SMÖLLPÆP
SMÖLLPÆP combines electronic music with live instrumentation, creating a groove that sounds as if the Red Hot Chili Peppers started a discoband. In liveshows they carefully guide the audience into a musical fairytale of sincere lunacy. Their lyrics invite them to embrace emotions that are otherwise concealed, creating a space where our hips are stripped from guise and tears can roam free. For SMÖLLPÆP, music is the antidote to the mundane, and we dance to heal.
The duo, Quintijn and Rogier, grew up making music together since they were eleven years old. After years of playing side by side in several bands they separated their musical development for a while, ultimately finding each other again during the pandemic. At first, music offered a way to understand their complex feelings of the time, and together they felt comfortable enough to experiment with unconventional sounds and techniques to match the absurdity of life. In 2022 they started to play live, and since then they have been gaining an audience of magnificent fools that like to jump around their stage.
Or maybe they are just two idiots who like to play music together.
Spotify: SMÖLLPÆP
Instagram: @smoll_paep
The band is constantly evolving, wherefore every show is different.
Depending on the venue, SMÖLLPÆP customises a set beforehand,
sometimes inviting other musicians on stage, while always leaving
space in between for spontaneity and improvisation. Communication is
everything for the duo, and nothing makes Rogier happier than when he
hears Quintijn over his shoulders shouting the three magical words:
Almost everyday the two meet in Quintijn's home studio in Amsterdam to
practice, write or mix their songs. Both musical addicts, although
they would rather call themselves smulpapen.
In August SMÖLLPÆP set off to the islands of Croatia to play with
singer Malvina Lucic. After an intense week of building a live-set,
the three of them performed wherever they could: in bars, beaches or
small town ports. They loved the honest admiration of passer-by
audiences so much that they played everyday, sometimes even two shows
when they needed to catch some extra money for food or ferry's to get
to the next island. The liberty of the streets stripped their
performance from all boundaries, allowing for a unique interplay
between the band and their audience.
On Weesperradio, the duo decided to play a chilled down set that was
less premeditated than usual. This gave way to a musical conversation
between two bandmates discovering what else they could make of their
songs. The result is a brief look inside the minds of two creatives
experimenting with their art.