These days, there are many original and great-sounding young acts in the Dutch underground scene who I really enjoy. Their concerts usually take place in small clubs, like De Nieuwe Anita in Amsterdam. As a huge fan of Christmas music, I decided to ask a few of my favourite young artists to record contemporary Christmas songs, with complete artistic freedom. Electro-garage duo De Delegatie chose to cover a song by Daniël Lohues, singer of Skik, and Herman Finkers from 2009. Haarlem electro-wave band Dorpsstraat 3 went even further back in time to 1976, when ‘volks’ singer André Hazes had his very first Christmas hit with ‘Eenzame Kerst’. Amsterdam punk trio The Earwurms recorded a contemporary version of ‘Jingle Bells’. Schlager punk trio Yodel Queen, who like to sing and shout about chaos in daily life, recorded a track about a flexitarian at Christmas dinner. The Earwurms and Yodel Queen are both making their vinyl debut. XA4, aka Xavier Boot, has already released a vinyl album on Philip Glass’ label and treats us to some Christmas minimalism. As a contrast, the maximal danceable dark electro from Amsterdam’s Raderkraft, a well-known recording artist, who sings about a lost love at Christmas. Amsterdam solo project Stippenlift is a Christmas music veteran. Every year, he writes a new Dutch-language track, usually sad or melancholic in tone. This danceable song sounds optimistic for his standards. Truus de Groot is in a league of her own. She has been using her homemade synthesizers in bands like Nasmak and Plus Instruments since the late 1970s, and she continues to compose relevant music, setting an example for young musicians. This contribution is her take on music from the classic film ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’.

DE DELEGATIE
De Delegatie bestaat uit Tim en Daan, een muzikaal duo dat Nederlandstalige garagerock maakt ondersteund door drumcomputers. Je zou het Spinvis meets The White Stripes kunnen noemen. De teksten zitten vol milde maatschappijkritiek, unieke observaties en persona’s die een dwarsdoorsnee van de samenleving vormen. De Delegatie bracht in 2023 hun eerste EP ‘Schande!’ uit en in 2024 dropten ze hun tweede EP ‘Dwarsdoorsnede’. Tijdens hun optredens maken ze van het publiek en de band één grote dansbare delegatie

YODEL QUEEN
Amsterdam punk band with Meis, Jan and Tinus! ingredients: postpunk bald heads, red dresses, bass guitar motorics, head over heels drumming, sex confessionals and the joy of screaming with a smile!

THE EARWURMS
The earwurms are a conceptual punk band, made by three accidental women. With savory words to savor and a shebang of sound. The Earwurms have recorded their first studio-ish album and will be released soon. Their single “butterflies” has just been released.

OSCAR SMIT
Oscar Smit (DJ Oscar) has been a fan and collector of Christmas music, especially the most recent, since the 1980s. As a connoisseur, national Dutch radio invites him nearly every year to talk about Christmas music. As a journalist, Oscar writes for the Christmas blog Christmas A Go Go! and Dutch music magazine OOR. In the mid-1980s, he released three cassette compilations called ‘Oscar’s X-Mas Carols’ featuring experimental Christmas songs (see Discogs). Oscar also released the CD ‘Christmas Cover Up’ in 2010 and the LP ‘X-Mas Card From Outer Space’ in 2017.