We’ve not covered much Dutch hip-hop but are ON IT…
[Video][Website]
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Abby Waysdorf: Dutch hip-hop is an odd place. Perhaps that’s from having De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig as one of its most popular and enduring groups, and maybe that longevity is a symptom of a music landscape that has always been keen on electronic music. Equally jesters and innovators, the group stands out within the genre for their joking wordplay and producer Bas Bron’s electro textures. “De Toneelacademie,” the newest single from their fourth album Ja, natuurlijk! is a bit of an odd one but showcases that dual nature. The lyrics are based on the world of the titular theater academy: acting exercises and audition-speak, mocking its absurdity and pomposity but delivered with confidence and delight in the Dutch language, which is a bit odd itself. Even though I know what it refers to, I still want to think that “houd het klein, houd het dicht bij jezelf” is a mantra. Group member Faberyayo (he’s the blond) directed the video, and there’s a little DNA of his Le Le side project here in the way the shimmering house-disco wraps around the verses before taking center stage. They might be a funny group, but de Jeugd have never been jokes.
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Anthony Easton: I know that these are supposed to be jokers, and I do not speak a word of Dutch, but I love this. That synth like the line of fat in a marbled steak, those froggish spitting vocals, the faux snaps — it’s ugly and formalist.
[8]
Alfred Soto: It’s possible this is a novelty as irrepressible as “I Wanna Be a Cowboy,” but this Dutch group’s music only gets beautiful after two minutes of faffing about.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: It sounds like you’ve opened two copies of your media player, and the song is playing twice about half a second out of sync, such is the way the vocalists here don’t quite seem to mesh with each other or the track. But there’s a clear method in the madness, even if it’s not clear until about three minutes in when the synths come out to play. After that, “De Toneelacademie” reveals itself as being goofy and warming without cramming those elements down your throat until you submit.
[7]
Iain Mew: Everything hangs on the balance between the casual humour of the vocals and the meticulous synth work backing them up. Some guys repeating phrases in silly voices would have little appeal by itself, and the instrumental would be too minimal alone to have much impact. The way De Jeugd put them together, though, the tone of each starts to seep into the other, and by the end the music sounds light and witty and the words take on new feeling. The sound is a bit “Inspector Nederlandse,” but the approach reminds me more of Hot Chip taken to an appealing extreme.
[8]
Brad Shoup: I kept hearing “Howard Klein,” and I thought awesome, The Mindy Project needs all the help it can get. I imagine there’s a radio edit somewhere, but there’s a certain pleasure in topliners stepping off the track, possibly for a ciggie but maybe to bask in the cool electropings. Don’t get me wrong: the pings are LMFAO at a third of the volume, but aren’t most things?
[7]
Megan Harrington: I came to this at the end of a long day, already a little scattered and exhausted. After five minutes of this makeshift theater academy, I just feel high on pharmaceuticals. I hope I remember to set my alarm before I black out.
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