At Koda's Long Play sessions, we select an album that deserves our full attention and play it from front to back. We listen together in silence, and discuss what we heard afterwards. This time we are listening to.. Het Vreemd. With special guest Rutger Nijkamp, who will introduce the album, the story behind it and its influences. After the listening session, there is room for questions and to get a vinyl copy of the album.

Het Vreemd is a compilation of lost Dutch synthesizer and wave music from 1982 to 1987. Compiled by Nijkamp, who inherited many tapes from his musician-mother Veronique (Verque on the compilation). What started as a personal collection grew into a search for the stories behind a world of DIY music-making. Het Vreemd brings ten forgotten songs back to life, with themes resonating strangely with the present.

Nijkamp: “This compilation project started in the summer of 2022, when my mom handed me a small metal box. Inside were quirky band photos and DIY cassettes from the 1980s, which she had just received from a friend from her first band. On top lay a photo of three young guys in white outfits leaning against a pasture fence, a Roland JX-3P synthesizer resting in the grass. In the middle stood my mom!

"While doing research, I learned that the 1980s were an interesting time in (Dutch) music history. For the first time, musicians could cheaply record and release their own music on cassette, creating a flourishing DIY scene. Bands splintered into duos and solo projects, experimenting with synthesizers, drumcomputers and home recording. Although many artists chose to sing in English, I became increasingly drawn to the songs with Dutch lyrics. They sounded direct, slightly boxy, sometimes awkward, but also honest and vivid. What I think is interesting is that the sociopolitical themes in the songs on the compilation album still resonate strangely with the present. From housing shortages and environmental crises to the threat of nuclear war and technological optimism, many of the hopes and anxieties captured in Dutch underground music of the 1980s feel surprisingly current. That connection between past and present is something that fascinates me and runs through this project”.