De Staat

Biography

De Staat (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈstaːt]) is a Dutch alternative rock band, formed in Nijmegen in 2006. Their name translates to "The State".
In May 2016, the band supported Muse in their Drones World Tour in Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain.

Biography

De Staat was started as a one-man project by lead singer, Torre Florim, who later brought the band together. Their first demo was recorded in Florim's apartment in 2007.
While still unsigned, the one-man project grew to a full grown band, due to well-received live performances in the Netherlands.
In 2008, the band were the support act for popular Belgian band Deus.
De Staat were signed by Excelsior Recordings later that year. They released their debut album Wait for Evolution×Wait for Evolution9 January 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sleep Tight4:072The Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man3:253I Am Here to Lose Control5:224Wait for Evolution3:305Habibi3:156We’re Gonna Die3:587My Blind Baby5:148Kill the Man4:139Meet the Devil6:2110You’ll Be the Leader3:0111Taste It2:2712Love It3:29 in January 2009. All the songs on this album were written and produced by Florim.
He wrote the album as a graduating project for a "Music Production" course. During this time, front man Florim also produced the debut EP of Go Back To The Zoo, another band from Nijmegen.
Within a year De Staat's popularity rose and they were performing at festivals such as Dot to Dot, Glastonbury, Sziget and Lowlands.
The band released a recording of their performance at Lowlands 2009.
During this performance, they were spotted by Chris Goss. Goss, music producer and front man of Masters of Reality introduced them to Mascot Records.
Mascot re-released Wait for Evolution internationally in the spring of 2010.
After their international debut, the band toured extensively, including performances on the Reeperbahn Festival and Glastonbury Festival in 2010.
Their second album Machinery×Machinery4 March 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Ah, I See3:282Sweatshop3:173I'll Never Marry You3:024Old MacDonald Don't Have No Farm No More4:025I'm a Rat3:496Keep Me Home4:357Tumbling Down2:508Psycho Disco3:169Rooster-Man4:0310Serial Killer3:3411Back to the Grind5:05 was released internationally in 2011.
The band's third album I_CON×I_Con6 September 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1My Bad0:092All Is Dull3:043Build That, Buy That3:124Devil's Blood4:215Witch Doctor3:276Get It Together3:157Refugee3:568Make Way for the Passenger4:519Input Source Select4:0310I'll Take You4:3011Down Town3:0812Wonderer4:0013The Inevitable End5:23 was released on 16 September 2013. It was recorded mostly in France and produced by Torre Florim. The album is mixed by Vance Powell in Nashville, who worked with Jack White and The Raconteurs earlier. This album has probably been their most successful release so far, reaching number 2 in the Dutch Album Top 100 Chart, with the song Down Town from this album featured on the soundtrack to FIFA 14. They also received an award for Best Rock Artist at Edisons 2014. The band released their fourth album, Vinticious Versions×Vinticious Versions17 November 2014 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Get It Together2:532Build That, Buy That3:073Input Source Select2:404Down Town4:005All Is Dull3:126Devil’s Blood3:337Sweatshop4:088Wait for Evolution3:27, which saw the band re-stylize songs from their previous three albums, with a video competition to accompany each of the album tracks running on their YouTube channel.
In September 2015, two years after the release of "I_CON", De Staat released a music video for their song "Witch Doctor". The video, in which animated men run in circles around singer Florim while the camera pans out, revealing an immense crowd, features heavy usage of CGI and took nearly nine months to fully animate. The video was met with widespread acclaim and notable media attention in the Netherlands, and eventually earned them the award for Best Concept at the 2016 Berlin Music Video Awards. Subsequent live performances have usually featured 'Witch Doctor' as their final song, during which Florim occasionally stands in the middle of the audience to evoke the music video.
The band's fifth album, "O", was released in January 2016 and was met with critical acclaim. It subsequently won them a 3FM Award for Best Album and their second 3voor12 Award for Album of the Year. During the spring, De Staat joined Muse as the support act for several shows on their European tour, playing in cities such as Milan, Munich, and Madrid. On 16 December 2016, the song "Make The Call, Leave It All" was voted as 3voor12 Song of the Year.
On 18 January 2019, the band released their sixth studio album "Bubble Gum×Bubble Gum18 January 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Kitty Kitty5:562Fake It Till You Make It4:083Mona Lisa5:084I’m Out of Your Mind3:115Pikachu4:186Phoenix4:447Level Up4:418Me Time4:299Tie Me Down4:2910I Wrote That Code4:3011Luther6:55". The track "Kitty Kitty×KITTY KITTY10 August 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1KITTY KITTY6:462KITTY KITTY (Radio Edit)5:33" has been used extensively on British television as part of an advertising campaign for the channel 'All4'.

Members

Torre Florim – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion
Vedran Mircetic – lead guitar
Jop van Summeren – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
Rocco Hueting – keys, synthesizer, percussion, rhythm guitar, vocals
Tim van Delft – drums

Albums

Wait for Evolution (2009)
Machinery (2011)
I_Con (2013)
Vinticious Versions (EP) (2014)
O (2016)
Bubble Gum (2019)
Red / Yellow / Blue (2023)
De Staat (2026)

Singles

"The Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man×The Fantastic Journey of the Underground ManSingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1The Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man3:282Xina Xina (Dna‐mix of the Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man) (Radio Edit)3:163Xina Xina (Dna‐mix of the Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man) (Full Version)4:13" (2008)
"Wait for Evolution×Wait for Evolution9 January 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sleep Tight4:072The Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man3:253I Am Here to Lose Control5:224Wait for Evolution3:305Habibi3:156We’re Gonna Die3:587My Blind Baby5:148Kill the Man4:139Meet the Devil6:2110You’ll Be the Leader3:0111Taste It2:2712Love It3:29" (2009)
"Habibi" (2009)
"Sweatshop×Sweatshop14 January 2011 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Sweatshop3:17" (2011)
"Ah, I See" (2011)
"I'll Never Marry You" (2011)
"Let It Snow" (2011)
"Firestarter" (2012)
"Make Way for the Passenger" (2013)
"Devil's Blood" (2013)
"Down Town" (2013)
"All Is Dull" (2013)
"Get It Together" (2014)
"Input Source Select (Vinticious Version)" (2014)
"Witch Doctor" (2015)
"Peptalk" (2015)
"Make the Call, Leave It All" (2016)
"Get On Screen" (2016)
"Round" (2017)
"Kitty Kitty×KITTY KITTY10 August 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1KITTY KITTY6:462KITTY KITTY (Radio Edit)5:33" (2018)
"I'm Out of Your Mind" (2018)
"Mona Lisa" (2018)
"Phoenix" (2019)
"Kitty Kitty (Soulwax Remix)×KITTY KITTY (Soulwax Remix)15 March 2019 · Single · RemixSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1KITTY KITTY (Soulwax Remix)5:58" (2019)
"0.0" (feat. Rico & Sticks) (2019)
"What Goes, Let Go" (2021)
"Numbers Up" (2021)
"Look at Me" (2021)
"Paying Attention" (2022)
"Who's Gonna Be the GOAT?" (2022)
"One Day" (2022)
"The King" (2026)
"The Fire×The Fire29 May 2026 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Fire3:05" (2026)

Winner

Live XS magazine – Best Album of 2009
3voor12 Award 2009 – Best Album in the Netherlands
"Duiveltje" – Best vocalist 2009
3FM Award 2011 – Best Alternative Act
"Duiveltje" – Best drummer 2011
3FM Award 2012 – Best Alternative Act
Edison Award 2014 – Best Rock Album
International Music Video Award (Paris) 2015 – Audience Award
Berlin Music Video Award 2016 – Best Concept for "Witch Doctor"
3FM Award 2016 – Best Album for "O"
3voor12 Award 2016 – Best Album in the Netherlands for "O"
3voor12 Song of the Year for "Make The Call, Leave It All"
Berlin Music Video Awards 2016, Best Concept for 'WITCH DOCTOR'

Nominated

Edison Award 2010 – Best Album
Edison Award 2011 – Best Group
Edison Award 2011 – Best Song
3FM Award 2014 – Best Band
3FM Award 2014 – Best Artist Rock
3FM Award 2015 – Best Artist Rock
3FM Award 2017 – Best Group
3FM Award 2017 – Best Live