Meet the Bensons…Ten estranged relatives living separate lives across the globe. Like all families, they can’t seem to manage with or without each other, being miles apart, only sharing their deepest feelings through the occasional postcard.
Besides being related, these ten individuals have something else in common: they each get their own song on IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY, the debut US release from Dutch electro indie-pop outfit ANDERSON.
By topping fizzy-layered electronics with intimately smooth croon, ANDERSON places organic soul within masterfully synched blips and bleeps. IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY is not only thematically ambitious as it tells a central story through different characters from across the globe, but it’s also musically bold. The resulting ten tracks tell the tales of the Bensons in a stylistic marriage that subtly meshes new-wave, electro and indie pop while spanning an emotive range of sensory dynamics from dark and melancholy to thumping grooves soaked in melody. By also infusing heavy beats, synths and irresistible pulses, this record could make anyone run to the dance floor.
Consisting of Bas van Nienes and Jeroen Van der Werken, ANDERSON released their debut album We Radio Anderson through Dutch label VOLKOREN in 2005. The band drew comparisons to the likes of The Notwist and The Postal Service while the album landed as a fresh stylistic hybrid welcomed by listeners.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY will arrive as the first-ever North American release from ANDERSON when it hits retail June 2 and domestic digital outlets on June 9 via U&L Records. The release follows the album’s international successes where it has garnered more positive critical acclaim for the band while amassing a legion of fan followers. In the Benelux, the disc's first single "Trevor * On The Dancefloor" picked up steam at radio becoming the highest newcomer on the KinkFM Top 40 Charts, landing at 1 on the Free40 Indie Top 40 along with placement in rotation on 3FM, one of the top radio stations in The Netherlands. Meanwhile, the video for the song received rotation at MTV Holland and ended up in the playlist of top Dutch video channel TMF.
Currently, ANDERSON is delivering their sleek sound and style live to audiences across major festivals in The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Japan and beyond. In celebration of the upcoming US release, the band will be touring Westcoast USA this summer.
So, what’s on the Benson’s minds? The usual stuff: love, nostalgia, loneliness, doubt, anger, boredom, city life, clubbing, being hospitalized, running a company, alien abduction…
This could be about your own family.
Discography
• We Radio Anderson, VOLKOREN / Munich (Benelux), Decoder Records (GAS), Thistime Records (JP), 2005
• The Pet Series – Part 5, VOLKOREN / Munich Records (Benelux), 2006
• It Runs In The Family – VOLKOREN / Munich Records (Benelux), Thistime Records (JP) 2008, Urband and Lazar Records (USA) 2009
Inmiddels zijn 200 boeken verkocht en de pers is positief over Muziekreis door het Berlijn van toen en nu - van jazzhel tot technohemel.
Duits.de: ‘Ik vind dat Jonker … die klus heel goed geklaard heeft.’ ‘Het boek is over de gehele linie - algemene geschiedenis en muziekgeschiedenis - toegankelijk geschreven en bevat talrijke anekdotes.’ ‘Alles wat langs moet komen komt dan ook langs: de jazzgekte van de jaren '20, de Schlagers van de jaren '30 en '40, Rock'n Roll, Punk, Techno - alles.’
Festivalinfo.nl: '... geeft het boek een zeer goed en uitgebreid beeld van de muziekcultuur in Berlijn.'
FONK: 'Al met al is het werkje een leuke alternatieve reisgids voor wie binnenkort naar de Duitse hoofdstad gaat. Kort, krachtig en vlot opgepend.'
Trajectum: '... is vooral voor Berlijn- én muziekfans een must voor in de trein richting Berlin Hauptbahnhof (waar je na het lezen van de eerste pagina's meteen op wilt stappen).’
Het boek is t/m 31 juli met korting online te bestellen voor EUR 14,- op www.musikinberlin.com/boek.html. Daarna geldt de normale winkelprijs van EUR 15,95. En ook in de winkels gaat het hard. Velvet Music moest al bij bestellen, nadat ze uitverkocht waren. Bestel jouw exemplaar nu!
Well, thank you! Looking forward to Flevo Fest, 'cause of the dancing that will happen during your show. I guess. Have a good time touring around, like, the world..!
Sunday, July 5th Tivoli de Helling, Utrecht, Aanvang 20:00 uur, entree € 10,-
Beep! Beep!s Vette Analoge Shit, with:
Why? The addictive antidote for onedimensional hip hop. The ultimate mixture between indie pop, electronics en avanthop!
the Burning hell Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes rock, sometimes roll. Always folk, never anti. Quirky? Maybe. Cute? Never. Combining happy little melodies and depressing Old World fatalism, the music of The Burning Hell is sure to make you smile and want to give up.