maandag 25 juni 2018

And another dutch review!

I didn't see this coming....I hoped, but didn't pray. Some nice words caught my eyes. They arrived in Blues Magazine!
It's a loooong read, so...Thank you, TU, no you!

The Vanished Drunk

 Dutch:
Tekst: Peter Marinus
Bij dit album is wel het één en ander uit te leggen. Allereerst de artiestennaam JoostTVD. TVD staat hier voor “The Vanished Dutchman” en dat is weer een alias van de Nederlandse singer-songwriter Joost van Dinther. Hij omschrijft zijn muziek zelf als “zelfbevlekkende, narcistische, selfkickende, obsessieve en uitknijpende muziek”. Een hele mondvol dus.  Joost ontpopt zich op dit album als een muzikale doe-het-zelver, die met het grootste gemak allerlei muziekstijlen door elkaar heen gooit en daar weer één prachtig geheel van maakt.
Tom Robinson, de Engelse artiest die in de new wave periode hits scoorde met “2-4-6-8 Motorway” en “Listen To The Radio”, was dermate onder de indruk van Joost dat hij een aantal van zijn songs draaide in zijn radioprogramma op BBC 6.
Wat krijgen we hier te horen? Muziek, die beïnvloed is door artiesten als Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa, The Tubes en nog veel meer artiesten/genres.
Het openingsnummer, Not Now, is bijvoorbeeld een funky rocknummer waarin invloeden rondzweven van Todd Rundgren, Gino Vannelli en Frank Zappa. Met name die dwarse xylofoon zou zo bij Zappa vandaan kunnen komen. Razendknap om van al die invloeden een aanstekelijk swingend funky nummer te maken. Er gebeurt echt van alles in dit nummer. Knetterende Tower Of Power-achtige blazers, een scheurende gitaarsolo en elektronische ritmes, die totaal niet storen. The Vanished Romeo begint met new age-achtige panfluit geluiden, die al snel weggevaagd worden door een schroeiende wah wah gitaar. Vervolgens wordt een luie, geile Zappa funker ingezet vol ingenieuze breaks. Joos heeft een perfect zwoel stemgeluid voor dit nummer. Ook de eigenzinnigheid van The Tubes en Todd Rundgren klinken door in dit nummer. Het luchtige funky Indie mengt Zappa, The Tubes en Toto tot een warm wiegend nummer. My Cat Is Stoned is een bizarre mix van vaudeville, funk en Zappiaanse waanzin. Er komt van alles voorbij in dit nummer: maffe stemmetjes, fluitjes, geboer, en dat alles over een kat die stoned is! Loaded is vervolgens een Tito Puente-achtig latin fusionnummer. Zwoel swingend met soulvolle zang en haast Philly soul-achtige strijkers. Gameface doet qua synthesizergeluid denken aan het spacey werk van Gary Wright, in zijn “Dream Weaver” periode. Maar Joos vermengt dit uiteraard met het geluid van The Tubes, de erotische zwijmelsoul van Barry White en Zappa.
Nerveus ratelende elektro ritmes ontwikkelen zich in Rottendance tot een loom groovend nummer vol zwevende synthesizers en retestrakke Zappa breaks. Probeer hier maar eens op te dansen! Ik garandeer je dat je binnen no time kramp in je kuiten hebt! In Crest Of A Wave gaan we op de softsoul toer met een hoog Gino Vannelli gehalte, compleet met een ruisende branding. In de felle, eigenzinnige funkrock van There’s No Sense In Making Sense lijkt Zappa een huwelijk aangegaan te zijn met Johnny Guitar Watson en de ritmesectie van Tower Of Power. All The Way is een zwoel nachtclub nummer dat doet denken aan Kevin Ayers en zijn “Falling In Love With You”.
Joos sluit dit zeer avontuurlijke album af met de sprookjesachtige instrumental Not Ever, die gedomineerd wordt door zijn warme romantische toetsenwerk.
Ik ben zeer onder de indruk van de veelzijdigheid van JoosTVD en ga het album nog maar eens opzetten. Eens kijken wat ik nu weer allemaal ga ontdekken!


english:
Text: Peter Marinus
With this album you can explain a few things. First the artist name JoostTVD. TVD stands for 'The Vanished Dutchman' and that is another alias of Dutch singer-songwriter Joost van Dinther. He describes his music as 'self-stinking, narcissistic, self-kicking, obsessive and squeezing music'. A whole mouthful.

Joost reveals himself on this album as a musical do-it-yourselfer, who throws all kinds of musical styles together with the greatest ease and makes one more beautiful whole.
Tom Robinson, the English artist who scored hits in the new wave period with '2-4-6-8 Motorway' and 'Listen To The Radio', was so impressed with Joost that he played some of his songs in his radio program on BBC 6.
What can we hear here? Music influenced by artists like Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa, The Tubes and many more artists / genres.

The opening track, Not Now, is for example a funky rock song in which influences float around from Todd Rundgren, Gino Vannelli and Frank Zappa. Especially that transverse xylophone could come from Zappa. A frenzy to make all those influences an infectious swinging funky song. There really is everything happening in this issue. Crackling Tower Of Power-like horns, a ripping guitar solo and electronic rhythms, that do not disturb at all. The Vanished Romeo starts with new age-like panflute sounds, which are quickly wiped out by a scorching Wah Wah guitar. Then a lazy, horny Zappa funker is used full of ingenious breaks. Joos has a perfectly sultry voice for this song. Also the idiosyncrasy of The Tubes and Todd Rundgren resound in this song. The airy funky Indie mixes Zappa, The Tubes and Toto into a warm rocking song. My Cat Is Stoned is a bizarre mix of vaudeville, funk and Zappian madness. All kinds of things pass by in this song: wacky voices, whistles, bats, and everything about a cat that is stoned! Loaded is then a Tito Puente-like latin fusion number. Swinging with soulful singing and almost Philly soul-like strings. In terms of synthesizer sound, Gameface is reminiscent of the spacey work of Gary Wright in his 'Dream Weaver' period. But Joos mixes this with the sound of The Tubes, the erotic whisper of Barry White and Zappa.
Nervous rattling electro rhythms develop into a loom grooving song full of floating synthesizers and retro twist Zappa breaks in Rottendance. Try dancing here! I guarantee that you have cramp in your calves in no time! In Crest Of A Wave we go on the softsoul tour with a high Gino Vannelli level, complete with a rustling surf. In the fierce, quirky funk rock of There's No Sense In Making Sense, Zappa seems to have entered into a marriage with Johnny Guitar Watson and the rhythm section of Tower Of Power. All The Way is a sultry nightclub song reminiscent of Kevin Ayers and his 'Falling In Love With You'.
Joos closes this very adventurous album with the fairytale instrumental Not Ever, which is dominated by his warm romantic keyboard work.

I am very impressed by the versatility of JoosTVD and will put the album up again. Let's see what I'm going to discover again!

vrijdag 8 juni 2018

Just say yes to them Songs



Ok. Fine. Did the work. Did you listen? Of course.
Just say...YES! Thank you.

A whole year just writing songs- and there were a lot of them- always makes you wonder which ones will make it to the finish line. I'm tired, but fulfilled and I ain't gonna stop now..so much to do....I'll just vanish again.
Now, pay attention, let me tell you all about the tunes on "Just Say KNOW".

01.Not Now
A quick and fun one to write, so obviously the first one that motivated me to create a new album again. Upbeat and funky. Fun to dance to. No, not now! Always looking out for the right groove to get me going. A lot of dancing tunes inspired me (especially those from the seventies).

02.The Vanished Romeo
One of my favourite songs of the album. I like the smooth shuffle, jazzy arrangements in the verses and the latin groove of the refrain. Slowly building up a tension. That's a combination that does it for me. A lot of sweat involved here that almost turned into a bloody mess. O Romeo....

03.Indie
What does that mean "Indie" anyway these days. Independent? It's a DIY world already!
Strumming chords can be boring, but this pattern kept me busy, playing for hours.

04.My Cat Is Stoned
A normal cats and dogs day... Cat wants to be a dog and vica versa. I simply wrote this on guitar.
I always try to come up with a fun song that keeps the balance between sad/glad/serious/fun.

05.Loaded
The latin infection. Latin stuff keeps creeping into my songs. Why? I love rhythm.
As long there's a melody/hook it's allright I guess. I'm loaded with that. This is a song about friendship and the love involved.

06.Gameface
On edge all the time...
That's my songwriting spirit sometimes. A bit more darker/ angrier  than the rest of the album. Good for the balance. Maybe a bit Peter Gabriel (So, Us) influence. I've payed a lot of attention to the dynamics.

07.Rottendance
I like dancing. Rhythm. Hypnotic beats... If it falls flat it's just what "disco" did at the end of the seventies  and what "house" does today. To me, it's not human, it's too safe, superficial (they all sound the same!), generetically rotten.
Here, I even give you a pulsing beat that evolves into a reggae pattern in the chorus. But don't misunderstand: I just want to dance again.

08.Crest Of A Wave
Bossa style dutchman. I've always admired brazilian music for its subtle, passionate and smooth patterns. Exotic music oozes summer. I'm just an old fashioned melancholic guy here.

09.There's No Sense In Making Sense
Stop making sense! A terrific Talking Heads concert movie said it all. Restless song, but floating. A little experimenting with the rhythm breaking up did the trick.

10.All The Way
The vanished crooner. As we reach the final, an easy-on the ears ballad can do wonders to comfort your soul and mind. All the way.

11.Not Ever
Coda: a dreamy instrumental and a serious contrast to the first (upbeat) song "Not Now". Say NO. Do not give in. Not Now, not ever.

maandag 4 juni 2018

A Drooble review from Bulgaria!

Anyone who is a musician these days roams around the web to find opportunities, like platforms where you can share your music around. I'm no exception. Possibilities. One of the "newer', upcoming platforms is Drooble (you have to log-in though) where I have uploaded a few of my favourites. You can build up a network of listeners, give feedback to other hungry musicians. Earn Karma points. Read here for more information.
Well, as I've earned a few karma points and it came back to me with a nice album review of "Just Say kNOw": 
(and this time no Zappa reference , but Faith No More...)


Bulgarian Dutchman?


JoosTVD want you to Just Say Know to progressive funk

When you are a really competent musician who just wants to have fun, the result is JoosTVD. Just Say Know is 11 songs worth of expertly played, groovy, smooth progressive funk. The project’s style is very interesting and out there, not conforming to traditional songwriting and instrumentation.
There’s a playful mood to the record — there’s a song about one’s cat partaking in weed, for goodness’ sake! But what strikes us most is how much fun JoosTVD is having performing such tricky, jazzy, funky parts. It’s a lovely thing to observe and hear, yet JoosTVD is never comical or goofy.
Just Say Know is clearly a labor of love and that shows through the masterful songwriting, tight performance, and challenging, compelling song structures. This is a progressive project, after all, and the person behind it did one hell of a job!
If you ever wondered how Faith No More may sound if they dialed back the edginess, give Just Say Know a spin.
Horns up: Masterful instrumentation where the musicians play off each other in perfect sync.
Horns down: The vocals might need some getting used to.

Another nicely written review thanks to the Drooble team

zaterdag 2 juni 2018

And another dutch review!

                                          
                                                                     It's all about networking I guess.......


This time I've got some welcome feedback from Timpaan Muziek
And again that Zappa reference....

Well, as a dutchman I'm not used getting dutch reviews...

Dutch:
Joost The Vanished Dutchman (JoosTVD) is een multiinstrumentalist en heeft een nieuw album uit, Just say know.
Funky jazzachtige muziek met een onverwacht lage stem doet een beetje aan Frank Zappa denken. Virtuoze loopjes en ingenieuze tegenmelodieën vullen elkaar continue aan. Opener Not now heeft een prima drive. The vanished Romeo doet de mondhoeken onwillekeurig omhoog krullen. Even een korte stijlbreuk met een citaat erin verweven. kortom muziek waar over nagedacht is. Humor zit in deze muziek. My cat is stoned voor de slappe lach. Het beeld dat JoosTVD oproept is zo lachwekkend. Alleen de tekst ‘My cat wants to be a dog‘ al, tranen over de wangen. De referentie aan Frank Zappa is ook hier onmiskenbaar. De humor en absurde teksten en onderwerpen benadrukken dat.
De virtuositeit klinkt wat te gepolijst op dit album. De vraag komt daardoor gelijk op of het al dan niet ‘live’ is ingespeeld of dat er flink gesampled en bijgeschaafd is. En ja, hij heeft het allemaal echt ingespeeld, weten we. Maar die vraag wil je als luisteraar niet in je hoofd hebben zitten. Maakt wel nieuwsgierig naar live-uitvoeringen van de nummers. Het hummen en ‘dabadibedie’ in Gameface nodigt uit tot meedoen. Naar mate het album vordert zijn de liedjes wat inwisselbaar voor elkaar met name Crest of wave en There is no sense in making sense. Het croonende pianonummer All the way is een welkome afwisseling en was een mooie afsluiter geweest. De echte hekkensluiter van het album Not ever komt iets te veel uit de elektronische toetsen, maar maakt het album wel op een goede manier af.
Virtuoos, humoristisch, eigenzinnig en absurd. JoosTVD! Nu een liveband en het clubcircuit in.
Eindoordeel: 8,0

The Vanished....Dutchman
English:
Joost The Vanished Dutchman (JoosTVD) is a multi-instrumentalist and has a new album, Just say know. Funky jazzy music with an unexpected low voice reminds a bit of Frank Zappa. Virtuous loops and ingenious counter-melodies complement each other continuously. Opener Not now has a good drive. The vanished Romeo involuntarily curls up the corners of the mouth. Just a short style break with a quote in it. in short, music that has been thought about. Humor is in this music. My cat is stoned for the limp laugh. The image that JoosTVD evokes is so laughable. Only the text 'My cat wants to be a dog', tears on the cheeks. The reference to Frank Zappa is also unmistakable here. The humor and absurd texts and subjects emphasize that. The virtuosity sounds a bit too polished on this album. As a result, the question arises whether it has been played live or whether it has been sampled and refined. And yes, he has really played it all, we know. But you do not want that question as a listener in your head. Makes you curious about live performances of the songs. The humming and 'dabadibedie' in Gameface invites you to participate. As the album progresses, the songs are exchangeable for each other in particular Crest or wave and There is no sense in making sense. The crowning piano number All the way is a welcome change and was a nice ending. The real hekkensluiter of the album Not ever comes a bit too much from the electronic keys, but makes the album in a good way. Virtuoso, humorous, idiosyncratic and absurd. JoosTVD! Now a live band and the club circuit in.

Final verdict: 8.0 

vrijdag 1 juni 2018

A Doll's Repaint video & Stiffy hips

Hai there! Pfff, it's hot and sweaty up here....I guess it's sticky everywhere in Europe, except for a few welcome showers in between. Just got home from a  much needed holiday in Prague. Beautiful, picturesque city, but the heat, smokers and the tourists were almost too much to bare. I've enjoyed it anyway. Musically as I'm recharging my batteries for the next bunch of songs, I usually use my time to see what's happening with my songs. Luckily I've especially released a few instrumental albums through these last years and even a few of my vocal songs have been used by some fervent videomakers. Now, through my network, some guy/ girl from Dollumentary ("I’m a novice OOAK doll repainter") contacted me via the Reddit community. He/ she liked my songs and voila:


Songs used:
Lovetown Guru
Do It Again
Live It Up

DJ Craig Charles (of BBC6 Funk And Soul Show) put my song "Not Now" on his DJ chartslist + here (whatever that means). All funky, hypnotic songs to move your stiffie hips.
Thanks for playing!
CU J.