I
Van Dik Hout

About:

At the end of the eighties the initial band members of ‘Van Dik Hout’ came together in the marine town Den Helder as the local highschool band. The called themselves Blind Dog Fulton and played English repertoire. At the start of the nineties they switched to singing in Dutch (which was not very usual in those days). They changed their name to ‘Van Dik Hout’. The music and lyrics are largely written by Martin Buitenhuis and Sandro Assorgia, supplemented by contributions from Dave Rens Stomach.

Their breakthough came in 1994 with the song ‘Stil in mij’ ('So silent within me'). Then appears ‘Alles of niets’ ('Everything or nothing') and ‘Meer dan een ander’ ('More than another'). The songs are also on the self titled debut cd. Radio dj Frits Spits gives the band the final push and calls them the discovery of 1994. The album spends more than sixty weeks in the album lists and is crowned with a platinum status. ‘Stil in mij’ would turn out to be their milestone and was elected in 2005 by the Dutch public as ‘Best Dutch languaged song of all time’.

They start touring the Dutch club circuit and perform in 1996 as a support act for Bon Jovi and later that year Dutch rocker Herman Brood. Together with Brood they record the song ‘Pijn’ ('Pain') for a mini-album. Due to their frequent live performances they build a strong fanbase. The albums that follow ‘Vier weken’ ('Four weeks') in 1995 and ‘Kopstoot van een vlinder’ ('Headbutt of a butterfly') in 1997 both went gold. The latter also receives an Edison award for best album.

In 1999, Van Dik Hout teams up with popular cabaret/kleinkunst duo Acda & de Munnik for the song ‘Mijn houten hart’ ('My wooden heart') under the name 'Poema’s'. In 2001 the cooperation received a new impetus with the number 1 hit ‘Zij maakt het verschil’ ('She makes the difference'). In 2002 they perform on the weddingparty of the Dutch crown prince. An unusual feature of this cooperation is that the songwriting is also part of the cross-pollination between rock and kleinkunst.

In 2004 the band take a sabbatical to work on a new album. The silence is broken with an outdoor concert in Amsterdam together with De Dijk and Acda & De Munnik. The new album is released in 2007 as ‘Alles waar ik nooit aan begon’ ('Everything I never started'). In 2008 the band tours the theatres with an acoustic program that in addition to new versions of familiar songs also successful songs of the new album. The performance in the Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam is recorded and released in cd in autumn 2008.

(With thanks to Peter from Pimp-it for additional info.)

On the web:

- Van Dik Hout official website: http://www.vandikhout.nl

If you like this, you probably like.. / european counterparts:

Herbert Grönemeyer (Germany)

What do we think:

DB: Van Dik Hout is a Dutch softrock band that mix pop with emotional lyrics. Although maybe not the most experimental band in the Dutch popscene they are one of the few bands that continued to sing in Dutch when this was almost considered commercial suicide. The nineties wasn’t very kind for Dutch sung pop you know. But ‘Stil in mij’ still managed to become a huge hit. Maybe even a bit to big because most Dutch people remember the band solely for that song. And I have to plea guilty for being one of those. They did make a second mark with the songs they made together with Acda & de Munnik. Below is a thumbs up/down I got from rateyourmusic. Hope the fans got it right. If not, feel free to alter the rating by mailing us.

Albums:

♪♪♪♪ - Van Dik Hout - 1994

♪♪ - Vier weken - 1995

♪♪♪ - Kopstoot van een vlinder - 1997

♪♪ - Ik jou en jij mij - 2000

♪♪♪♪ - Vandaag alleen maar winnaars - 2002

♪♪ - Alles waar ik nooit aan begon - 2007

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided