Fridae

Dutch Daze: Anouk

New York City is celebrating the Five Dutch Days in Five Boroughs festival this week. Unfortunately all the Gotham kids are getting are a genealogy themed tour, a Dutch farm harvest dinner and a historic worship service. That's just awful. There is so much more my lovely, little country has to offer. So while some of you might still be enjoying Dutch culture in one of the boroughs, I decided to put together the alternative "Dutch Daze" program that features some of the best Dutch artists of the moment during the next five days.

Anouk is one of the very few artists who had a serious shot at making it in the States. Discovered and groomed by The Golden Earing, the spunky singer signed a red, hot contract with Sony Music. The label had spotted Anouk after she quickly rose to fame with her debut single "Nobody's Wife," a raw, in-your-face bitch session that makes Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" pale in comparison.

After the release of her album "Together Alone" in the States in 1998, Anouk realized that making it big in the U.S. meant compromising. Something she refused to do (much to Sony's dismay). Instead, the rock chick built a very successful recording career in The Netherlands that includes many hit singles and albums. Most recently, she won an MTV Award Award 2005 in the category of Best Act from the Netherlands/Belgium. Currently, she's back in the Dutch chart with the rock ballad "One Word."

# Watch Anouk ''Nobody's Wife''
# Watch Anouk ''One Word''

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New Royksopp Mixes
Royksopp's sophomore album "The Understanding" has (so far) not delivered the commercial success in the U.S. the Norwegian electro duo had hoped for. But regardless of its charting. I have been enjoying the milder tones on this second record that I consider one of the top electronic releases of 2005.

The band has been touring their asses off in Europe to stir up some momentum for the record. They also released their new single "What Else Is There" with the mesmerizing, Bjorkesque vocals by Karin Dreijer. The single gets a nice push with an impressive, eerie new video and remixes by Jacques Le Cont (aka the yummie Stuart Price, the COAD [Confessions on a Dancefloor] mastermind), Vitalic, Emperor Machine and Trentemøller.

Trentemøller from Copenhagen, Denmark is one of the hottest underground techno DJs at the moment. And rightfully so. His production of "What Else Is There" is by far the best remix of the track and blows Price's version right out of the water. In fact, I haven't been able to stop listenting to this mix today. Check out more of Trentemoller's mixes on Beatport.

# Stream Royksopp ''What Else...'' (Jacques Le Cont Mix)
# Stream Royksopp ''What Else...'' (Vitalic Remix)
# Stream Royksopp ''What Else...'' (Trentemoller Mix)
# Stream Royksopp ''What Else...'' (Emperor Machine Mix)
# Watch Royksopp ''What Else Is There''

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Kubb "I Don't Mind"
British pop-rock outfit Kubb is generating a steady amount of buzz. Fronted by handsome 30-year-old singer Harry Collier, the band's music has been compared to Coldplay, Keane and even to work from Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley. After living in London, Cornwall, Tobago and Liverpool, Collier was discovered when he worked at the Organic Cafe in London and sang happy birthday for Faithless' Rollo. The two collaborated on a few house tracks, but they never completed any songs. Instead, Collier met Ben Langmaid and Jeff Patterson in the studio that led to the formation of Kubb.

On Monday, the band is releasing their debut "Mother" in the U.K that features their previous single "Remain" and their most current hit "Wicked Soul." Emotive and heartfelt, the record mostly deals with the gripping life stories of Collier who is a son of a priest. In an interview with the BBC, he semi-jokingly describes the band's music as "a tiny bucket of unrefined treacle the noise it makes when a swan steps into it and tries to shake it off her foot." No matter how you describe Kubb's sound, "Mother" is a strong debut from a sexy new band.

# Download Kubb ''I Don't Mind'' [wma]
# Watch Kubb ''Remain'' [wmv]
# Watch Kubb ''Wicked Soul'' [wmv]

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Preview Ferry Corsten feat. Simon Le Bon "Fire"
Europe's hottest new dance track is "Fire" by Dutch trance master Ferry Corsten. The single includes vocals by none other than Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon. Preview some cuts from the single's twelve inch disc below. Purchase the CD single at Dancegrooves or download the track via Dutch site Radio538.

# Preview Ferry Corsten ft. S. Le Bon ''Fire'' (extended) [mp3]
# Preview Ferry Corsten ft. S. Le Bon ''Fire'' (Flashover Mix) [mp3]




Published with permission of Arjanwrites.com.