Review from Belgium!

What a nice suprise from the south. Belgium that is. Yes, Belgium is gonna win the WK of 2018 of course! Didn't expect this one either. I'm just humbled by these words. Another review will get me going! Thank you Lambert Smits and Marino Serdons from 'Keys and Chords', a belgian online music magazine. And no, I didn't bribe them! Namedropping? Zappa, Rundgren, Protheroe (yes what's in a name!)

Dutch:
"Surprise, surprise, funky music vanuit buurland Nederland. JoosTVD, Joos The vanished Dutchman, levert al sedert 2005 het ene unieke digitale album na het andere af. Chapeau voor deze einzelganger: schrijft, componeert en speelt alle muziek zelf. Arrangeert, mixed en mastered zijn eigen brouwsels tot een prachtig geheel. Zo ook met zijn nieuwste telg 'Just Say kNOw'. Het album spettert van de funky grooves en doet regelmatig denken aan wijlen Frank Zappa, een meester in complexe en toch begrijpbare structuren. Luister maar eens naar opener 'Not Now' of 'The Vanished Romeo': elektronica zoals Todd Rundgren, xylofoon nals Frank Zappa. Is hier een volledig orkest aan het werk? Nee hoor, dit is JoosTVD ten note uit. Als geen ander weet hij elke song een meeslepende groove te bezorgen. Door de complexiteit blijf je geboeid luisteren, opnieuw en opnieuw. Ook houdt hij van grappige intermezzo's zoals in het theatrale 'My Cat Is Stoned' (waarin ook Brian Protheroe een kei was). Luchtig! Wie nog mocht twijfelen: Tom Robinson pikt regelmatig songs op voor zijn BBC6 Shows. 'Just say kNOw' is een oerdegelijk tof album geworden dat roept om een fysieke drager zoals vinyl. Digitaal natuurlijk te beluisteren via de geijkte kanalen Spotify, Deezer, enz."

Beautiful album from The Vanished Dutchman Joost. Strong funky grooves with Zappa-tesque influences, but also melancholy and a lot of fun. A wonderful discovery.
Marino Serdons

Vanished in Belgium

English:
 Surprise, surprise, funky music from neighboring Netherlands. JoosTVD, Joos The vanished Dutchman, has been delivering one unique digital album after another since 2005. Chapeau for this einzelganger: writes, composes and plays all music itself. Arranges, mixed and mastered his own brews into a beautiful whole. This is also the case with his latest member 'Just Say kNOw'. The album splashes with funky grooves and regularly reminds of the late Frank Zappa, a master of complex yet understandable structures. Listen to opener 'Not Now' or 'The Vanished Romeo': electronics such as Todd Rundgren, xylophone and Frank Zappa. Is there a full orchestra at work here? No, this is JoosTVD on note. Like no other he knows how to deliver a compelling groove to a song. Due to the complexity, you will continue to listen fascinated, again and again. He also likes funny intermezzos such as in the theatrical 'My Cat Is Stoned' (in which Brian Protheroe was also a boulder). Airy! Who might doubt: Tom Robinson regularly picks up songs for his BBC6 Shows. 'Just say kNOw' has become an incredibly cool album that calls for a physical carrier such as vinyl. Digital to listen to naturally via the well-known channels Spotify, Deezer, etc. '

Beautiful album from The Vanished Dutchman Joost. Strong funky grooves with Zappa-tesque influences, but also melancholy and a lot of fun. A wonderful discovery.
Marino Serdons

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!

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 

Open Up Your Parachute

Hey folks, let's begin with some fresh eye-openers. My musical parachute will open up in the near future, if my mind will let it. Guess Frank's wise words have triggered me and inspired me. 2016 will open up a few more sensible parachutes I hope.

The new album will have 12 songs on it. Just finished the artwork, but I'm still busy working on the mixes. Just let those songs breath a little more. It's gonna be great!
Have a nice (2016) everyone.

2013?

2013? Lou Reed is gone. Not a perfect day, but......reminds me how big his influence as an artist is, now even more.

But success in the music business is a very relative thing and Lou did his time in the rodeo.                                             

2013? More and more people decide to try out the bumpy road to fame and fortune. They often wonder why the glamour doesn't happen or... not as quickly and sensational as on TV. You sister says it's good, so.....duh?!

2013? You have to ease down a bit and take a deep breath. I think there's a lot more pros in it for us all in the end.
Yes, create excitement! You can still play the live-circuit and sell a few cd's afterwards, but on top of that-with a little bit of healthy self-reflection and some bold determination-you can get your own fifteen minutes. You can easily spread and share the best(!) of your (musical) works in a digital way (Fandalism, Jamendo, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Youtube) and create your own "fans". If they like your music, they can spread it for you among their buddies. Some of these potentials can become loyal listeners, others will move on. A lot of helpful recourses to try out in your favor, a great one is Tom Robinson's Fresh On The Net.


2013? Nowadays you can bring out a new album without any restrictions of a label. I know it will give the listeners way too much to listen to. But I think the level of musicianship/produktion is so way up high, you can easily filter the bad from the goody, goody stuff.

2013? So glad my humble latest "The Ballooning Brouhaha" has brought me a few more new listeners and podcasters. It got me more feedback, radioplays (Croydon radio London, Tom Robinson's BBC6 Mixtape, Radio 98Eins Germany, got reviews from loyal journalists like Nathan Norgel). Yes, times have changed. Next year there'll be a new one, right on schedule.

1975! Back in the glam/disco/pre-punk days...
As I became such a crazy, curious and fanatic music lover when I was fresh and wet behind the ears, I used to tape every new, exciting tune I heard on the radio. Saved every dime I could to spent it on the new one of Bowie, Roxy Music, Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Zappa, John Martyn, Steely Dan and many more just for discovery purposes. I followed and supported their careers, even if the albums got crappier. Expectations. The human factor.
The excitement of discovery. Especially Zappa albums (talking vinyl here!) were unavailable or very expensive, so I was always glad to find one in a secondhand store. I spent hours and hours of magic shopping in Amsterdam (one called Concerto, 4 stores full of rare stuff) and I' m still proud of all those rare, often unknown and often pricey (aargh!) gems I've found there.

2013? Along the years I have created my own "recordstore" (a small music library of about 13.000 cd's, 1500 vinyl). Freedom for my ears, food for the mind & soul and not least inspiration for my own creations. I shall not count a 3TB harddisk full of the rest in mp3 format though. Modern times.

2013? I have never stopped looking for another obscure album.
The discovery is everywhere, not far away, just one mouseclick....voila! Streaming is the new buy.

So here are my most spotified albums of 2013 (very close but no sigar: the magnificent and surprising stragedy (marketing!) aka comeback album of Bowie, the verrrry Beatlesesque album of McCartney or the seemingly interesting Elvis Costello/ Roots combination, all simply great to have back for their age(!), but in my opinion, not all that strong compositionwise, but what do I expect):

Jonathan Wilson- Fanfare

Yes, I don' t like retro! But even if this recalls the seventies, it's is done in a very colourful, loving and organic way. The guest list, Crosby & Nash harmonies deja vuing around beautiful melodies. And there's also excitement in the playing and variety in the arrangements.

Darth Vegas- Brain Washing For Dirty Minds (Ok late 2012 release, late discovery)










10 years after their even crazier debut came this Zappa-esque slapstick rollercoaster of sounds. Full of funny musical surprises. Everytime I laugh my ass off when I play these 2 records. Long live Zappa.

Janelle Monae- Electric Lady











A grower. Had to listen again and again, it just crept under my skin.

 Prefab Sprout- Crimson/Red

          

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

So glad Paddy came out of his cave! No surprises here. Songwriting to the core.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
And for the sensational background information, here's a few books I've read this year. 
As usual, mostly sleezy biographies. Recommended:                                                                                                                                              

Neil Young- Waging Heavy Peace
Nick Kent, Apathy for the Devil A Seventies Memoir

Ryan O'Neal - Both of Us

Victor Bockris- Up-Tight The Velvet Underground Story                                                                        

Marc Elliot- Paul Simon                                                                                                                          

Ray Manzarek- Light My Fire                                                                                                                

Garth Bardsley- Stop The World (Anthony Newley)                                                                                 

Billy James- A Dream Goes On Forever (Todd Rundgren) Vol.1 & 2 

Paul Meyers- A Wizard A True Star (Todd Rundgren In The Studio) 

Al Kooper- Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards 

Bertus Borgers- Ik Hou Van Herman                

Yes I love this review

So glad with these colourful words!

In german:

„Don‘t mind the blues“ meint Joos The Vanished Dutchman in einem Titel seines neuen Albums. Hardcore-Bluesfans sollten das als ernste Warnung auffassen und mit Lesen der Rezension und dem Anhören der Scheibe äußerste Vorsicht walten lassen. Ansonsten gilt: Mit „The Ballooning Brouhaha“ hat die niederländische One-Man-Band Musik so richtig passend zum beginnenden Sommer mit Jazz, Funkgrooves, Rock und einer gehörigen Dosis Humor.

Ein Aufruht beim Ballonfahren? Aufrührerische Ballons? Oder die Empörung über die Ballonsportler? Mit dem Albumtitel kommer ich schnell an die Grenzen meiner Englischkenntnisse. Aber der Titelsong und Opener des aktuellen Albums von Joost Van Dinther erzählt rein musikalisch (wenn man von den paar „Haha“-Rufen absieht) eine Geschichte, die all das sein könnte - oder was ganz anderes. Und schon sind wir bei dem Problem, was man unwillkürlich hat, wenn man sich Songs dieses Niederländers anhört: Man muss ich das Lachen verkneifen. Und man erwischt sich immer wieder dabei, das Wort „zappaesk“ verwenden zu wollen.

 

Dabei könnte man ebenso auch Verwandschaft zur Musik etwa von Steely Dan, der mittleren Schaffensperiode von Stevie Wonder und anderen finden. Nur eben waren die niemals so voller Humor, Sarkasmus - und Selbstironie. Wer nennt einen Titel schon freiwillig „Stupid song(s)“, der dann auch völlig albern daherkommt wie für die Welttournee von Ralf Sögel direkt am Casio geschrieben und dann noch mit Bläsern aufgemotzt? Das ist einfach zappaesk. Und natürlich großartig. Dann folgt noch ein „Disco Scream From The Sinking Loveboat“, eine Tour mit dem „Sunday Train“ oder ein Trip durch einen schweigenden Dschungel. Meist humorvoll, oft auch plötzlich von einer Melancholie eingetrübt, dass man gleich nochmal aufmerksamer hinhört, um festzustellen: Joost ist ein verdammt guter Songschreiber und keine wandelnde Comedy-Attraktion. Und auch das hat er mit dem verstorbenen Gitarren- und Kompositionsmeister mit dem berühmten Klofoto gemein. Wer mir das nicht glaubt, sollte auf diversen Online-Plattformen wie Jamendo nach dem kostenlosen Download von „The Ballooning Brouhaha“ suchen und mir erst danach widersprechen.

In English (google-translator):

"Do not mind the blues," said Joos The Vanished Dutchman in a title of his new album. Hardcore blues fans should take that as a serious warning and exercise with reading the review and listening to the disc extreme caution. Otherwise: With "The Ballooning Brouhaha" the Dutch one-man band music really match the beginning of the summer with jazz, funk grooves, rock and a good dose of humor.
One rests in ballooning? Riotous balloons? Or the outrage over the balloon athlete? With the album title, I commer to the limits of my knowledge of English. But the title track and opener of the new album by Joost Van Dinther told musically (apart from the few "haha"-Call) is a story that could be all that - or something completely different. And already we are in the problem, which he automatically when you listen to this song Dutchman: Man I need help laughing. And you get caught again and again going to want to use the word "zappaesk".
It could also find some affinity to the music of Steely Dan, the middle period of Stevie Wonder and others. Only just were never so full of humor, sarcasm - and self-irony. Who calls a title already voluntarily "Stupid song (s)", which then comes as quite silly for the world tour by Ralf Soegel written directly on the Casio and then beefed up even with horns? This is simply zappaesk. And of course, great. .
 Then follows a "disco Scream From The Sinking Loveboat", a tour with the "Sunday Train" or a trip through a silent jungle. Most humorous, often suddenly clouded by a melancholy that is the same again attentively listens to determine: Joost is a damn good song writer and not changing comedy attraction. And also that he has in common with the late guitar master and composition with the famous Klofoto (Zappa). If you do not believe me, should look at various online platforms such as Jamendo for the free download of "The Ballooning Brouhaha" and disagree with me afterwards.