Biography
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Born
2 February 1961 (age 64)
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Born In
Spijkenisse, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Spinvis is Erik de Jong, a Dutchman living in the suburban jungle of Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. A veteran of the Utrecht punk and indie scenes, he started recording as Spinvis in 2001. 2002 saw the release of his eponymous début album, Spinvis, recorded in his attic with computers, samplers, musical instruments and other objects laying around. Most remarkable are his poetic lyrics, that are at times nonsensical and non-consecutive.
His third album, Dagen van Gras, Dagen van Stro (Days of Grass, Days of Straw) was released in 2005. In August 2007 Goochelaars en geesten (Magicians and Ghosts), a collection of earlier work including B-sides, unpublished tracks and songs produced under assignment, was released.
In 2006 Spinvis teamed up with Simon Vinkenoog. Together they released the album Spinvis Combo / Ja! (Yes!). In 2007 they joined their performances in a festival act called Noga.
The Popprijs 2006 was awarded to Spinvis at the Noorderslag Festival in Groningen, an award for artists who have made an important contribution to Dutch pop music.
In 2011, his new album Tot Ziens, Justine Keller came out, being well received by the audience. 2017 saw the release of Trein Vuur Dageraad and the 'Best of' album Omnibus, followed by a new studio album entitled 7.6.9.6. in 2020. In several interviews following the release of the album, De Jong announced a change of his musical course, the relatively abstract 2021 EP Sunon being the first example of it.
In 2023, Spinvis released the album Be-bop-a-lula. For this album, Spinvis turned to spoken language, transitioning from topic to topic without any apparent logical connection. The lyrics are presented straightforwardly, without division into lines or paragraphs, reflecting a theme of carefree simplicity and the small problems of everyday life. Recordings mainly took place in Het Vaticaan in Nieuwegein, with string instruments recorded in Studio Moskou in Utrecht. The album cover features a painting by Spinvis himself and was released on both yellow and black vinyl as well as on compact disc.
In 2024, Spinvis released Lutke Krub en zeven kerstliedjes, a single project combining the narrated Christmas story Lutke Krub—made in collaboration with illustrator Hanco Kolk—with seven understated, melancholic Christmas songs. The story appeared as a book at Uitgeverij Thomas Rap and as audio on Excelsior Recordings, in various configurations (including 2×LP), each time with the tale narrated by Spinvis and accompanied by Kolk’s series of icons.
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