Biography
We would have sworn that "de smartlap" has been dead for decades, its ashes scattered to a dance bar in Ertvelde or in the Jordaan. Granted, VTM occasionally launches a rare revival but even those hardly cause a geriatric polonaise. Until we subjected CD "Smartlap is niet dood" by Amsterdam phenomenon Sophie Straat to a suspicious listen this morning. "Ja santé, unz'uur'n", what is this? We're guessing what Straat did with "de smartlap": mouth-to-mouth, engaged a shaman, ctrl-alt-delete and then pulled out the pries and rebooted? Either way, open Spotify on your smartphone and listen. Now. Immediately. Listen again. Smart songs? Street manages to mangle the attitude and guts of, say, The Slits or Patti Smith with dance pop and upbeat street music, and we're willing to stand on our heads for you to believe us anyway: you really should give this record a chance. We can't remember a time when social criticism and street protest has been put on tape in such a catchy and fun way. Sophie will be at our Club StuBru on August 4 and it would truly be a shame if you were wasting your time elsewhere at that time.