Netherlands artist Robin Kester is set to release her most spellbinding creation to date, the forthcoming mini album This Is Not A Democracy. Created with producer Marien Dorleijn (of Dutch band Moss) in his studio set deep within a vacant former psychiatric institution, the album’s seven songs combine Kester’s gentle beguiling vocals with the duo’s experimentations with retro guitars, vintage synthesizers and an antique vibraphonette. The result is a dreamy luscious production drawing inspiration from 70’s pop, with touches of Sufjan Stevens’ enigmatic heartbreak lullabies, the chamber-pop of Cate Le Bon, the dreampop of Beach House, and the enveloping, ethereal and otherworldly beauty of Weyes Blood. 

Kester cites Westworld (TV series) as a heavy influence on This Is Not A Democracy, with both exploring themes of freewill and self-determination (or the lack thereof).  This theme is most explicit on Empty Head’s musing of, as Kester explains, “The feeling that our thoughts and behavioural patterns are the unfolding effects of our genetic material and not the result of self-determinism and self-awareness.”

On the beautifully hazy Cigarette Song, which features brass arrangement courtesy of Conor O’Brien of Villagers,  the more personal matter of a broken marriage is tackled.  Although preferring her music to take on the subjective interpretations and re-imaginings of the listener,  much of This Is Not A Democracy plays with more abstract concepts mirroring the album’s often majestic multi-instrumental dream-like soundscapes, and Kester’s own bewitching delivery. Nightmares, escapism, and shifting mental states are explored, such as in the ghostly Portals which sonically captures the feeling of a looming depression with its mysterious strings. On the tracks Sweat and Fright and Day Is Done two sides of the same sleepless coin are explored, the synthesised melody of Sweat and Fright, which recalls the soulful psych-tinged electronica of Broadcast, is an ode to nightmares, whilst the kaleidoscopic Day Is Done is described by Kester as “a lullaby for insomniacs.” 

Robin Kester hails from Utrecht, Netherlands. In 2018 she released a series of singles and her debut ‘Peel The Skin’ EP. Her debut single ‘Lost For A Day’  was included on Spotify’s Viral Chart and was named ‘Track of the Week’ in de Volkskrant.  Appearances on high-profile TV and radio shows in the Netherlands  followed, including a session for TV show Vrije Geluiden, and interviews and sessions for the country’s lead radio shows 2 Meter Sessies (NPO 2 Extra), Nooit Meer Slapen (Radio 1) and 3voor12 Radio (3fm). Culminating in 2019, in Dutch journalist Gijsbert Kamer (Volkskrant, Radio 1) naming Kester a ‘Talent to Watch’. 

Throughout this period Kester was invited to support the likes of Villagers, Bent Van Looy, Alela Diane, Laura Gibson, The Bony King of Nowhere and Haley Heynderickx on their Netherlands tours,  as well as being invited to perform at leading Netherlands festivals such as Here Comes The Summer, Motel Mozaique and Tweetakt.

Earlier in 2020, Kester teased out two tracks from the forthcoming mini album This Is Not A Democracy, Remove and Delete, which American DJ and tastemaker Chris Douridas included in the KCRW playlist and got plays by Elbow's Guy Garvey on BBC 6 Music. Another track, Day Is Done, was chosen to feature in upcoming American indie film Press Play later this year.

This Is Not A Democracy will be the first release on new independent label AT EASE, released on 11th September on vinyl, CD and digitally. 

It is written by Robin Kester, and recorded and produced by Marien Dorleijn in his studio, located in a former psychiatric institution. It was mixed by Pieter Vonk and mastered by Darius van Helfteren. It features Maarten Vos on cello and modular synths on Sweat and Fright, Day Is Done and Portals. With Conor O’Brien of Villagers performing the brass section on Cigarette Song.

Robin Kester - This Is Not A Democracy

Afterpartees - Family Names

Running away from a party, getting into a car crash and falling into a coma where animals dance and rip their skins off, accompanied by old distorted Disney soundtracks while facing loss and love right in the face. In other words, just another album by Moon Moon Moon.

The Dutch alternative act's upcoming album Silly Symphonies isn’t merely a collection of songs. These are vivid scenes, with field recordings, recurring motifs and sounds acting out specific characters, each with their own little arc and within a bigger unfolding universe. Some names have been altered for dramatic purposes, but as a whole, Silly Symphonies – named after a series of Disney shorts from the 1930s – is as disarmingly intimate and personal as anything the band has released.

Since recording under the moniker Moon Moon Moon, Mark Lohmann has been known for his bold, endlessly witty, and shockingly sincere bedroom folk. Initially, Lohmann’s homespun songs channeled feelings of alienation and desire in abstract fashion, drawing comparisons to artists such as Phil Elverum, Sufjan Stevens, Conor Oberst and Elliott Smith.  After years of prolific writing and recording independently, Moon Moon Moon’s whole creative approach shifted with Lohmann’s self-described journal entries. These free-form songs became sanctuaries for his most uncomfortable, embarrassing and impulsive thoughts. Each entry was recorded in the single day, accompanied by lyric videos adorned by Lohmann’s often macabre, whimsical animations. 

Subjects varied from Animal Crossing, Stranger Things to Emma Stone, with Lohmann stumbling from wry observations into deeper reflections with wholesome abandon. To his own surprise, the disarming honesty of these journal entries helped Moon Moon Moon gain a bigger audience. Suddenly, this shy self-effacing, bedroom recording artist was striking a much bigger nerve. From here on out, it made sense for Lohmann to expand Moon Moon Moon as a full collaborative project.

The bulk of Silly Symphonies was developed with arranger/keyboard player Stef Koenis: other than the grainy Disney Soundtracks, the duo found mutual inspiration in iconic film composers such as Danny Elfman and John Williams. By marrying Lohmann’s more abstract recording instincts with Koenis’s gift for symphonic arrangements, Moon Moon Moon became an audiovisual, world-building entity. The music originated with both of them having specific images in their heads: they gathered compatible images on Pinterest that inspired a storybook-like backdrop for Lohmann’s real-life trials and tribulations. Each song unfurled like a detail-filled set piece with recurring sound and melodies surfacing and retreating as sentient characters, with the music “Mickey Mousing” certain moods and actions.

Moon Moon Moon – Silly Symphonies

Honeycomb Shades is the debut album by Robin Kester
Produced by Robin Kester and Marien Dorleijn, Recorded by Marien Dorleijn
Mixed (and additional production on selected tracks) by Ali Chant
Mastered by Joe Lambert

Robin Kester – Honeycomb Shades

So-Fi betreedt de Nederlandse popbühne als ware ze David Byrne met een cassettespeler: “Hallo, hier ben ik!” Met schone schijn bezingt de Rotterdamse muzikant – echte naam: Sophie Reekers – op haar debuut-EP/mini-album Maar Verder Gaat Het Goed het vernislaagje van onze sociale omgang. De dingen die we zeggen maar niet menen, de dingen die we goed bedoelen maar beter voor ons hadden kunnen houden. Bijna fluisterend vraagt ze zich af: ‘Tussen de lijnen door, kun je me dan verstaan?’
Hoe vaak ze de woorden zelf wel niet heeft uitgesproken: “Maar verder gaat het goed hoor.” Op een feestje. In de hoek. Je eigen weemoed relativeren tot er weinig meer van over lijkt. Toen het even niet zo goed ging, schreef Sophie haar eerste So-Fi-liedjes met een goedkope synthesizer en een krakkemikkige drumcomputer; allereerst om zichzelf durf in te praten, tot ze besefte dat wel meer mensen dat konden gebruiken.
Maar Verder Gaat Het Goed is met alle speelse melodieën en gekke geluidjes – van kiesschijven en Yamaha-trompetten tot synthetische ‘sterrenstof’ – houtje-touwtje (maar niet té) en tongue-in-cheek (maar niet té). Een bloemlezing van goedbedoelde clichés en geleefde gesprekken, zoals toen haar praktijkbegeleider met het advies kwam eens "naar de kleine dingen om je heen te kijken." De wereld van So-Fi is er een van levendige kleuren en empathie, tevens behuisd door Roosbeef, Byrne, Amadou & Mariam en Eels, waarvandaan ze na haar eerste release nog alle kanten op kan.

So-Fi - Maar Verder Gaat Het Goed

Afterpartees – Family Names

Robin Kester – Blinds

Robin Kester – Goodnight Argus

Robin Kester – Dead End

This song started with a riff on a guitar in a weird low tuning. We then stacked the guitar riffs with a bunch of layers, clogging up the song. Once we started to slowly undress the track again, everything fell into place.

The vocal melody followed very instinctively and I kind of wanted to keep that humming/mumble vibe present in the final lyrics. I listened carefully to my initial guide track murmurs, discovering lyrics in them. The funny thing is that in those initial vocals I could hear myself singing: ‘What are you trying to say?’. And that was also how I was feeling at the time, a bit lost and detached, not really present in my own body.

Everything in the vocal melody came naturally and was formed mostly subconsciously, feeling intimate to me (the sighs and my breathing especially) , whereas building the instrumentation was more of a process where everything needed to be stripped down again to fall into place.

Robin Kester – Celeste

"Infinity song came about during a time where I was still trying to wrap my head around a series of events that happened in a relatively short time span and had really shaken me: my uncles untimely death, news that my dad had an incurable illness and the covid pandemic. Things had irrevocable changed and I was trying to find ways to accept this new reality on the one hand and feeling more nostalgic than ever as a counter reaction to this. Both feelings seeped into the writing proces, resulting in infinity song."

Robin Kester - Infinity Song

Robin Kester: vocals, guitar, synths, spinet, wurlitzer, piano, vibraphonette, percussion
Marien Dorleijn: backing vocals, trumpet, synth, percussion
Michiel Stam: guitar
Thijs Visscher: bass guitar
Joep van Osch: drums, percussion, backing vocals
Sussanne Linssen: violin
Timo Jilesen: saxophone

Produced by Robin Kester & Marien Dorleijn
Additional production and mix by Ali Chant
Mastered by Joe Lambert

Cat 13

Robin Kester – Cat 13

Robin Kester returns with a limber indie pop song Leave Now. The song is the first track since the release of her mini-album This Is Not A Democracy. Since the critically acclaimed release, Kester has drawn a wide range of comparisons, ranging from Portishead, Broadcast to Julia Holter. Though operating on a comparable sonic wavelength, Robin Kester is a distinct voice coming fully into her own with lots of new music to be released later this year. The first song is out today: Leave Now.

Robin Kester and her band have just returned from SXSW in Austin, TX. The new single premiered on Lauren Laverne's show on BBC Radio 6 Music this morning. Leave Now is produced by Robin Kester together with Marien Dorleijn, chief songwriter of acclaimed indie rockers Moss, Emily Cross (Loma, Cross Record) plays clarinets on the track, additional production and mix by Ali Chant (Aldous Harding, PJ Harvey), while Joe Lambert (Sharon Van Etten, The Antlers) was called in for the mastering.

If fear keeps you from doing things, your world becomes smaller. Overcoming that fear by courting new, sometimes unnerving situations is the premise of the debut album by Dutch recording artist and musician Robin Kester. Kester’s experimental pop exudes a hazy euphoria and dark tension: the thrill of your synapses firing on all cylinders before turning into fully-formed thought. Leave Now tells the tale of a chaotic trip to Vietnam, a rude awakening of new sensations going into overdrive.

Drifting between the outer realms of chamber pop, electronic music and psychedelic rock, Kester writes wholly adventurous music. Not adventurous per se in the naive sense, since there’s always some element of mystery on the prowl. Having moved around from town to town a lot as a child, many of her songs reframe past impressions into wandering reflections, often inspired by specific moments and sceneries.

Leave Now

More

Robin Kester – Leave Now

Robin Kester – Fries And Ice Cream

So-Fi – Apparaat

So-Fi – Tussen De Lijnen

So-Fi – Maar Verder Gaat Het Goed

So-Fi – In M'n Hoofd

So-Fi – Ik Ben Geen Robot

Soft Calamity is  one of those songs that kind of revealed itself on the guitar, while strumming, not looking for anything specific if not sound, and the paste of it. But I remember quite vividly that as soon as the chords appeared, the progression had an opaque, or dark, shade to it, with some incursions of light here and there, and it captured a feeling that I was trying to put my finger on, a sort of dense melancholy, dragged around in circles, but muffled, soft in the way in which a blanket to disappear in feels soft, heavy in the way in which something inevitable feels heavy. It became a song about the end of something, the feeling of the end, but not experienced as a smack on the face, rather as a slow fall on a bed of clouds. Like cushioning a long awaited blow. 

The first part of the lyrics depict a surreal (or ideal) scenario - I see two people playing in a slow motion luna park, with glitters and pillow fights, in an endless night out. It’s a dreamlike, suspended vision. Until the chorus, when the premonition sneaks in. If the first verse is a dream far from home, the second one is inside the home, where the ceiling is full of cracks and things are falling apart. Instead of facing or fixing, the action is avoiding, living in the bed as if that’s a fortress where reality cannot break in. But the soft calamity is lurking, bla bla, it’s soft because I think “it wouldn’t break my bones”, but it’s lurking. The outro I think is more explicit, it’s the frustration and the fatality of it all. 

I think the production reflects very well how the song makes (me) feel. There’s a lot of space, it feels like a bath where you float and move in slow motion, lose yourself, go down and back to the surface. It feels heavy and weightless at the same time, which is clearly a contradiction, but oh well. The acoustic guitar in the recording is exactly the guitar on which the song was written, so that specific sound that started it all is really there. And I had this idea from the beginning, that I wanted this piano rain, or shower, on the A7 chord, in the chorus, maybe to bring the glimmering details of the luna park vision in the song, or to give a sound to this feeling of falling softly, I don’t know. I like that the lines are improvised, they are different every time. The acoustic piano is also a big protagonist here, which is great, because I think that the piano can be a very melancholic instrument.

Tender Superpower

Marta Arpini – Soft Calamity

Expressive yet thoughtful, abrasive yet melodious, explosive yet introvert: Rotterdam’s Library Card are a band of contrasts. The 4-piece release its single, the irate "Well, Actually" - the band's own "love letter to patriarchy".

Library Card are quickly building a reputation for their enthralling live performances following highly impressive outings at festivals Le Guess Who?, Hit The City, Best Kept Secret, Into The Great Wide Open and SXSW.

New single "Well, Actually" has already become a memorable highlight from their live show, with vocalist Lot van Teylingen's vehement cries recounting the all-too-common post-show critique from the male gaze, all gradually intensifying as the song builds to a compelling crescendo of anger.

Speaking on the release of new single "Well, Actually", the band said:

“This is our love letter to the patriarchy. One must view ‘Well, Actually’ as a friendly yet firm reminder of what unsolicited advice not to give to a band that’s fresh off the stage, often fuelled by mansplaining or perpetuated by heteronormative norms. We are perfectly capable of asking for it ourselves when in need.“

The band's newly announced debut EP 'Nothing, Interesting' restlessly fluctuates from angular post-punk to beguiling post-rock and fast-paced garage, produced and mixed by Daan Duurland (Personal Trainer) and recorded at Katzwijm Studio, Voorhout in the Netherlands. Even in a city that’s known for its wayward guitar music, Library Card have swiftly become a standout.

Spearheaded by Lot van Teylingen, whose spoken word alternates between sardonic and sincere in a matter of seconds, Library Card leave room for their respective band members to showcase themselves equally, from Emre Karayalçin’s unorthodox eye-catching rhythms to Kat Kalkman’s driving bass lines and Mitchell Quitz’s seemingly shape-shifting guitar performances.

Of the band's debut EP, Lot Van Teylingen said: “'Nothing, Interesting' explores themes of love and loss - often intertwined with a growing fear of not being able to keep up with the world as we know it. However, in this process it’s essential to embrace the absurdity of existence, and not take it too seriously.”

Library Card formed in the summer of 2021, drawing inspiration from Detroit post-punks Protomartyr, cult Glaswegian art-rockers Life Without Buildings and the poetry of Anne Clark - to name but three of their eclectic influences - it's not too far-fetched to suggest that the uncertain period of time in which they formed has intrinsically latched itself to the band’s urgent, propulsive songwriting.

Library Card – Well, Actually

On Top/Inside is the new single by Rotterdam-based band Vampire Boyfriend, led by singer-songwriter Janine van Osta. The track is a melancholic yet luminous slice of alt-pop, carried by jangly guitars, sharp lyrics, and warm 60s-inspired melodies. On Top/Inside instantly feels like a classic, evoking the dreamy atmospheres of Melody’s Echo Chamber and the emotional intensity of Lucy Dacus – while adding Vampire Boyfriend’s own darker edge. “On this song, after years of searching, we finally answer the question: can tenderness exist without horror? In an intimate ritual we discover it cannot. You cannot merge with someone without being consumed.”

Vampire Boyfriend - On TopInside

Vampire Boyfriend - Vampire Boyfriend

Eerily whispered vocals and creeping synths carried by an ominous beat. A song for stealthy secret admirers and peeping toms with shadowy desires. ‘In The Dark’ is a brooding artpop confession of an obsession gone just a tiny bit too far…

Josephine Odhil continues her exploration of humanity’s darker impulses with this hypnotic track. ‘In The Dark’ is the third single from her upcoming album, crafted with Maurits Nijhuis and Joost van Eck at the underground Studio Karakterbak.

Amsterdam based Josephine Odhil is a creator in the truest sense of the word, seamlessly blending music and visual art while drawing inspiration from the world around her. She has supported Altın Gün on tour and performed at festivals such as Motel Mozaique and Oerol. Following the release of her debut album Volatile she dove into a year-long exploration of evil through literature and cinema, keenly observing the darker aspects of the human psyche. The result: an intriguing sonic experience that resonates with dark tourists, true crime aficionados, and Pop Noir enthusiasts. Collaborating with Maurits Nijhuis and Joost van Eck, she recorded and produced the album at Studio Karakterbak—a studio that is quite literally underground. 

Empathy, Ennui and In The Dark are singles from the forthcoming album ‘Monstera’, set for release in April 2025.

Josephine Odhil – In The Dark

Crystal Tears

Janne Schra – Crystal Tears

Janne Schra crafts luminous indie pop where sorrow and sunlight coexist; her clear, melancholic voice floating above warm, organic arrangements. On her album Work Out, she dives deeper into songs and stories about carrying pain, finding strength, and moving gently through the dark.  Work Out, slated for release in spring 2026, was co-written with guitarist Laurens Radstake and recorded in Paris with producer Albin de la Simone (Pomme) and drummer Raphaël Chassin (Nouvelle Vague).  Schra first gained international recognition as the frontwoman of Room Eleven, earning multiple gold and platinum records and performing at major festivals—including Montreal Jazz—as well as in cities like Johannesburg and Tokyo.  Since launching her solo career in 2010, Schra has released several acclaimed albums and, in 2023, won the Edison Jazz Award with her band DeVogels. Her work is defined by a wide range of collaborations—with artists such as M. Ward and Benny Sings, and with several orchestras.

Janne Schra – One

Janne Schra – Body Language

I feel as content and proud of this song as if it weren’t just a Christmas song, but being a fan of Christmas songs myself, I don’t even know exactly what I mean when I say “just” a Christmas song. It’s exciting because this song has existed for such a short time: I wrote it and pre-produced it halfway through October, then jumped into the studio to record it with Mark in the very last days of the month. Matteo joined on electric bass, and Massimiliano on clarinet. There wasn’t much time to overthink anything, and now the final product is already reaching ears other than my own. How refreshing.
I wanted this song to feel a certain way: not blatantly cheerful, but not dark or sad either. I kept thinking about cheeky, because I’m a fan of the song Santa Baby and the classy flirtiness it carries. I hope This Christmas makes you feel light, sparkly and soft, warmly mysterious, like a half-smile or a gaze that holds eye contact, sweet and inviting. Maybe it will make you sway, or swoon, or float a bit.
I had fun imagining it and then making it. I also fulfilled a long-time dream of mine: writing a 12/8 song with a high-register piano playing all the freaking eighth notes. Recording that part was my own Christmas present to myself.

This Christmas

Marta Arpini – This Christmas

The Dirt

Robin Kester - The Dirt

Robin Kester - Remove And Delete

Robin Kester covers Thom Yorke's Suspirium

Robin Kester - Suspirium (live)

Netherlands artist Robin Kester returns with new single Sweat And Fright, a rhythmic, soulful slice of spectral psych-tinged electronica recalling Broadcast which she describes as “an ode to nightmares.”

The single’s subject matter is indicative of Kester’s forthcoming mini album This Is Not A Democracy  (11th Sept, AT EASE) as a whole, with its abstract exploration of nightmares, escapism, free will, and shifting mental states. 

Kester’s sound is equally as dream-like with its blending of her gentle beguiling vocal and experimentations with retro guitars, vintage synthesizers and an antique vibraphonette. Produced by Marien Dorleijn (of Dutch band Moss) in his studio set deep within an old psychiatric institute, the production style draws on inspiration from luscious  70’s pop, with touches of the dream-pop of Beach House, the otherworldly, ethereal qualities of artists such as Weyes Blood and Sufjan Stevens and a nod to the chamber-pop of Cate Le Bon.

Sweat And Fright is the fourth single taken from This Is Not A Democracy, following last month’s Cigarette Song, a dreamy collaboration with Conor O’Brien (Villagers), Remove And Delete which is currently being championed by Guy Garvey (BBC 6 Music) and was included in American DJ and tastemaker Chris Douridas’ KCRW playlist, and Day Is Done which will feature in upcoming American indie film Press Play out later this year.

Back in the Netherlands Kester is a much-acclaimed emerging artist, last month she recorded a legendary 2 Meter Session following in the footsteps of the likes of Radiohead and Nirvana. This follows a series of accolades following the release of early singles and her debut ‘Peel The Skin’ EP (2018),  including a spot on Spotify’s Viral Chart, appearances on high profile TV and radio shows including Vrije Geluiden, Nooit Meer Slapen (Radio 1) and 3voor12 Radio (3fm), a ‘Track of the Week’  slot in de Volkskrant, and the kudos of being named ‘Talent to Watch’ by Dutch journalist Gijsbert Kamer (Volkskrant, Radio 1). 

Kester has toured with the likes of  Villagers, Bent Van Looy, Alela Diane, Laura Gibson, The Bony King of Nowhere and Haley Haley Heynderickx in the Netherlands,  and  has performed at leading national festivals such as Here Comes The Summer, Motel Mozaique and Tweetakt.

Sweat And Fright was written by Robin Kester, recorded and produced by Marien Dorleijn, mixed by Pieter Vonk, and mastered by Darius van Helfteren. It features Maarten Vos on cello and modular synths. It is released as a digital single on 28th August, with Kester’s min-album This Is Not A Democracy following on 11th September via AT EASE.

Robin Kester- Sweat and Fright

Robin Kester - Portals

Robin Kester - Cigarette Song

Robin Kester - Sweat And Fright

It's real, it's a label, it's artist management, it's a platform, it's complicated, as always... but it's going to be fun. It's AT EASE.

AT EASE

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