Pelt was started by people with completely different musical backgrounds. Whereas Randell Sambo originally played drums in funkrock-bands, Arthur ten Cate, a singer-songwriter, worked in the fields of Pop and Lo-fi for years, while Joep Pelt has been mounting the stage with his own interpretation of the Songster tradition ever since he was a teenager. All of these influences come together in the sound of Pelt, an explosive mix with reference to Beck, Solomon Burke, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the Kinks. An overwhelming Caribbean drum orchestra is combined with melodic punk bass, harmonic vocals and guitar picking that reveals journeys to Mississippi and Mali.

In 2004 Pelt released their debut album Stick it in at the French Bad Reputation Records, which was received enthusiastically by the Dutch and French music press. Music magazines spoke of a "magistral debut" (Fret) and celebrated the "contemporary and adventurous approach" (Oor) which you can "enjoy thoroughly" (Block). In the wake of their release, Pelt gave a presentation at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, followed by a number of gigs in Holland and Paris and appearances in radio programs on Dutch national broadcasting stations such as the VPRO, the NPS and Kink FM. In 2005 Pelt featured on the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. Pelt also toured with the Malian artist Lobi Traoré, with which Joep released the cd "I Yougoba", and played festivals like Oerol, Festival Mundial and North Sea Jazz.

Now the guys of Pelt are back with a new album, that they recorded with the American producer Mike Stewart (Skip the Rush, The Gourds), which is due to be released early 2008. Their new and improved sound will drive your body to moving. The energy is blasting out of the speakers, get ready for Pelt!


 

photo's: Hans Keesom