Treble (girl group)

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Treble

Treble is a girl group from the Netherlands.

[edit] Biography

The group started in 1995 when Caroline Hoffman (born 1975) and sisters Niña (born 1985) and Djem van Dijk (1987) met during a party in the south of the Netherlands, where Caroline is performing together with a friend. The parents of the van Dijk sisters ask Caroline to become the music teacher of the two girls. A close-knit group was born, starting with street concerts where they accompany themselves with acoustic guitar and djembe. Their harmonised and contagious African rhythm soon attracted a lot of attention. But what makes Treble stand out is their own Treble "language", the language in which they sing. As they put it, "In order to be able to get emotions across, music does not always require understandable language." One important other reason however for the emerging of the Treble language is that the van Dijk sisters are in their early teens and not able to speak any foreign language when the collaboration with Caroline starts. Although this has changed and the girls have been singing in English and occasionally in French Treble language still is an integral and important part of their songwriting and performances.

After performing in the Netherlands and traveling abroad, the girls recorded their debut single "Ramaganana" at the end of 2003 which turned out to be the major breakthrough for the trio reaching the number one slot on the Dutch singles Hit List. To promote the single Treble hits the streets again. Performing with a sign up front asking to buy their single and take it to the number 1 spot they succeed. In June 2004 their first album No Trouble made its debut. The girls by then have a record deal with CNR Music. Backed up by a group of session musicians they show the many different styles Treble has mastered. The albums give a fair offering of ballads and uptempo rock songs. The album is supported by a full theatre tour and several festival appearances. On stage the three girls are accompanied by a three man live band. Olaf Fase (drums), Emanuel Platino (bass) and Willem Philips (guitar) back the girls up with a steady, more rock oriented sound.

Their second album Free came out in April 2006. By then the group has teamed up with World Sound Management from the USA. The American management firm sets an eye on Treble when the group performs in France during Midem. In true Treble style the girls weren't invited. They went to France and just hit the streets of Cannes without any planned gigs. The album is recorded in Hawaii and Los Angeles. World famous producer Keith Olsen is at the helm. His involvement leads to a much more coherent sound and the inclusion of the Fleetwood Mac song Crystal, which also was produced by Keith Olson in its original form. The band returns to familiar water when they hit the road again for a theatre tour (Omne trivium perfectum) and a full festival agenda.Some of the planned gigs are postponed or taken off the schedule after the decision is made to take another direction. Treble will compete in the National Song Festival, which is the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.

On 12 March 2006 an overwhelming victory at the National Song Festival in Amsterdam, made Treble the Dutch representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens. During a live television show on the Dutch channel NOS, their song "Amambanda" was chosen as the best by 72% of the viewers. Afterwards Treble hit the road. The plan was to visit every country that was to send a contestant to Athens. Treble succeeded in this major undertaking, but it did not bring them success: Treble did not qualify from the Semi-Final. Lordi, the Finnish heavy metal band, won the semis and the final. (During their European tour Treble met Lordi and they became good friends.)

The schedule for Treble after the ESC was virtually empty. A single (Fly) off the Free album was scheduled as CD-single but was later rescheduled to appear only as a download. Another single (Leave me alone) was scheduled for 2006 but later postponed to early 2007. Djem and Niña van Dijk have both enrolled in the Amsterdam Conservatorium to sharpen their musical skills. No major live performances are scheduled at the moment for 2007.