Marike Jager (born 4 February 1979 in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

) is a Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist and television presenter. She grew up in

Leusden Leusden () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort. The western part of the municipality lies on the slopes of the Utrecht Hill Ridge and is largely co ...

and learned to play the guitar while backpacking through Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South Africa. There she wrote her first song 'Lizzy'. When she got back in the Netherlands she went to the stages, quickly winning the 'Studenten Songfestival in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

(songfestival for students in Maastricht). Soon after she also won the Sky Radio Talentenjacht (Sky Radio Talenthunt), the demopoll by the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Studio and the prestigious 'Grote Prijs van Nederland' 2003 (Grand Prix of the Netherlands) in the category singer-songwriter. After winning the Grote Prijs, she meets Henk Jan Heuvelink. He plays the

wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

and the piano. Together they regularly play at festivals, in theaters and on the radio. In 2008 drummer Nicky Hustinx joins the band.

History

''The Beauty Around'' (2006)

In the summer of 2005, Marike records her first album, ''The Beauty Around''. It was released on 15 May 2006, on her own record label, Morning Coffee Records. It is distributed by V2Records. The debut lives up to everyone's expectations. Marike is awarded the Essent Award for young musical talent, and the album spends many weeks in the charts. She supports the Canadian artist Feist when on tour in the Netherlands. Feist leaves her a personal message: ‘It was very inspiring to share the stage with you.’

''Celia Trigger'' (2008)

In 2008, after the band has been joined by drummer Nicky Hustinx, the band released its second album, ''Celia Trigger'', which received good reviews and was nominated for the Dutch

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed b ...

s in two categories: best female artist and best album. A recording of a concert in

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

, part of the band's first theater tour, is released on a DVD in 2010. ''The Magic Live Box'' contains the DVD, a cd containing a selection of the songs, and a bonus CD containing piano versions of some of the songs, played by Henk Jan Heuvelink.

''Here Comes the Night'' (2011)

The recordings for Marikes third album were done by engineer Staf Verbeeck in the Jet Studio, the oldest studio in Belgium and a musical monument where both Edith Piaf and The Rolling Stones have recorded. Soundwise she chooses a new path. ''Here comes the night'' was mixed by multiple Grammy Award winner

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arc ...

, an idiosyncratic producer who has worked with such artists as

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has s ...

, and

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

. The album is very distinctive, with cinematic underpinnings. In September 2011, Marike was again nominated for two Edisons: 'Best Album' and 'Best Female Artist'.

Discography

*2006: ''The Beauty Around'' (CD/LP) *2008: ''Celia Trigger'' (CD/LP) *2010: ''The Magic Live Box'' (DVD) *2011: ''Here Comes the Night'' (CD/LP) *2014: ''The Silent Song'' *2019: ''Hey are you OK''

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jager, Marike 1979 births Living people Dutch guitarists Dutch jazz guitarists Dutch jazz pianists Dutch pop pianists Dutch singer-songwriters Dutch television presenters People from Amersfoort People from Leusden 21st-century Dutch singers 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century pianists 21st-century guitarists Dutch women television presenters 21st-century women guitarists 21st-century women pianists