I don’t know what’s going on with the Dutch these days. Every time you blink, they’ve got a new quality band poised to take over the sad state of affairs masquerading as the music industry in America. And, if it were up to me I’d let the coup begin. “Exorcise this wasteland!”, I’d say.

It seems like it’s inevitable, anyway. In regards to Electronica and Electrosoul, the Dutch are running circles around The States with acts like Kraak n Smaak, Kid Sublime, Nicolay, Liquid Spirits… and now Rednose Distrikt. It must be something in the water.

I first heard Rednose Distrikt on the most excellent Dutch label Kindred Spirits and their compilation ‘Witness Future Vintage Vol. 1’. The track was ‘Gotta Make A Move’ and offered an innovative, cool mix of Soul, Funk, and Hip-Hop. I found myself hitting the replay button for the track so much that I was almost getting on my own nerves. But, then I thought it was too good to be true. I thought Rednose Distrikt was a one shot pony. Then, I recently stumbled upon their latest full-length ‘Poes’.

Rednose Distrikt was initially the brainchild of Kid Sublime and Steven de Peven. Now, Aardvark has replaced Kid Sublime, who is on a solo career, and the dynamic duo of Steven and Aardvark is in position to monopolize your iTunes account. ‘Poes’ seeks to break the rules – long (sometimes too long) stripped-down beat soundscapes, Dutch nursery rhymes sung by children to a thumping track, odd transitions between and in songs, and doses of humor. Sometimes the vocals seem to come in as an afterthought with the highlights always being the drum track, which invariably offers cutting-edge percussive sounds and production values. Sparse keyboard sweeps help bring Soul and meat to the mix; however, I found myself yearning for more fully composed tracks amongst the minimalism. Still, it’s quite clear that Rednose Distrikt is going to do what the hell they want to – and I love them for it.

At 21 tracks coming in at over 78 minutes, ‘Poes’ offers just about everything under the sun for a ‘beataphile’. Rednose Distrikt serves their beats Broken, Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Funk, Soul, or House style for you lowdown beat heads. If you can’t dance to this release you must be allergic to rhythm. They give you 21 chances to get it right.

The standout tracks (of which there are many, but I will only name a few so go get the album, dammit!) start with ‘Not Today’ an up-tempo, snare-cracking, yet smooth soulful jam. ‘Plop’ is a drunken chord, Hip-Hop head-nodder. ‘Don’t Break’ is a string infused Drum & Bass excursion that is quite nostalgic and unexpected. ‘In Your Mind’ and 'Fly' would make Spacek proud with their intergalactic Broken Beat, and ‘No More Blingling’ is speaking to the masses of excessively accessorized ‘bling-oids’ that pervade the industry. ‘No More Blingbling’ tries to cure the people with a thick layer of Hip-Hop and Soul straight to the ear-hole. But, is there a cure for ‘bling-itis’? I certainly hope so. I see a plague of chronic cases.

On the other hand, I see no cure for the contagious grooves spilling out from Holland. I was ecstatic to find that ‘Poes’ was not the first Rednose Distrikt release, ‘Ill Dan Je Ouders’ was. No, I don’t know what it means (even my Dutch buddy is not sure), but that album is even tighter than ‘Poes’, if you can believe it.

I’m feeling a bit ill… I believe I’ve contracted ‘Rednose Distrikt-itis’.

I need a doctor…

by Cazembe Abena

Rednose Distrikt

Genre(s): Electronica - Broken Beat, Soul, House, Funk

Members: Steven de Peven (Programming, Production), Aardvark (Mike Kivits) (Programming, Production)

Country: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Album Highlights: ‘Not Today’, ‘Plop’, ‘Don’t Break’, 'Fly', ‘In Your Mind’, ‘No More Blingbling’.

Discography

Iller Dan Je Ouders 2003 (Kindred Spirits)
Poes 2007 (Kindred Spirits)

F.L.O. (For Lovers Of) – Kid Sublime, Spacek, Steve Spacek, Mark de Clive-Lowe,
Bugz In The Attic, Silhouette Brown, The Politik, Jazzanova, Shantel, Dabrye.

www.kindred-spirits.nl