow musicians and Happy Camper fans. But Case is doing a great job with his modest appearance and nice intimate songs. Then it's time for the happy campers to take the stage. Roggeveen sits down behind his organ and the camping trip takes off. At the back of the stage an illustration of a camping site is hanging. The backing band are most of his El Pino & The Volunteers colleagues. One by one the vocalists take their turn in singing their songs from the album. After each song they announce the next singer.




What follows is one big happy musical trip through Happy Camper land. Leine, Tim Knol, Janne Schra, Ricky Koole, Blaudzun all await their turn in the spot light. The mood is hight and everyone is enjoying it a lot. Even technical problems for El Pino & The Volunteers frontman David Pino in the shape of a refusing "little blue box" that fails to amplify his guitar can't change that. Of course Roggeveen's own animated yeti Manfred is making his appearance as well. The illustration comes to life and the friendly yeti starts in a funny but at the same time sad animation while Roggeveen backs him up on the organ. At the end of the show all performers gather once more for the big finale.



It's an impressive achievement by Roggeveen to compose these great songs and to perform them live with all musicians. It also shows how many talented musicians we have in this small country. To see so many of them in one show is almost too good to be true and a real treat to the eyes and ears of any music lover.

The pictures of this live performance originally appeared in this review on mousique.wordpress.com.

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Great Singalong With Happy Camper

Regular readers of my blog probably know I'm very fond of bands on the Excelsior label and will have read about the band 'El Pino & The Volunteers' a few times in the past. One of the things I like is the one big family feeling of the record label and the way they encourage artists to be creative and come up with new collaborations and projects. The 'Happy Camper' project is a perfect example. Job Roggeveen, keyboard player for El Pino, has worked on this project for three years. This month the album was released on the Excelsior label and turns out a musical journey filled with encounters with other artists. Just what you would expect from a happy camper.


Happy Camper - Happy Camper (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

Roggeveen who is also a designer came up with the friendly yeti Manfred as the frontman for the project. And the video for the song 'Born With A Bothered Mind' featuring Bouke Zoete (The Kevin Costners) shows him on his camping trip. Both the song and video are typical for the album: beautifully arranged jaunty indie pop songs with a kind of gypsy twist. A violin fiddles around playfully in the music that perfectly matches the original and appealing cartoon animation.

And so the album contains 14 atmospheric songs in the same sunny style. 11 songs feature guest vocals by an interesting selection of mostly Dutch indie singers and singer/songwriters like Tim Knol, Janne Schra, Ricky Koole and not surprisingly David Pino. This approach results in a nice variety in songs due to the different singing styles ranging from an agitated indie song like 'Run' with Johannes Sigmond (or Blaudzun) and country ('Stop Fooling Yourself' with Leine) to a melancholic ballad like 'All These Lousy Conversations' with Storybox's Helge Slikker.

Although it's a totally Dutch project it certainly has enough international appeal. So listen to some of the songs and judge for yourself. And then of course buy the album over here! I can't wait to see Happy Camper and the Volunteers perform the album live in April with most of the singers on stage. And of course see more of Manfred's adventures in one of these great videos.



Listen to 'Happy Camper' on Spotify

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