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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Foo Fighters Release New Video On Valentine's Day

Not exactly the most romantic video but the Foo Fighters released the video for 'White Limo' today. It's a hilarious one featuring Motörhead singer Lemmy driving a white limo around while sipping Jack Daniels. More importantly the song is a hard rocking song and the boys seem to hold their promise that the new album will be hard and loud. This oughta be good.

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The Boxer Rebellion Persist In What They Believe In

The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)

Illness and label trouble are part of the history of this four piece band from London with members from three continents. And a search for the right sound. Now they have come up with their third album 'The Cold Still'. For this album they called in producer Ethan Johns who worked with Laura Marling, Kings Of Leon and Paolo Nutini in the past. The result is a well produced album that sounds great, but is a bit on the safe side. The melodic and warm pop songs are a mix of Radiohead, Coldplay and Keane but aren't really world shocking or original. This album may not be their big break through but their persistence may get them there in the end.

Listen to 'The Cold Still' on Spotify

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