In 1996 I started to study at the University of Amsterdam, and consequently moved into my nation's capital. Although not too distant from my native town of Haarlem, it was a whole new world to discover. The first thing to look out for of course were decent record shops.
One of the first shops I found was a small and quiet record store called C&D, at walking distance from Centraal Station. Record shop owner Liesbeth Esselink didn't have any trouble running the shop alone it seemed, because more often than not I was the only customer. Which, apparently, left her with enough time to browse through the unsold albums catching dust on the shelves. And to use them for her own musical experiments.
In 1998 she released her hyperactively creative debut album, Solex vs. The Hitmeister. Three equally confusing but rewarding albums followed later.
Amsterdam's indie music scene has never been a very exciting one, but these were absurdly addictive bursts of original pop fun. Liesbeth Esselink's guest appearance on the latest The Go! Team album reminded me of how I used to like these albums' collages of intriguing samples and funky rhythms.
Play any one of her songs at any moment, and you'll know who it is you're listening to without a doubt, within a few seconds. Solex sounds like Solex and like nobody else. Real originality like this is very rare, even in indieland. And sadly, especially in Dutch indieland.
I like to daydream that I contributed a tiny little bit to her albums, by not buying the albums which she later used to sample from. Yes, I'm a creative genius.
Hm?
Download (Mediafire)
Solex - Solex for a while
Solex - Honey (Amsterdam is not L.A.!)
Solex - Solex all licketysplit
Solex - Good comrades go to heaven
Solex - Comely row
Solex - Honkey donkey
1 comment:
just found her stuff tonight...gorgeous stuff indeed! getting everything i can. i've become addicted to self-produced albums (of montrel, tender forever, etc)
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