Pop music in the Netherlands runs the full spectrum, from MOR and straightforward commercial pop music through to distinctly Dutch dance music styles or unique underground scenes. Furthermore, in the Netherlands, the culture around pop music is distinctive and strong.

The oft-cited idea that the Dutch national identity places high value on design, art and conceptual thinking could easily be supported by looking not only at Dutch pop music, but looking at the culture around it. Everything from fanzines and the product design with which music is packaged to websites and memorabilia shows that – at all levels of music production- there is a lot of thought and energy put into the culture that music creates or drives.

Within the Netherlands itself, there are numerous organizations, government mechanisms and private initiatives for supporting a pop music industry that, whilst being resilient locally, faces obvious linguistic challenges to be simultaneously locally relevant and globally competitive. Perhaps it is partly as a result of such organizations and structures –which are strongly linked with other branches of creative industries and cultural provision- that there is a notable tendency for more multi-disciplinary practice than elsewhere and that multi-disciplinary practice, for example, has gained more recognition. One such example is the practice of ‘vj’ing’, quite literally the visual version of dj’ing that sees vj’s (often coming from art, graphic and multimedia backgrounds) creating complex visuals –often using advanced technology- mixed live at music events. Or, similarly, the number of projects that involve illustrators, product designers or artists collaborating with pop musicians is also notable. In the Netherlands, publicly funded art spaces even undertake credible exhibition projects onsite at large outdoor music festivals.

Other examples of this crossover culture can be found in looking at specific artists or labels. Magnetron Music – an Amsterdam label making international headway with its particular brand of electro- includes bands such as Le Le in its stable. In addition to producing highly danceable and witty electro tracks, zooming in on Le Le soon shows that there’s a whole lot more than just music going on. The band’s distinctive animated videos and visual identity are the work of member Piet Parra whose pared-down Pop-influenced style as an illustrator has been much sought after by international magazines and creative agencies.

Similarly, the work of Roel Wouters, carving out an international reputation as a pop video director, is hardly the stuff of MTV eye candy. Wouters’ critically acclaimed work as a multimedia artist has been presented by important museums and there is something of the conceptual artist that he frequently brings to his unique take on what a pop video or music packaging can be, such as the project undertaken for cult electro-psychedelic band zZz.

Nederpop-Up Shop! is a fun, interactive project that aims to give some sense of the breadth of Dutch pop music culture to a UK audience. Consisting of an exhibition of different cultural products – from art to memorabilia and pop videos- and, of course, music. It will include a presentation where the visitor can browse through a broad selection of current Dutch pop music and listen at their own leisure; one part old-school record shop; one part Dutch music fan heaven.

A part of the project will consist of the presentation of works by the Rotterdam-based artist Paul van den Hout in whose work the culture of pop and underground music stands centrally. Van den Hout has an eclectic practice in which sculpture and installation are the most common media deployed. Almost all of his work appropriates popular culture – whether from comics or gaming iconography through to pop music culture- and reworks it into a witty and thoughtful play on images and ideas. In some works we find the militaristic tendencies of heavy rock literally seeping into the form that instruments take whilst another work – much more mellow indeed- pays homage to the role of music in the culture of travellers. Alluding to a campsite complete with facilities to sit around the campfire singing songs, this interactive installation invites the audience to sit down and document their own stories of travel and to add them to the ongoing documents that others have already contributed.

De Humobisten –aka Gyz La Riviere & Rufus Ketting- have a long-term collaborative practice as artists,cultural organisers and designers. Additionally, La Riviere and Ketting produce individual bodies of work. Variously involved in bands, underground party scenes and the street culture scenes – such as skateboarding- in Rotterdam, where they live and work, both produce works that often draw on these influences and reinterpret them through a more conceptual. However, each has his own particular style and approach.

In the joint work of de Humobisten – whether as artists or more commercial graphic designers- there is always an underlying conceptual approach, almost always with an absurdist, punky feel to its modes of operation, perhaps most recently evidenced in the registration of a performance work in Rotterdam where a popular children’s character ( a bear) and its signature tune are reworked as absurdist cabaret. With a title that roughly translates as ‘We’re Angry Again’, the performance saw one of the Humobists dressed in a bear costume singing to the well-known song; replacing the usual lyrics with clever twists in the traditional style of political cabaret to comment on everything from social exclusion to terrorism.

a broad range of examples of their individual and joint creative outputs, ranging from a documentary film about a local skateboarding gang to a series of screen-prints by La Rieviere, to a conceptual rap video and print works by Ketting

The London public is invited to come and hang out at the space during the exhibition opening hours, kick back with a cup of coffee, put on some headphones and find the particular CD that strikes a chord. Or, better still, pick up one of Paul van den Hout’s questionnaires and contribute your own tale musical journeys.

With an array of music, creative multi-disciplinary projects and other cultural ephemera by a large cast of Dutch talents, we’re sure you’ll find something to interest you.

Opening Thurs 6 May, 18:00 to 21:00

Exhibition runs 7 May to 5 June; Thurs-Sat, 12:00 to 18:00