Music from Amsterdam

From classic rock and 80s pop to a "post-religious" band that flouts genre, here are four bands I learned about in Amsterdam.

I went to Amsterdam earlier this year with a few friends, and while I was there explored a couple small vinyl stores. It’s become a favorite thing to do while traveling — go into a well-curated record store, ask the person working there to recommend some local bands, then sit and listen to everything they recommend. Or if I’m feeling a little anti-social, don’t talk to anyone and just read the record sleeves to find local labels and studios. 

I visited two excellent record stores in the center of Amsterdam, about a 10 minute walk from each other. Platypus Records, on the edge of Chinatown, had a large and eclectic collection of used records filling the small store. Prices were fairly low (most records ranged from 3-10 Euros). Red Light Records — located, predictably, in the Red Light District — was a more tightly curated store with a mix of used and new records. Prices were much higher — most records were upwards of 20 Euros. Here are the bands I came away listening to: 

Maria

Album: Best Of (2023) 
Label: South of North
Bandcamp 

Somewhere between improvisational jazz and irreverent pop punk, there’s Maria, a self-described “post-religious band” from the Netherlands. (What does post-religious mean? My Google search for the term proved fruitless. My best guess is they were raised religious and no longer practice.)

They’re certainly not devoted to a single genre. Their music blends jazz-inspired vamps; smashing, distorted guitar riffs and a drum machine straight out of the 80s. One of the album’s b-side tracks features a Samba-inspired beat: another features something that sounds like a Gregorian chant. 

Yet their delightfully eclectic blend of genres still manages to be cohesive and listenable. Moments of this album remind me of the Velvet Underground & Nico, thanks in large part to the relaxed vocal melodies and the lead singers’ low, speak-singing voice. I particularly like the album’s opening track, “Ghost in white clothes.” Opening with a tight drum solo and a vamp-y piano line, the song quickly moves into a soft, catchy melody occasionally punctuated by the sound of a woman yelling. This album is weird, for sure, but not so weird you can’t listen to it casually and enjoy yourself. 

Sven Hammond

Album: Rapture (2017) 
Website 

A mix of classic rock, funk and soul, Sven Hammond makes lyrically complex music for simply feelin’ groovy. All it took was listening to the album’s first track and hearing the refrain “just call me Black Caesar” to pique my curiosity for the album. 

Sven Hammon’s blend of styles shines on their song I’ll Wait. The verse features soulful vocals and a heavy backbeat, which transitions to a driving, rock-and-roll rhythm in the chorus. Classic guitar riffs and a shredding solo add the final flair. I find the album incredibly catchy and fun –– if you’re like me, you’ll be smiling and swaying to the music as soon as you put it on. 

Fay Lovsky 

Album: confetti (1982) 
Website

Fay Lovsky is a Dutch singer, musician and songwriter who started making music in the 80s and still performs today. I stumbled on her sophomore album, confetti, and picked it up because I liked the brightly-colored album art. 

The album is pretty emblematic of 80s pop – some talk-singing, some sexy vocal scoops, earnest lyrics about falling in and out of love. She sprinkles in the funky, eerie sounds from a theremin and a musical saw. She also brings jazz musicians onto several of the songs. If you like 80s pop you’ll probably find something to like on this album. 

Devon Rexi

Album: Tambal EP (2022) 
Label: South of North 
Bandcamp

Hands down the strangest, most experimental band I got into in Amsterdam, Devon Rexi describes themselves as “seeking liquid knowledge between the natural and supernatural worlds.” The band features Nushin Naini on vocals and bass, and Nic Mauskovic on percussion. There are no guitars, no keys here —none of the trappings of traditional pop or rock music. Naini, who was born in Amsterdam to Iranian parents, sings in Farsi. 

Devon Rexi’s sound is both groovy and unexpected, warm and off-putting. At times, the percussion is full, robust and driving — other times it sounds a little like someone hitting a table with a wooden spoon. (The liner notes back me up on this; Mauskovic is credited with playing “drums, sax and miscellaneous objects.”) At the same time, the repetitive melodies and lyrics give the music a meditative, almost hypnotic quality. It’s a sonic trip. Don’t think too hard, just enjoy the ride.  

Note: all album art is property of the bands.