Spinvis

Biography

Spinvis is a Dutch one-man music project centred on Erik de Jong (born 2 February 1961).
Using experimental lo-fi music, de Jong released his debut album as Spinvis in 2002 at the age of 41. He has recorded five top-ten albums in the Netherlands, and his sixth studio album 7.6.9.6. reached number one on the Dutch Albums Chart. Additionally, his self-titled debut album and live album Nieuwegein aan Zee×Nieuwegein aan Zee1 December 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Een nagemaakte gek (herziene versie)3:422Kindje van God (herziene versie)3:233Het laatste wonder5:084Astronaut4:225Handige tante / Jongen met geld (live)4:246Bagagedrager (live)8:437Limonadeglazen wodka (live)5:348Herfst en Nieuwegein (live)5:179In de staat van narcose / Regen en patchouli (live)10:1910Wat zei Alice ook alweer?2:42 were certified Gold in the Netherlands.
In 2007, Spinvis was awarded the Popprijs, given annually to the artist who made the most important contribution to Dutch pop music last year.

Early life

Erik de Jong was born in 1961 as the second of four children in Spijkenisse, South Holland. His father Walter played the guitar and his mother Sjaan played the ukulele and Hawaiian guitar. When he was one year old, his family moved to Rotterdam.
His parents were both active in the Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP) and De Jong lived in "almost a cliché hippie family." His house was a shelter for the Youth Advisory Center and was "commune-like", often with over 15 people sitting at their table and unfamiliar children living inside, whom his mother invited in. There were all kinds of musical instruments available for him to play, beginning at a young age.
In 1976, he joined his brother's punk rock band named Blitzkrieg, later named The Duds. The Duds broke up in 1979, and he formed a new wave band Hi-Jinx, whose guitarist René van Barneveld would later go on to be a member of Urban Dance Squad.
Following the end of Hi-Jinx, he worked as a mail sorter. For a year and a half, he worked as a conductor on the post train route between Amsterdam and Utrecht, and during this period he began to write many lyrics while working.

Spinvis

In 2001, at the age of 40, Erik de Jong, or Spinvis sent a three-song demo to the Dutch indie label, Excelsior Recordings. Within two weeks, a record deal was signed. The label decided to keep the songs that had been recorded by Spinvis on his home computer in the attic of his family house. With some minor mixing touch-ups, these songs comprised Spinvis' first album, released in the Netherlands on 1 April 2002 when he was 41. The album was received positively by critics and the album reached number one in Oor magazine's De Moordlijst, an alternative chart in the Netherlands.
De Jong began touring, and played at the Crossing Border Festival in Amsterdam with jazz harmonica player Toots Thielemans. At the end of 2002, Spinvis' song "Smalfilm×Smalfilm15 April 2002 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Smalfilm4:032Mare frigoris2:36" was second in the VPRO's Song of the Year 2002 contest. In addition to this, De Jong received an Essent Award, a prize for breakthrough artists.
Spinvis and his ensemble completed a brief tour in early 2003. With labelmates Bauer, De Jong created a track for a Dutch music webzine compilation. In August, Spinvis performed at the Haldern Open Air in Germany, and at Pukkelpop in Belgium. On 1 December, "Nieuwegein aan Zee×Nieuwegein aan Zee1 December 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Een nagemaakte gek (herziene versie)3:422Kindje van God (herziene versie)3:233Het laatste wonder5:084Astronaut4:225Handige tante / Jongen met geld (live)4:246Bagagedrager (live)8:437Limonadeglazen wodka (live)5:348Herfst en Nieuwegein (live)5:179In de staat van narcose / Regen en patchouli (live)10:1910Wat zei Alice ook alweer?2:42" was released, containing a live registration and a number of unreleased tracks. On 17 December, Spinvis performed with an orchestra in Vredenburg, Utrecht.
In early 2004, Spinvis won two Dutch awards, the Silver Harp and the Annie M.G. Schmidt prize. In honour of the fourth edition of the Cross-Linx festival De Jong composed a musical piece that consists of three rhythmical monologues. Actress Roos Ouwehand, opera singer Lucia Meeuwsen and actor Hans Dagelet performed the pieces together with Spinvis. For filmmaker Theo van Gogh, Spinvis wrote the title song for the television series Medea. This six-part series on Dutch politics was shown in the winter of 2004. In this busy year Spinvis also contributed to Claudia de Breij's song "Nieuwbouwwijk".

Dagen van gras, dagen van stro

During the Noorderslag music festival, the Ringtone Society presented a website that promoted the artistic development of ringtones. Spinvis participated in this project. The song "Idee Zeventien" ('Idea Seventeen') appeared on the compilation The Pet Series: Volume 4. During spring 2005, Spinvis Performed in Dutch theaters with his Lotus Europa tour. The band Solo played as support act. In April, Spinvis created a theatrical show in which he mixed stock footage with music and dialogue. Together with Hans Dagelet, Spinvis performed the piece. On 11 September, Spinvis' performance at the Dutch Moroccan Music Experience was cancelled because the organisers objected to the lyrics of the song "Het Mes van God" ('The Dagger of God'). The song's lyrics were considered too sensitive as Spinvis refers to Theo van Gogh's assassination in November 2004. Spinvis made a guest appearance on the album Geluiden van Weleer of the band, at the close of every day. In November, his own album Dagen van gras, dagen van stro×Dagen van gras, dagen van stro28 November 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Ik wil alleen maar zwemmen4:012Kom in de cockpit3:093Aan de oevers van de tijd5:204Het voordeel van video3:455Dagen van gras, dagen van stro2:586Flamingo4:347De zevende nacht3:458Lotus Europa11:039Bijt mijn tong af3:5610Explicateur2:3211De tuinen van Mexico2:14 was released. The album's title is a translation of Days of Grass, Days of Straw, a book by R.A. Lafferty from 1973. The first single from the album was "Het Voordeel van Video×Het voordeel van video7 November 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Het voordeel van video3:442Ik adem door mijn ogen2:383Flamingo4:374Eine kleine Nachtmusik2:17" (The Advantage of Video). In December, Spinvis began a tour in support of the album.
The second single was "Ik Wil Alleen Maar Zwemmen×Ik wil alleen maar zwemmen6 February 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Ik wil alleen maar zwemmen3:482Op een ochtend in het heelal4:223Het voordeel van video (live at Stu-Bru)5:144Ik wil alleen maar dubben5:37" (I Just Want To Swim). De Jong created a new mix for the song and also added a dub version to the release. The song "Voor Ik Vergeet" (Before I Forget) became part of Strips in Stereo. For this project, visual artists drew comics based on 14 Dutch songs. Hanco Kolk drew the graphics for Spinvis' song. Strips in Stereo was presented in Paradiso, Amsterdam, in March, in conjunction with Boekenweek 2006 (the annual 'book week' where awards are awarded and writers meet during the 'book ball').

JA!

Together with Meindert Talma, De Kift, at the close of every day, Andre Manuel, Mondo Leone and D’r Sjaak, Spinvis was part of the NL Impressionisten. In groups of two, the artists performed for a number of months throughout the Netherlands, starting on 18 March 2006. Two days later JA! was released, the 100th Excelsior Recordings release. Spinvis recorded it with poet Simon Vinkenoog and Arjan Witte (keys). The men played several dates in support of the album: Rotterdam, Antwerp, Groningen and Drachten were visited. Following this Spinvis and Vinkenoog wasted no time and performed the show De Suikerklok (The Sugar Clock). In the summer, Spinvis and his band performed at Lowlands, Waterpop and Folk Dranouter amongst other festivals.

Musical style

Spinvis' music has been described as indietronica and compared to the likes of Air, Grandaddy and The Notwist. He writes songs solely in his native Dutch language. He has said, "If I were to use English, it would be artificial, it wouldn't be me. I’d have to sing in a language I know exclusively from films and TV. Luckily, in Dutch, you can only imitate yourself." His lyrics are usually written in a stream of consciousness manner. While he says he does not write 'protest songs', his music has criticised topics such as vivisection, ageism, greed and voyeurism in the media.

Personal life

Spinvis lives in Nieuwegein. He is married and has two children.