The Great Communicators, the brainchild of Dutch based songwriter Arend Dijkstra, make their comeback with their second album 'The Endless Haze'. The new recored will be released on October 15th. It sounds like a cohesive collection of songs, all melding together in a sweltering vortex pulling the listener through a house of mirrors full of unexpected twists and turns. You’ll hear driving drum and bass grooves that carry all the colorful, yet razor sharp guitar- and key melodies together with swinging percussion and energetic vocals.
According to Dijkstra, 'The Endless Haze' was an experiment whilst searching for a new sound. Although there are tracks that are similar to their debut album 'Lucky Horse', a more groovy, more frivolous sound slowly seeps through. A very important addition to the album is the percussion, for which the band has asked percussionist Chris Bruining. Playing with these new elements was refreshing for the band and was an opening for new ideas at the same time. A common thread can be discovered in the lyrics; the struggle of the creative process and the struggle of keeping out external pressure.
“As an artist I felt that many of the aspects of being an artist came to be under pressure. You start asking yourself: "Is all of this still worth it?" In the opening sentence I describe how on the one hand you push through, headstrong and determined, but on the other hand how the situation makes things increasingly difficult. With that in mind, Candle is a proverbial middle finger to a situation which might have caused any sane person to throw in the towel.“ -
Arend Dijkstra
In the past year they released a total of six singles with which they have made various radio appearances at Dutch national radio stations 3FM and NPO Radio 2. The songs are and were also featured in various editorial lists such as 'A Shot Of Indie', 'Made In NL' and 'New Music Friday NL' on Spotify, 'New Music Daily', 'New In Alternative' and 'ALT CTRL' on Apple Music and 'Indie Academie' and 'Nieuw Deze Week' on Deezer. In addition, they received international media attention from Mystic Sons, The Daily Indie, 3voor12, Concert Monkey, Music For The Misfits, among others.
The Great Communicators were off to a flying start with their debut-EP ‘Bide your time’ in 2014. Working their way through the Dutch scene in the following years, releasing their first full-length album ‘Lucky Horse’; a strong debut record full of exciting indie-rock tracks. Because of this success they played some of the bigger Dutch festivals such as Down The Rabbit Hole and Eurosonic Noorderslag, went on live-radio and tv and even opened a show for Kensington in the Ziggo Dome. More than ever, The Great Communicators and their new sound are a force to be reckoned with.
The Great Communicators live:
- 30.10.2021: Cinetol, Amsterdam
- 05.11.2021: De Zwarte Ruijter, Den Haag
- 26.11.2021: Willem Twee, Den Bosch
- 27.11.2021: Simplon, Groningen
- 17.12.2021: TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht