NEWS: December 2018
NEWS: October 2018
Interview: The Kryng
Curious about the Kryng? Here is an interview done after the release of their great debut record "Going Nowhere" and just before the release of their second LP "Don´t dig these modern times" which was published in City Trash #50.
Could you please introduce yourselves and tell us who does what?
A: I'm Arjan and I play the drums. I also record and produce our records.
M: I'm Mark ten Hoor, singer, guitarplayer and songwriter.
P: Hi, I’m Peter, just turned 40 and live in a nice place called Meppl. In the Kryng I play the bassguitar and take care of the artwork for our records. On those records I play some other instruments as well.
Tell me about the history of the Kryng, as the current line up is not the original one, when did you start out and what happened with the band so far?
M: I started the Kryng with the idea of that being a follow up to my past band the No-Goods with Maikel Witte on bass guitar and Stimo Storm on drums. This line up split up and then I became a one man project. With the same bandname I made a lot of solo demos and put them on bandcamp and facebook, wich Arjan heard a lot of songs of and liked also. It was a big honour when he asked me if I wanted to record some of that stuff as a band. Peter, where I make music with for ages, joined and so it became the Kryng as it is now.
P: If I remember it well, I was part of the earliest line up on drums. I don’t consider myself a real drummer, but like to play it from time to time. I quit after a while as the rehearsals were going a bit troublesome and I wasn’t that motived anymore. After a few years we did a show on Recordstoreday at Elpee in Groningen, which is Jan Kooi’s (Kogar Records) recordshop. That was fun! Shortly after that, Arjan got involved after hearing Mark’s demo’s online and we started off as a recording project first. That really changed things. The recordings turned out great & some labels got interested. Records got released and now we also do live shows occasionaly.
For the readers who aren't familiar with your musical backgrounds tell us which bands influenced you the most in your musical careers?
A: the Beatles and Nirvana are the 2 bands that made the most impact. But also lots of records and songs from different bands like the Fall-Outs, Thee Cybermen, Link Wray, the Kinks etc.
M:For me to name some: The Beatles, Velvet Underground, The Lyres, Dead Moon, Nirvana, The Beavers, The Embrooks, The Solarflares, The Byrds and The Pixies sort of my top 10 of influences
P:There’s so much stuff that inspires me that I don’t even know where to start. It goes from garage and psychedelic music to soul to indie, prog, jazz, folk, bluegrass, afrobeat and so much more. There's just too much good music out there, to just stick to one style. As for playing bass, I really love Mike Watt’s early work in the Minutemen, some of that stuff is so crazy creative that it just blows my mind. I dig Lou Barlow’s style in Dinosaur, he hits the right notes, has a very fuzzy sound and lays down some heavy chords once in a while. The Outsiders’ Appie Rammers also really knows how to add something extra to the music. Then there’s Ren from Registrators, a Japanese garage powerpop band, he provides so massive bassporn, that I loved as a teenager. Still do, by the way. And offcourse Paul McCartney’s inventive basslines always strike a chord.
This might cost me a few pages but to paint a complete picture, name ALL the bands all of you ever played in or still play in? (even Peter is allowed to mention some of the doubtful side projects he is/was in)
A: the Kik (guitar/vocals), Mark & the Spies (guitar/vocals) Combo Koedijk (drums/ keyboards/ guitars), Dave Von Raven Sextet (guitar), King Charles' Head (drums), The Majestic 3 (drums), Baracus (drums)
M: The Josephs, The Vicious Teens, the Angry Young Men, The Garage Kids, Spider & The Teens, The Way-Outs, The No-Goods, The Southend Psychos, The Kryng, Combo Koedijk, The Modern Suicidals
P:Doubtful projects.. hahaha! I love music of many kinds and find it hard to resist an invitation to jam. So here’s my list of bands, with me mostly on bassguitar (unless noted): Low Point Drains, The No-Goods, De Keefmen, Pine Needle Miners (upright bass), Combo Koedijk (bass/guitar/keys), Dave Von Ravon Sextet, Fifty Eggs (drums), Vicious Teens, Ruud Fieten, Timo De Jong, Emotie, Rollercoaster Overdrive, Holy Beggars, VanCooths, Sex Buddha, Delta Echoes, Flatt Mountain (upright bass), JC Thomas & The Missing Slippers, Oers, Grapefruit Zoo, Miracle Men, Fietsmods, Burt Cocaine. I might've forgotten one or two... sorry guys!
Is it hard to combine with the other bands?
A:No I'm a Fulltime musician, so all I do is make music. I'm very busy with the Kik of course, but there's always time to do other projects.
M: For me not, 'cause I don't play live that much at the moment, but who knows...
P: I wish I was in that fortunate position, but I can’t yet make a living out of it. It doesn’t hold me back from playing with 5 or more bands at the same time. Not all of them are equally active, so it goes pretty well together. But sometimes it’s a bit tough to combine it with having a relationship, doing a fulltime job as a graphic designer, being an obsessive recordcollector, running a recordlabel and enjoying to go to partys. I also love to extensively cook almost every day, which takes it’s time, but it makes me relax too. A combination of all these things would be perfect though.
Have you been playing a lot of shows? Where can we see you next?
A: Not too much ‘cause Peter and I have other bands. We plan about 10-12 shows a year with The Kryng and Combo Koedijk (we have the same members + Gerhard Rinsma and Alfredo Nooijo). We like to pick cool shows, like Amsterdam Beatclub, Soundflat Ballroom Bash, Vera Groningen and supporting Holly Golightly.We like to play live, but when we’re recording in the studio we feel most at home.
P:Can’t add much more to that. I love playing live and for the Kryng we try to focus on fun shows and play with befriended bands. So far, all of them we’re really nice.
How would you compare the Kryng to the No-Goods which pretty much had the same line up besides the drummer?
A: Since I had never played with Mark and Peter before it’s a completely different band to me. Also, there’s way more harmonies and on the records I occasionaly play organ or piano which is a big difference. On our new recordings we also have a horn quartet and mellotron.
P:It’s a big difference to me, even though it’s stills Mark’s songs and voice that are the most important ingredients for the band. Dennis (The No-Goods drummer) is a great guy and really lifted the sound for that band. Exactly what we needed at that time. We wouldn’t have been the same band without him. But when Arjan entered the Kryng things really started taking up speed and he added so much to sound. Now we’re doing things I only dreamed of doing with The No-Goods. Back then, there just wasn’t the space for the stuff we do now. I’m really happy with what we’re doing now and where we’re going & it even gets released on vinyl! Live vs. recording is kinda different, but I don't mind that at all. You just get a stripped down version of the records.
How did you manage to get Jan Kooi of the legendary Kogar Records to release your debut 7”?
A: I knew Jan really likes Mark’s songs, so I thought he might be interested. I send him some songs and he really liked 'Baby What You Want' and 'Tonight Dear' and wanted to release them as a 7”. When he told me he also really loved the song 'Won’t Make You Cry' we went back into the studio to record it especially for him.
M: Jan Kooi also did hear my solo things on bandcamp/facebook and was interested very soon, which was very great to me. And I didn't have a band at that moment.
P: That’s still very special to me. When I got into garage music, I played those Kogar records to death. The Beavers, Krontjong Devils, Firebirds, Jabberwocky and later on The Hot Pockets.. very important records for me. We always dreamed of being on the label and after all those years it finally happened! A big milestone for me.
After that you got your debut full length released how did you get it to sound as brilliant as it does?
A: Thanks. I recorded it in the studio/rehearsel room of The Kik on a Tascam 688. It’s a 8 track recorder which works on oldfashioned cassettetapes. It has a special sound of it’s own. I use a combination of good vintage microphones, cheap crappy microphones and some cool and cheap vintage compressors and effects like echo and reverb. Also, I record everything in the red so it sounds really raw and powerfull. To top things of Tim Warren did the mastering so it sounds good and loud on vinyl. But of course all of this starts with great songs! I think Mark is the best songwriter of The Netherlands.
P: I’ve always love the analog tape sound. The first No-Goods demos were made on my portable Fostex 4 track cassette recorder, which I bought after hearing the first Folk Implosion record. I’ve been to digital studios, which was okay, but it’s just not the some as that delicious tape compression. The limitations it has, brings out the best in me. Arjan’s studio is the perfect place for us to record and experiment with sound. The basic bandsound is recorded live and after that we just run around the place and try out anything that makes the best out of a song. I’m simply blow away with some of the arrangements Arjan does, like the horn section on Combo Koedijk and also the 2nd Kryng album or a simple fuzz guitar to lift a song to the next level.
Things been going fast, what else can we expect from you guys in the near future?
A: A new album on Teen Sound in 2018 called The Kryng Don’t Dig These Modern Tymes. It’s a step up compared to the first album. And we hope to release a 7” on the great Kuriosa Records. And we’re working on a 4 song EP called So Many Girls.
M: A second LP and I really hope a lot of gigs in Holland and outside the country.
P: The LP will be out on Misty Lane from Italy, although I opt for a different title. LP no.3 and 4 are already in the works, we simply cannot be stopped!
Any last comments?
M: Hope I am on tyme with these answers. Great you wanted to do an interview with us, thanx!
P: Like the Big Boys said: start your own fucking band!
NEWS: September 2018
KUUR-022: THE KRYNG - Baby, you´re the one 7"
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