Friday, March 16   12:00 a.m.
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  Kraak & Smaak - Keep Me Home
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For many people Kraak & Smaak is an addiction that�s hard to shake and when you�re talking about the funk phenomenon from the Netherlands that has been winning over audiences across the continent with their energy charged live shows the same is definitely true.

Kraak & Smaak is the ever so slightly illegal sounding band of Dutchmen Mark Kneppers, Oscar De Jong & Wim Plug. The name comes from a proverb in Dutch and caused some consternation for the young Dutchmen when they realised what they had got themselves into. �In Dutch the name doesn�t have a drug context and when people see it written down it�s different but a lot of the time people think we are called crack & smack which we don�t have a problem with but maybe gives them the wrong idea about us� says keyboard wiz Oscar De Jong.

Kraak & Smaak formed in 2003 through a series of friendships and chance meetings. Mark and Wim already knew each other from DJ�ing together and were introduced to Oscar by a mutual friend who told them about the keyboard prodigy that was studying at the conservatoire. The trio started working together and sent one of their earliest efforts into the outside world to see if anyone was interested. That track Money in the Bag was picked up by Jalapeno Records who offered the band an album deal. It also landed the K&S crew with a mix on Radio 1 courtesy of early supporter Annie Nightingale. They repaid the courtesy with another DJ mix for Annie in 05 which was voted mix of the year and re-run in Radio 1�s best of the year round up.

Not that Annie was the only supporter in the UK � nearly every specialist on UK National Radio 1 from Pete Tong to Zane Lowe and Annie Mac to the Blue Room have all featured Kraak & Smaak tracks in their shows. IDJ magazine made Boogie Angst (the kraakers debut album) their album of the month and devoted a spread to the super strength Dutch funk crew declaring Boogie Angst �One of the years best albums�.

Respected scene magazine Blues & Soul described them as �The funkiest thing to come out of Holland. Ever� whilst the BBC Online described it as �Like a lost master from the Stax vaults. It�s that good�. High praise indeed.

The band have released several singles off the album and have had the cream of upcoming and established talent standing in line to do a remix, often with a remix from the boys in return as more than enough payment. Sharam Jey , 4 Hero, Soul of Man, Mark Rae and the Fort Knox Five are just some of the names involved and these and other remixes will all feature as a bonus disc on the new version of the album due for release in September in the UK. This new version of the album is already available in Europe where PIAS have picked up rights for the band.


In the US things are also starting to happen for the band. LA tastemaker station KCRW has been heavily featuring the band which in turn led to a slew of requests from TV and film-makers to feature K&S� emotive music in their productions. The band have now signed a deal with Quango Records in the US, the label responsible for breaking Zero 7, Kruder & Dorfmeister and Koop across the pond.

The band split their time between live gigs, studio work and DJ�ing. The first preference for the group is to spread the word through their live show. After the initial success of Boogie Angst, Kraak & Smaak moved on to stage two of their master plan by gathering together a family of live musicians and putting the band on the road. Besides Kraak & Smaak core members Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug the group consists of some of the best known and hottest Dutch musicians and vocalists in the business:

Ro Krom (drums, percussion and vocals) is an intense stage performer who brings funky drummer licks to the table, before jumping out of his seat to hold it down on vocal duties. Ro was initiator of the legendary Dutch funk outfit Gotcha! and founder of Ro & Paradise Funk as well as putting in live performances with George Clinton and members of Parliament / Funkadelic.

U-Gene (keys and vocals) is the best soul singer to come from the Low Countries in many years. He rose to fame as one half of the duo U-Gene & Oh-Jay and toured with Urban Dance Squad. He is responsible for the vocals on �One of these Days�, one of the key tracks on �Boogie Angst� as well as joining Oscar as resident live keys man for the band

Vocalist Rose is a dutch soul diva who brings the essential touch of female class to the K&S tour, and is responsible in the live show for bringing the crowd to their knees with her heart-breaking rendition of �Keep me Home�. For her first solo album she has recorded with such luminaries as King Britt, Victor Duplaix and Kerry Chandler.

Marc Baronner (bass guitar) along with Ro is responsible for holding down the rhythm section live and when he lays down a bass lick it stays laid! Marc played live in Junkie XL and Shine and was founder of the successful Dutch electronic pop act Mimezine.

Barely a year on from the first Kraak & Smaak gig in May 2005, the band has taken the European music scene by storm, performing at major live venues and key festivals, such as Pinkpop in NL and Cargo in London. The boys have also recently completed their first US tour where they rocked the crowds turned onto their sound by their US label Quango

When the logistical problems of moving a 7 man band around the world become too much, the Kraak & Smaak DJ show is an easier opportunity to spread the word of K&S around the globe.
DJ delaSarge, a long time collaborator of the band is an addition to the K&S crew for the DJ shows and brings an extra element to these shows which are generally handled by either Mark or Wim.

Recently the band have started doing work on music for several films. �People tend to know us more for the upbeat side of the music we make which they hear in clubs or at parties but on Boogie Angst there are some really emotive downbeat moments and this is a side to what we do that works really well with film� says Wim.

The success of Kraak & Smaak in Holland is an interesting turn up for Mark who is already a member of another hugely successful dutch pop act �Yeah I�m also in a band called Wipneus & Pim� says Mark � It�s completely different to Kraak & Smaak but it�s really popular live with dutch people and in fact we were recently offered our own TV show. The only problem is the diary and deciding which hat I�m going to put on at the weekend, Kraak & Smaak or Wipneus & Pim�.

The live element of Kraak & Smaak is clearly the most important thing to keyboard prodigy Oscar who is also the main man in the Kraak & Smaak studio . �As a student I seemed to spend quite a lot of my time locked away listening to music but it�s also made me realise that I�m pretty shit hot on the Fender Rhodes too,� he smiles. �I think it�s this that�s made me want to play live a lot more, before there�s always been the small technicality of being a student and needing money to do it, but with the Kraak & Smaak material I�ve got the perfect vehicle really.�

The band also run the best independent record shop in their home town of Leiden. Both Mark & Wim are rabid record collectors and between them are convinced they have the biggest vinyl collection in the Netherlands �I�m being serious,� says Mark. �I think the problem is that we can listen to most types of music but we really get into it and just end up buying so many records. I�ve got a big jazz collection but the other week I went to see a huge Kraftwerk concert which was absolutely breathtaking plus I listen to a lot of different stuff from Echo & The Bunnymen and Joy Division right through to classical and funk. In my sets I tend to play lots of funky breakbeat, music for the girls and something that will get them up on the floor,� he smiles, �So there isn�t really anything that escapes our radar.�

The album �Boogie Angst� draws on a lot of these influences and kicks off by strutting down the street to the funked up twangs of �Money in the Bag.� Up against its back is �One of these Days,� pouring U-Gene�s stax era vocals over looped guitars, spiralling trumpets and brass stabs. The balmy summer house of �Keep Me Home� takes the dancefloor bounding through dusty woodwind and glimmering strings whilst �Danse Macabre� opens up to become a downbeat soundscape with hauntingly soft vocals. Next we head towards �5 to 4� which takes on some epic Blade Runner-like stylings with stark mutated echoes and twisting Middle Eastern pipes, before �Mambo Solitario� curls elegant strings around shuffling samba.

The release of the album has already brought big changes to the lives of the band. �We�ve worked our asses off touring this album� says Wim � It�s the only way a new band can break it big without major investment from a big label but we�re happy doing it this way conquering the world territory by territory�

The coming months include dates at 10 Days Off festival (Gent, Belgium) Bestival in the UK and at the Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary. On top of this an extensive national club tour and a number of UK, USA, German and Belgian live shows are planned for October / November 2006.

The album Boogie Angst is out now with a bonus CD of remixes available in certain territories.

For more information contact sarah@jalapenorecords.com