An ocean to escape into Never having to be jealous Love to air your heart An ocean How wonderful that would be
Fantastic!
Racoon
The Zeeland band Racoon originally started in 1997 as a duo, Bart van der Weide (vocals) and Dennis Huige (guitar). They left the (hardcore) band Vict’em and decided to focus on a completely different musical direction. As a newly formed band, they released three songs for the first time under the name Racoon on the compilation CD of the Dutch Pop Institute; Characters. Within a few months, Stefan de Kroon (bass) and Paul Bukkens (drums) joined, forming the band's current lineup.
Debut album
After a performance at the Noorderslag festival in 1999, offers from record companies started coming in, and the men of Racoon joined Sony's S.M.A.R.T label. This collaboration led to the release of their debut album, Till Monkeys Fly, in January 2000, produced by Michel Schoots (Urban Dance Squad). Within a few months, the first single ‘Feel Like Flying’ became a hit, and Racoon played at Parkpop and Lowlands.
Here We Go Stereo
During the summer of 2001, Racoon was busy recording their second album, Here We Go Stereo. The album was recorded in a few weeks. Besides playing bass, Stefan also emerged as a keyboardist on the album and took on vocals for the song ‘Luka’s Song’ (written for his little daughter). Prior to the album, the single ‘Eric’s Bar’ was released, an ode to the café run by a good friend of the band. This single was also well received, with the video being frequently played on music channels MTV and TMF. The Dutch music press was enthusiastic, and Racoon was firmly on the map (a sample of the song ‘Reach’ was even used in several peanut butter commercials).
Marlboro Flashback Tour
After the nationwide promotional tour for Here We Go Stereo, Racoon was asked to perform songs by their musical heroes in the Flashback Tour. After some discussion, they ultimately chose Faith No More. Racoon was temporarily reinforced by an additional keyboardist, and for the occasion, suits were brought out. In style, songs like ‘We Care A Lot’ and ‘King For A Day’ were performed with conviction in venues such as Stairway to Heaven and the Melkweg.
Too quiet around Racoon
With these successes under their belt, 2003 was the right time to play at Pinkpop. However, this was not enough reason for Sony to keep the band, and the collaboration ended in August that year. Suddenly, it became very quiet around Racoon for the press and the general public. The band found a new home with record company PIAS. For over two years, they worked on a new album, and in 2005, Another Day was released. A short film was also made for three singles of the same name. The somewhat more acoustic songs were enthusiastically received. 'Love You More'. In November, the song was followed by 'Laugh About It'.
Abroad
In December 2005, Racoon performed abroad for the first time. They played in Antwerp. From 2006 onwards, the band wanted to focus more and more on foreign countries. Belgium and Germany were on the programme for 2006.
Success
2006 was a successful year for Racoon. Another Day achieved platinum status, and they won an Edison award. And of course, not to forget: Racoon was the big winner at the 3FM Awards. They won two awards (Best Pop Artist and Best Single) and also took home the Rigter Award for the most played record of the past year.
'Close Your Eyes'
As a thank you to their fans, Racoon offered two previously unreleased tracks for free at the beginning of 2007. One of the singles was 'Close Your Eyes'. The band decided to release the song as a single. 'Close Your Eyes' can also be heard during the credits of the Dutch film Kicks.
Before You Leave
After the successful Another Day from 2005, a new album, Before You Leave, was released at the end of February 2008. 'Lucky All My Life' was the first single to be released. It is a listening track in the style of the hit 'Love You More'. The songs 'Clean Again' and 'My Town' were also singles.
Liverpool Rain
After a long period in the studio, the long-awaited album Liverpool Rain was released in June 2011, partly recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Prior to the album, the first single 'No Mercy' was released. Grandly arranged, accompanied by the London Chamber Orchestra. The song became a big hit. After this single, five more (!) songs from this album were released as singles: 'Took a Hit', 'Don't Give Up the Fight', 'Liverpool Rain', '2014' and 'Freedom'.
15 years of Racoon
The band's fifteenth anniversary was celebrated in 2013 with a compilation of all singles, The Singles Collection, and a theatre tour through the Netherlands in the autumn.
Awards
2013 saw a shower of awards: the Pop Prize 2012 at the Noorderslag festival, an Edison audience award for Best Song for 'Oceaan', and the Golden Notekraker 2013, an award for artists from colleagues in the profession. Racoon had previously also received several 3FM Awards and a Golden Harp.
3FM Serious Request 2013
At the request of 3FM, Racoon wrote the theme song for their year-end campaign 3FM Serious Request 2013. The song 'Shoes Of Lightning' was released in November that year and is about persevering, even when things are not so easy. The proceeds from the song went to the Red Cross, which that year, together with 3FM, raised money to reduce child mortality from diarrhoea.
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, Racoon is featured with the following rankings:
Sunday Morning Classic
On 20 November 2022, Racoon was featured as Sunday Morning Classic with their first Dutch-language album "Spijt Is Iets Voor Later" from 2021.
Racoon has been asked many times, and now finally there is the ‘very autobiographical’ Dutch-language album "Spijt is iets voor later", released on 1 October 2021.
Source: NPO Photo: Shura Amsterdam and Wikipedia/Michiel1972
www.racoon.nl
