THE BENELUX (facebook)
The Benelux plays when other bands have already unplugged and ended the night. These club rockers create a danceable sound that is as contagious on record as on stage. As a four member set, the band exists somewhat as an anomaly to the one-man electronica acts on NON Records. But one listen to The Benelux shows they share with their label-mates an affectation for electronic music, cutting guitar rifts between live sampling and distorted synths. The addictive mixture of old and new makes you wish: – like NRC Next – “if only every guitar group would love electronica as much as these guys.”
RENKAS (facebook)
Renkas is a neo-romantic on Amsterdam’s NON Records. His music is something out of the ordinary, yet extremely contagious. In his oeuvre, a serious sense of melancholy resides behind a see-through curtain of catchy melodies, resulting in a unique mix of emotion-driven music. His songs are about heavy Kiev summers, corruption, grey buildings and love. June 2011 Renkas released “Christabella” EP on NON Records, a 4 track EP, which is about restless youth and wasted love. It’s available for download on iTunes (a.o.) and on vinyl in your favorite record stores.
PALMBOMEN (facebook)
Dutch for “palm trees”, Palmbomen appropriately delivers a tropical escape from the mundane. Kai Hugo’s music is as experimental as it is contagiously poppy. Haunting vocals and hypnotic synth lines produced by desolated studio equipment create an atmospheric sound that, according to somewhere between 80′s italo and 60′s psychedelia. A custom built quasi epileptic light show completes the sensation of being lost in a neon Amazon forest. Kai’s debut ‘Moon Children EP’ is out on NON Records and showcases the uniquely eery sound of Palmbomem. Vice Magazine had this to say about one track in particular off of the release:
“He made a song called ‘Myself’ that iTunes says we have already listened to 46 times”
BEAR DAMEN(facebook)
Founding member of NON Records, Bear produces what could be the soundtrack to a possessed Atari game. His synth-driven pop creations command the dance floor with funky grooves and bass-heavy vocals. Inspired by the Paris Hilton environments of our time, Bear’s songs create an aura as pastiche as it is fun. ‘Gulfstream EP’ serves as a debut effort and exemplifies Bear’s distinctively ironic, dance-ready sound.
MARIUS (facebook)
The layered sound Marius produces is the result of a calculating approach to creation. His electro sound strives to embody a narrative quality, avoiding traditional pop structure for instead more linear results. His use of samples from instrumental tracks conjure scenes of cinematic proportions, wavering somewhere between 60s era James Bond and cult classics such as Kill Bill. The rippling sonic delight of NON’s wonder-boy avoids traditional categorization with powerful results.
HYPERHYPER (facebook)
HyperHyper grew up in Hilversum, in the middle of the Dutch TV industry. He has an inexhaustible love for the 90′s, and his studio solely consists of equipment from this shiny decade. All of his sounds are typically from that era, but HyperHyper’s compositions have a deeper feel to it. Maybe to analyze the emptiness that took place, because only Holland knows what the 90′s really were like.
KRISTINE (myspace)
Los Angeles-based Kristine creates hard-hitting tech house, with a desolated feel. Her songs a crafted to be danceable, with heavy use of catchy synth loops and and funky bass lines. Antiquated studio equipment gives Kristine’s music a distinctively raw sound, that while experimental is still suitable for clubs as much as your headphones.
DALLAS (myspace)
A raw version of flamboyant 80′s dynasty disco with boas, make up, string ensembles and backing vocalists. Dallas always puts on a show. Imagine some “Sophie Ellis Bextor on ketamine”-like disco scene. This London singer will record an EP very soon. If this man walks upon your stage, you can expect the whole Studio 54 feeling back in a few seconds, and there will never be enough disco balls (and bad coke).
GANZ NACKISCH (bandcamp)
A powerful combination of female vocals and tube heated beats. Catchy choruses and distorted synthesizers complement each other nicely. Together, these ingredients form a solid base, on which all the outboard gear of the 60′s and 70′s is used and abused. The music is quite modern, but one can hear references to artists like Giorgio Moroder, Jermaine Stewart, Amanda Lear and Devo.