Windmills and World Music
The Netherlands as musical gateway to Europe
by Stan Rijven
Unsuspecting tourists often overlook the Netherlands. They can usually place it ‘somewhere in Northwest Europe’ and then usually hasten to add: “Isn’t Copenhagen the capital?” Indeed, seen from Google Earth our country occupies a tiny delta on the North Sea. However, musically speaking the Netherlands can truly be considered the gateway to Europe; with a vital world music scene, that varies from tango, Afro-pop and raï to salsa, fl amenco, gypsy and klezmer, it is a breeding ground for crossovers and a meeting place for music styles that originated in the former colonies.
Nomen est omen: ‘Nether-land’, where land is reclaimed from water with the help of windmills. Analogous to the four vanes on those same windmills, music blew in from all directions. Musicians came to settle here from each and every continent owing to its colonial past and position as a country open to migrants. These are contributing factors as to why the Netherlands now has such a vital world music scene, that varies from tango, Afro-pop and raï to salsa, fl amenco, gypsy and klezmer. Moreover, it is a breeding ground for exceptional crossovers in improvised and serious music. Last but not least, the Netherlands has been a meeting place for all the music styles that originated from its former colonies of Indonesia, the Netherlands Antilles and Surinam. Our country is home to an internationally renowned gamelan sector and is unique owing to its relatively unknown Surinamese and Antillean music scene. All of which is supported by a strong, club, theatre venue and festival network: annually attended by some two million visitors.
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