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BLØF

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BLØF
BLØF performing in Emmen, 2006
BLØF performing in Emmen, 2006
Background information
OriginVlissingen, Netherlands
GenresRock, pop
Years active1992–present
LabelsEMI, Capitol
MembersPaskal Jakobsen
Peter Slager
Bas Kennis
Norman Bonink
Past membersHenk Tjoonk
Chris Götte †
Websiteblof.nl

BLØF is a Dutch rock band from Vlissingen, Zeeland, founded in 1992 by Peter Slager. Current members are Peter Slager (bass), Paskal Jakobsen (lead vocals and guitar), Bas Kennis (keyboards) and Norman Bonink (drums). Former members are Henk Tjoonk (drums) and Chris Götte (drums).

The group in one of the most popular bands in the Netherlands and has won 8 Edison Awards. In 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004 they received the Edision Award for “Best Band in the Netherlands”.

Outside of the Netherlands, they are best know for their collaborations with international bands and musicians.

When BLØF played in Bhutan as part of their Umoja project in 2006, it was the biggest concert in terms of attendance the country had seen to date.[1]

Biography

Beginnings

BLØF was founded in 1992 by Peter Slager, and originally consisted of Peter Slager (bass guitar) , Paskal Jakobsen, (guitar) Bas Kennis (keyboards), and Henk Tjoonk (drums).

They recorded their first album in 1994, Naakt Onder De Hemel, in just one week. Drummer Henk Tjoonk suggested they distribute the album themselves. The self-produced, self-promoted album was a hit in their home province of Zeeland and the single "Aan de Kust" became a local hit, despite it having little airplay on national radio stations. The album was well received by the critics and through this positive attention, the band secured a national distribution contract with EMI Music,[2] Keyboardist Bas Kennis credits their early success partly due to the rudimentary website they had live already in 1995, giving fans access to the band and a direct way to find out more about their music and tour dates .[3] For this album, BLØF received a "Best New Talent" award and with the prize money they recorded their second album, Helder, released in September 1997.

Early years

BLØF's first two singles, Helder and Zeven Nachten, didn't make it to the charts. Due to internal struggles within the band, which almost led to a breakup, by the end of 1997 the band fired Tjoonk and hired Chris Götte in his place. With the help of ex-Doe Maar manager Frank van der Meijden, they got a full recording contract with EMI. The changes in the group worked out well as the first single released after this, a piano ballad called Liefs uit Londen, became a huge success. On 10 March 1998, BLØF recorded live material in "The Nighttrain", a discotheque in Middelburg. This material appears on an extra edition of Helder. The next two singles the band released, new versions of Aan De Kust and Wat Zou Je Doen, were from the live recording. The original versions of both songs appeared originally on Naakt Onder De Hemel. Both songs became hit singles.

Breakthrough

In the summer of 1998, BLØF performed more and received awards for their efforts. They released XXL Live Met Het Zeeuws Orkest, a live album recorded with an orchestra from Zeeland, and a new studio album called Boven. This album was recorded with the help of Peter Bauwers (2 Unlimited) and Ronald Vanhuffel. It had a stronger rock sound than before and the single Harder Dan Ik Hebben Kan became a hit in less than a month. By early 2000, the band received an Edison Award for Best Dutch Band. Before the release of Watermakers, they released the singles Dansen Aan Zee and Hier. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the group gave a concert for the Dutch Olympians and their crew. In October 2000, Watermakers was finally released and became an incredible success. The band gave a huge concert in Ahoy in 2001 and they again received an Edison for Best Dutch Band.

On 17 March 2001, BLØF received a shock. Drummer Chris Götte died in a motorcycle accident while riding from his home to the venue where the band was scheduled to perform later that day. Stunned by the news, the band stopped performing for some time to mourn the loss of their friend. A year later, they released the live CD Oog In Oog — Live In Ahoy, the last concert featuring Götte. They finally decided to continue, and chose a new drummer; Norman Bonink, who had experience playing in Frank Boeijen's band. Their first album in this new line-up was Blauwe Ruis in 2002, and it was dedicated to Chris Götte and his family. This was followed by another live DVD, Tussen Nacht En Morgen. While Blauwe Ruis is clearly influenced by the passing of Chris, the band decided to create a lighter, more positive album in 2003 called Omarm.

BLØF travelled to Kenya in 2003 to play with artists there, and they later used their experiences there as an inspiration for their seventh studio album. The band performed internationally after this. In 2004, the American band Counting Crows toured with BLØF, forming a strong friendship, and together, both bands recorded and performed during the summer. They rerecorded the Counting Crows single "Holiday in Spain", singing the song as a duet in both English and Dutch, which has added to its popularity and gained BLØF increasing visibility and interest in the United States.

In 2005, BLØF began travelling around the world for exposure to new cultures and inspiration for a new album, and were successful in their efforts,[4] with a new album, Umoja, being recorded. It was eventually released in 2006. The Umoja project tries to raise awareness for the Millennium Development Goals, collaborating with artists from the 12 countries they visited on their tour.[4] The project has resulted in many spinoffs: concerts in the Netherlands with almost all musicians that participated in the Umoja project, a special concert with the Kodo drummers from Japan, a book titled Umoja Travel Lodge, and a DVD of the Umoja concerts. While being a very successful project, it has also been very demanding for the band. They have said that they greatly underestimated the amount of work that goes into such a project.

On BLØF's next album, Oktober, released in October 2008, they went back to basics, with a stripped-down sound, and all tracks were recorded in one take with no overdubs. The recording sessions in January and February 2008 produced enough material for two albums so a second album appeared in early 2009, named April.

Neither Oktober nor April were a big success,[clarification needed] so after the 2010 club tour, the band went back to the drawing board and promised to come back with a new album with the old BLØF sound. This album came out on 25 February 2011 and is called Alles Blijft Anders (Everything Stays Different).

In the summer of 2015, BLØF celebrated the 10th edition of Concert at SEA, an annual multi-day music festival organized by the band taking place at the Brouwersdam in Zeeland.

In 2016, the band members took time out for solo projects: Jakobsen embarked on a theater tour performing his favourite songs, Slager released a solo album (Slik), on which he played all the instruments himself.

In April 2017 BLØF released AAN, which featured a collaboration with rapper Typhoon and a tribute to the late frontman of The Scene, who was a close friend of Jakobsen's. Zoutelande, a Dutch cover of the German song "Frankfurt Oder" by Bosse was rerecorded as a duet with Belgian singer Geike Arnaert. It reached #1 in the last week of January 2018 and stayed there for more than ten weeks. Later in 2018 they released Omarm me in collaboration with Dutch rapper Ronnie Flex.

Band Members

  • Paskal Jakobsen
    Paskal Jakobsen
  • Bas Kennis
    Bas Kennis
  • Norman Bonink
    Norman Bonink
  • Peter Slager
    Peter Slager

Line-ups

(1992–1997)
  • Paskal Jakobsen - lead vocals, guitar
  • Bas Kennis - keyboard, backing vocals
  • Peter Slager - bass, backing vocals
  • Henk Tjoonk - percussion, backing vocals
(1997–2001)
  • Paskal Jakobsen — lead vocals, guitar
  • Bas Kennis — keyboard, backing vocals
  • Peter Slager — bass, backing vocals
  • Chris Götte - percussion, backing vocals
(2001–present)
  • Paskal Jakobsen — lead vocals, guitar
  • Bas Kennis — keyboard, guitar, backing vocals
  • Peter Slager — bass, backing vocals
  • Norman Bonink - percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Main article: BLØF discography
  • Naakt onder de hemel (1995)
  • Helder (1997)
  • Boven (1999)
  • Watermakers (2000)
  • Blauwe Ruis (2002)
  • Omarm (2003)
  • Umoja (2006)
  • Oktober (2008)
  • April (2009)
  • Alles Blijft Anders (2011)
  • In Het Midden van Alles (2014)
  • De Grasbroek Sessies (2015)
  • Aan (2017)

References

  1. ^ Bløf in Bhutan | Bhutan + partners (archived)
  2. ^ Search for Music: Blof
  3. ^ Van Dusseldorp, Monique (August 28, 2008). "Keyboard player Bas Kennis presents 'Pickering Player' at PICNIC". Interview with Bas Kennis. PICNIC. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
  4. ^ a b BLØF Band (2005). "Official Website for BLØF". Official Website/Umoja (in Dutch, English, and Spanish). BLØF. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-08.

Listening

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