Funk band Gotcha! was doing well in the early 1990s, and then suddenly dropped from view. Turns out they broke up due to unspecified differences of opinions.

I went to one of their concerts in 1992, and really enjoyed it, so it is good to hear that they patched up those differences and got back together again, and are due to embark on a tour of ten concerts. Beef founders Pieter Both and Koen Lommerse even took a sabbatical to be able to play in Gotcha! again.

Check the band’s website for all the tracks of their second, 1993 album Gotcha! Gotcha!

(Link: LiveXS. Source illustration: Gotcha!)

Being partly a child of the 1970s I am accustomed to a barren Dutch pop music landscape, and therefore always a little surprised when an act shows up in and from this country that’s worth listening to. The past 18 months I have found myself surprised more than once.

Leaf – Wonderwoman. “Why’s my life so boring? I am up for a little bit more.” And here’s the surprise: in the third act she doesn’t introduce a guy to make it all right.

All Missing Pieces – I want you to know. February this year was a special month for the band, because that’s when the Labour Inspection gave 11-year old bass player Quinten an exemption that will allow the three-year old band to perform more than the 12 times a year the law permits.

De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig – Hollereer. When I see the lyrics I get the creepy feeling I should be glad I don’t understand them.

Which Dutch pop artists do you recommend people listen to?

Amsterdam based distributed band promoter Sellaband are partnering with US online book and music sellers Amazon, Tech Crunch reported this week. Sellaband works by letting fans invest 10 USD in a band of their liking. The fans can decide which music they like by downloading it for free. Once 5,000 fans have paid their tenner, Sellaband uses that money to record and promote a professional studio album.

So far 12 bands have reached the 50,000 dollar amount required for a recording. As long as a band does not reach the threshold, the fan (called Believer in Sellaband jargon) can still withdraw the money or invest it in a different band.

According to The Next Web the announced cooperation will include Amazon spamming its own paying customers with Sellaband promotions—did I just read that right? Also, Amazon’s top 50 reviewers will receive free review copies of Sellaband’s albums.

Photo: Sellaband’s Pim Betist at this year’s Hyves party. Source: Thenextweb.org.