| Racoon | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Zeeland, Netherlands |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Roadrunner Records |
| Website | www.racoon.nl |
| Members | |
| Bart van der Weide Dennis Huige Paul Bukkens Stefan De Kroon |
|
Racoon is a Dutch rock band, formed in 1997. Their first big appearance was at the 1999 Noorderslagfestival. First album Till Monkeys Fly appeared in January 2000, produced by Michael Schoots (Urban Dance Squad). The first single, Feel Like Flying, became a hit and got a lot of airplay on the Dutch radiostation 3FM. The band's biggest hit so far came in 2005, when its single Love You More reached number three in the Dutch music charts.
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Racoon starts as an acoustic duo: singer Bart van der Weide and guitarist Dennis Huige. They release three songs on the singer/songwriter compilation album 'Characters', released by the Dutch Rock & Pop Institute.
Van der Weide and Huige are joined by bassist Stefan de Kroon and drummer Paul Bukkens and the band moves to Utrecht. Racoon plays at the Heineken X-pl'oor-festival in the Melkweg and in Rotterdam. Their self-released demo 'It's An Ice Cream Day' earns them the attention of several record companies and many positive reviews from the Dutch press.
Racoon is opening act at the annual Noorderslag festival. They sign to Sony's S.M.A.R.T. label and at the end of this year they go into the studio to record their full-length debut.
In January Racoon plays at the Eurosonic festival in Groningen. This month also sees the release of the long expected debut album 'Till Monkeys Fly', which was recorded at the ICP-studios in Brussels. 'Till Monkees Fly' is produced by Michel "Magic Stick" Schoots from Urban Dance Squad; the end mix was done by Phil Nicolo (ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Urge Overkill) and Bob Ludwig was responsible for the mastering of the album. The band is being touted as the next big thing and the single 'Feel Like Flying' is power played on Radio 3 FM. Racoon plays at the Parkpop and Lowlands festivals. Michel Schoots
The singles 'Smoothly' and 'Eric's Bar' are released, the latter appears on Racoon's new album 'Here We Go, Stereo'.
In February Racoon tours the country performing Faith No More songs for the 'Marlboro Flashback Tour'.
Racoon plays at the Europe Day festival in Kiev. Other bands on the bill include Alphaville (Germany), The Blueberries (Denmark), K-System (Finland) and bands from Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and the Ukraine. The festival is organised by the European Union.
Racoon signs a recording deal with PIAS. Its song Feel Like Flying is runner up in the Top 100 Best Dutch Pop Songs. Voted by the listeners of public Radio 3FM, it is trailing behind Van Dik Hout's 'Stil In Mij'. Snippets of the track Reach are used in two Calvé TV ads.
Racoon releases its third album Another Day. The album turns out to be a major hit, with highly successful singles such as Love You More, Laugh About It, and Brother.
The band collaborate with Armin van Buuren to create a trance version of their hit tune Love You More. The song goes big in the trance scene and is soon being played by numerous top name djs.
In March, the band's fourth album, Before You Leave, is released. Racoon is present at many Dutch Festivals and plays Pinkpop (60.000 visitors), Rockin Park (30.000) and Parkpop (250.000). In the fall of 2008 the successful tour in Dutch theaters of 2006 will be continued.
In May, Racoon released their fifth album, called Liverpool rain. It was partially recorded in Abbey Road Studios in London and they played together with the London Chamber Orchestra. Their biggest hit so far is No mercy