Palingsound (; 'European eel sound') is the unique musical sound attributed to a subgenre of
Dutch pop music called palingpop. It is sometimes used to refer to the palingpop genre as a whole.
History
Origin
The Cats
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
(1964 -1985) are universally recognized as the originators of palingsound. The Cats were the first
Volendam
Volendam () is a fishing town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands. As of 1 January 2021, it has a population of 22,715. It is twinned with Coventry, England.
History
Originally, Volendam was the location o ...
ic band to record an album.
[Johan Tol en Michel Veerman]
''Wat is Palingsound?''
''Palingsound.com'' Their music started off as
beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffl ...
and over the years evolved to be more focused on
melody and
harmony. After the lead singer was replaced by
Piet Veerman
Piet Veerman (born 1 March 1943) is a Dutch pop musician. From 1964 to 1985 he was a guitarist and singer for The Cats, and since 1968 the lead singer for all the singles of this band. He released a first solo album in 1975 but started his solo ca ...
in 1968, the dramatic elements of his voice became sound-determining.
With their lyrical, melodical and somewhat
melancholic
Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly d ...
music, The Cats laid the groundworks for what would become known as palingsound. Further elements that would become influential for palingsound from this period in the music of The Cats would be the added arrangements of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
musician
Wim Jongbloed and the continental European mixing techniques of producer
Klaas Leyen.
1970s – Present
Palingsound would find many continuers among Volendamic artists after the original success of The Cats. Bands such as
Maddog,
Left Side,
Next One and
BZN
BZN (''Band Zonder Naam''; Dutch for "Band Without Name") was a Dutch pop group that had a string of hits from 1966 to 2007 on. BZN recorded mostly in English and French, but also had success with material in Dutch and German.
History
BZN star ...
would pick up the style and continue to expand its popularity with the general public.
Over time, palingsound would no longer only be sung in English, as Dutch-language artists started to adopt the style. Examples of this include
Nick & Simon
Nick & Simon are a Dutch singer-songwriter duo composed of Simon Keizer and Nick Schilder. They became popular in their home country the Netherlands in 2006. Their album ''Luister'' (''Listen'') reached double platinum status in four months. I ...
,
Jan Smit and
Monique Smit
Margaret Gertrude Mary (Monique) Smit (born 9 April 1989) is a Dutch singer and television presenter.
Early life
Monique grew up in Volendam as the younger sister of Jan Smit. After finishing school, she attended Don Bosco College, and later ...
.
Etymology
The musical style received the name palingsound early in its history. Music of The Cats was already referred to as palingsound in 1968. ''Het Vrije Volk'' would publish an article in March 1968 mentioning: "... the sound is, according to experts, 'a typical palingsound'."
The name's coining has been attributed to
Veronica DJ
Joost den Draaijer. Den Draaijer coined the term as a reference to the fishing of
European eel which is common in Volendam. Another contributing factor to the naming was that Jan Buijs, manager of The Cats, would always bring some European eel for Den Draaijer when he came to the Veronica studio.
Controversy
Not all Volendamic musicians would react positively to the name and genre. Some band members of The Cats would feel like the name mocked them. They would later accept the name after the many successes it brought them.
In 2008, a new controversy arose when the band
3JS reacted in frustration when their music was referred to as palingsound. They claimed that their music was not at all typical palingsound, even though they originate from Volendam. Jaap Kwakman, a band member of 3JS, edited the Dutch Wikipedia article on Palingsound to remove 3JS from the article.
[NU.nl (27 February 2008]
"3js balen van palingsound"
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References
{{reflist
Dutch styles of music
Nederpop