Netherlands -Amsterdam

 Almost every time I tell someone I am Dutch they will say something like: "Oh I've been to Amsterdam and found this cute little place, you probably know it" or "I'm going on a stag do to Amsterdam soon.  Do you have any recommendations of places we must see?".  I then have to patiently explain that my family are from Rotterdam, that the people of Rotterdam don't like the people of Amsterdam much, so much so that none of my large and sprawling family live there and I have only briefly visited the place about 3 times in my life, twice in the 70's and once in the 90's.  So don't ask me for any recommendations of places to visit in Amsterdam!

Right, now that I have that out of the way, I have to admit that Amsterdam in the province of North Holland is the capital of the Netherlands and as such a magnet for tourists and artists from all over the world, so I shall acknowledge some of the mostly international music acts from this city.

Whilst I did say I wouldn't do any recommendations, one tourist attraction is the Anne Frank House, where the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary, while hiding away from the Nazis.  This demonstrates the ongoing Jewish connection of the city, which is also reflected in some of the music, such as The Amsterdam Klezmer Band, who have been playing their modern danceable sound of klezmer combined with Balkan, Jazz, Gypsy and hip-hop since 1996.  Here is the opening track from the 2006 album Remixed called Sadagora Hot Dub:

 

Amsterdam-based Turkish psychedelia band Altin Gün are a band consisting of Turkish and Indonesian immigrants as well as Dutch musicians performing music inspired by Anatolian folk infused with 80's psychedelic pop.  Here's a track from their upcoming album Yol called Ordunun Dereleri:

The Mauskovic Dance Band might sound like another klezmer band, but the varying members of the Mauskovic family produce an electronic dance sound with psychedelic Afrobeat and Cumbia influences. This might not be everybody's cup of tea, but here is a live clip of some of their hypnotic grooves:

In 1995 Jazz drummer Lucas van Merwijk founded the Cubop City Big Band in Amsterdam, who have been in the forefront of the Salsa and Latin dance scene in Europe.  Given that the full ensemble consists of some 20 musicians, it must be tricky to get them all together at one place at any one time, which is perhaps why they have only released 7 albums during their 25 years in existence.  Here's a track from their 2003 album Arsenio with music by Arsenio Rodriguez called Mulence:

Boi Akih are a jazz and world music outfit around Dutch guitarist Niels Brouwer and Indonesian vocalist Monica Akihary that was established in 1997.  Akihary sings both in English and her father's native Haruku, an endangered language of the island in Indonesia of the same name.  Their musical style combines musical traditions of the Molucca Islands, Bali, Dutch jazz, improvised music, Indian classical music and traditional African music.  On their latest 2020 album Storyteller they are joined by Hungarian recorder player Dodó Kis and Ivorian kora player Sékou Dioubaté.  Here is a small session showcasing 3 songs from the album:

I first came across Selma Peelen from Amsterdam several years ago when I heard her singing Turkish folk.  In her latest project she teamed up with Johan Visschers to form folk duo Mankes.  They named themselves after Dutch painter Jan Mankes (1889-1920).

Mankes self portrait

Mankes (the music duo) describe their style as cinematic folk with a hint of the Orient and a healthy dose of noisy and dark texture.  Here's a song from their 2019 album Chant called You're Loved (since it was Valentines Day yesterday...)

That's it from Amsterdam.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.

Netherlands - Utrecht

 Singer/songwriter, actor, painter and author Herman van Veen was born in Utrecht in 1945 and has had a glittering career in the Netherlands and Germany.  I have many a fond childhood memory of him as he created fun children's programmes on TV.  His songs were and still are always full of depth and straight from the heart and his live shows full of energy.  I remember seeing him live in Germany in the early 1980's, where he spent 2 hours bouncing around the stage, even climbing up the stage curtains, whilst juggling a multitude of instruments, reciting poetry and singing.  Here's a chanson-like song he performed on his 60th birthday concert called Laat Me (let me go my own way, that's the way I have always done it):

Also from Utrecht, folk band Wolverlei were formed during the 70's folk revival, but only lasted 4 years and 2 albums.  Here's a tune from their self-titled 1978 debut album called Las Las / Het Grote Bed:

Trumpeter Maité Hontelé was born in 1980 in Utrecht.  She began playing the trumpet aged 9 and was so enamoured with Salsa and Latin music, she went to live in Colombia for several years.  Do a nice summer salsa around your locked down living room with Me Da Igual from her 2015 album Te Voi A Querer:

Accordion duo Accordéon Mélancolique have been squeezing their boxes together since 1984.  The duo is based in Driebergen-Rijsenberg in the province of Utrecht, consisting of Cherie de Boer (born in Jakarta) and Jean-Pierre Guiran (born in Vlissingen).  They take most of their inspiration from French musette, but incorporate folk influences from all over the world.  The highlight of their career was when they were asked to play at the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan in Rotterdam in front of US president Bill Clinton and the Dutch crown prince Willem Alexander and the then prime minister Wim Kok in 1997.  Here is a tune from their 2012 album Gratitude called Gratitude III:

Balfolk trio Lirio are from Nieuwegein in the province of Utrecht. They consist of Wouter Kuyper (accordion and bagpipes), Sander van der Schaaf (guitar) and Gerdien Smit (violin).  Here's a tune from their 2013 album Hanterdroom called Mazurka voor een Mus:

That's it for today from the province of Utrecht, next stop the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.