Who: Kraak
& Smaak
When:
Monday, Nov. 24
Where: GLC
Admission:
$15 in advance at GLC, Katmandu, The Hub
Their name
may raise a few eyebrows in North America, but the Dutch band, Kraak &
Smaak, swears up and down that its moniker actually has nothing to do with
drugs. Rather, it’s a Dutch proverb that translates into “crunchy and tasty.”
On Friday,
the band had just arrived in Chicago and was getting ready to have a sushi
lunch before hitting the road again, this time, on their way to perform on
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Kraak &
Smaak as we know it today isn’t exactly has planned.
You see,
Oscar De Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug are the three founding fathers of the
funk-infused group. They started the group as a studio project in their
hometown of Leiden, in the Netherlands, with hopes that they could somehow
combine De Jong’s soulful instrumentals with Kneppers’ and Plug’s DJing
abilities, to create an entirely new sound in dance.
“We helped
each other, because they couldn’t make music – they weren’t musicians
– and I didn’t know how to translate my music for a dance crowd,” De Jong
explained.
Kneppers
and Plug are also big diggers (they collect vinyl) – so the group has an
impressive collection of records to draw upon during their live performances.
“A lot of
very obscure records you can just find on vinyl, and not on CDs, and that’s the
thing,” he explained, “They buy for the collections, and also for finding new
unexplored samples.”
The trio
started out making 12-inch records for DJs in local clubs, and after about
four, they decided to compile a full-length CD. Their debut album, “Boogie
Angst,” quickly caught the ear of many big names in the industry – Pete
Tong, Rob Da Bank and Jamiroquai are just a few of the artists who have shown
an interest in the unique sound.
“Names like
Rob Da Bank, who was working for 20 years, if he says it’s good, then I suppose
it’s good,” De Jong said with a chuckle.
Five years
later, the collaboration still seems to be working. They released their second
full-length, “Plastic People,” back in April, and their unique fusion of soul,
funk, electro, dance and breakbeat has taken the dance scene by storm.
Their
original vision as a recording group has definitely evolved, taking on new life
as a group renowned for their energetic, impressive and one-of-a-kind live
shows. They regularly rotate new people in and out of the group for tours, with
Ro Krum on drums and vocals, Rose on vocals, and Marc on bass guitar this time
around.
A huge part
of their performance is focused on reading the audience and interacting with
their crowd, which may be part of the reason the live shows are so well received.
“We’ve seen
a lot of concerts … in which the band just did their thing, and there’s no
interaction with the audience, musically and also not with the members, and I
hate that,” De Jong said, “I mean, come on, it takes a band and it takes an
audience, together!”
A bigger
audience began connecting with the CD, word spread about their incredible live
shows, and Kraak & Smaak truly blossomed.
“In
Holland, we hit number five on the charts, and then it became really big,” he
added, “…In a matter of weeks, we had 19-year-old kids watching the show, just
waiting for that one particular song.”
But their
emergence on the mainstream music scene, especially here in North America,
definitely came as a surprise to the group.
“We just
made 12-inches, like, ‘Hey, let’s do it for fun!’ … We didn’t even think we’d
play live,” De Jong said, pointing out that Kraak & Smaak was just one of
many projects the musicians were working on.
Today,
Kraak & Smaak is their full-time gig, and the band has even been
name-dropped by Kanye West and the “Queen of all media” – none other than
Perez Hilton – who referred to the group as Amy Winehouse meets Moby (in
a flattering way).
De Jong
said the group is working hard to ensure that, despite their newfound
popularity, they don’t become too commercial and maintain their innovative and
fresh sound.
“A lot of
artists, when they get in the top 10, they lose their credibility,” he said,
pointing out that their music is still frequently sampled by DJs.
The key
appears to be ensuring there is a balance between creating new music in the
studio, and touring with the material for just long enough – not allowing
themselves to get bored.
“You have
to keep it interesting for yourself, also, musically,” De Jong said, adding
that they’re constantly trying to progress and change things up.
You can
catch Kraak & Smaak’s incredible live set at the GLC on Monday evening.
