We live in the Netherlands, in the north to be exact (Westerwolde). Back in the early 80s, there was a famous local singer named Ede Staal. His songs were about the beauty of the northern countryside. Peaceful flourishing meadows, but also the darkness when a storm's approaching over the fields. The small villages with their beautiful windmills and steeples (one of them is specifically named in these lyrics).
Cynically enough Ede's songs became well-known in the rest of the Netherlands, only after he died...
We did a cover version of what we think was his most atmospheric and romantic song: Hogeland (The Highland). After we recorded this we visited Ede's widow. She told us many of Ede's songs were covered by various artists (some well-known Dutch artists as well). She liked our version and kindly gave permission to publish it on YouTube (and use it for local gigs).
We visited all the places Ede describes in Hogeland, and Anne-Marie made video recordings. So what you are seeing in the video is exactly what the song is about:
Style is ALBERTI.STY (Alberti Classical Piano) PianoCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded Style MIDI Instruments are : Acoustic Piano (1), Acoustic Piano (1), RealTracks in song: ~2051:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 085 RealTracks in song: 1757:Accordion, Rhythm Pop8ths Ev 085
For your convenience we've added an English translation:
It's the sky behind Uithuizen It's that steeple of Spijk It's the road from Leens to Klooster Through the Westpolder along the dike
It's the windmills, the canals It's the churches and the mansions It's the land where, as a child I had no sense of pains or worries
It's the windmills, it's the mansions...
It's a dovecote, a village street It's an old bakery It's the big farming towns Warffum, Usquert and Zijldijk
It's the wheat, it's the oats, It's the rapeseeds in bloom It's the horizon at Ranum When another storm brews
This is my land, my Highland...
It's May, a beautiful evening A cow lows softly in the land I'm with my very first girlfriend I can feel the tingling of her hand
Those wild plans I may have had Did not yet come to live Until the night of 't Hogeland Put a dark blanket over us
This is my land, my Highland
We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
Beautiful country in the video. Accordian was a really nice touch in the arrangement. You guys always do such nice vocals and clear mixes. Great job on this one too.
Thanks Gordon, Charlie, Trevor and Josie. Yes, it may sound a bit like Cohen or Brel. Ede Staal's voice sounded a bit like that too. And here, in the Northern part of the Netherlands, he was just as famous as they were.
BTW, his picture at the end of the song was given to us by his widow.
Rob and Anne-Marie
We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
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Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
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A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
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