The Amsterdam Klezmer Band goes kleztronic in new album

"Bomba Pop" was dedicated to the band's late accordionist, Theo van Tol

Mar 10, 2024

"Once we sat down and started talking, the general feeling was — guys, let's make a dancing album!" said Job Chajes, frontman of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band.

The Amsterdam Klezmer Band (AKB) is approaching 30 years of an illustrious career playing their own unique musical fusion of klezmer, European folk and dance music. The group, which started as a group of buskers in the '90s, have carried on to the present day, touring internationally and recording tons of music along the way.

The Amsterdam Klezmer Band and producer dunkelbunt (pictured third from the left)

AKB released their 18th album, "Bomba Pop," in early February, dedicating it to their late accordionist Theo van Tol who passed away in 2023. The album art was designed by mixed-media artist Martin Draax.

Euro-Kleztronica

"Bomba Pop" is a diversion from AKB's normal style. Rather than their typical acoustic dance music, the album is steeped in electronica and made in collaboration with German DJ and producer, dunkelbunt.

"We already knew dunkelbunt from around 2005 when he did some remixes of our songs which became quite popular on the Balkan-klezmer dance scene," explained Chajes.

Most of the album's production revolved around a back-and-forth between dunkelbunt and the band. AKB provided a handful of acoustic tracks and then traded notes with the German DJ as he found the most satisfying way to remix each individual tune. dunkelbunt tightened up the tracks for peak electronic danceability while band members made sure they adhered to the music's original vision.

"I really wrote it to maintain some of the traditional vibes of klezmer bands," Chajes said in reference to the track "Joey's Hora," which he composed. Romanian horas (or zhoks as they are often called) are slow with a particular dragging lilt that fits with the traditional dance of the same name — not the sort of groove which quantizes the easiest. Despite that, Chajes and dunkelbunt found a happy medium giving the track a modern flair while still remaining a traditionally danceable and recognizable hora.

The senses of timbre and textural space are key to dunkelbunt's production. Some tracks like "Choices and Consequences" are dense grooves that make you feel like you're stuck in a pinball machine. Others like "Bomba" feel like a romp in the city plaza, while "On Mala" feels like a healthy mosh at the club.

750 years of Amsterdam

If you go through AKB's discography, every now and then you'll hear Chajes rapping over different tracks. "Years ago, before I even started playing saxophone, I used to be a rapper. This was during my teenage years in the late '80s," Chajes explained.

The track "Do It In Amsterdam" features Chajes' rapping. As he explained, the track was originally in Dutch.

"I wrote a lot of text first in Dutch and it all just didn't work. Then in a conversation with dunkelbunt, he told me 'Once I made a song and I was singing on it in English. It sounded a bit funny with my German accent, but people were really liking it. So why don't you just try singing in English?'" said Chajes.

The track is an homage to the band's eponymous home city of Amsterdam which will be celebrating its 750th anniversary in 2025. "I wanted to pay tribute to Amsterdam," said Chajes.

Remembering Theo van Tol

Chajes told Oyer some background on their late accordion player Theo van Tol to whom the album is dedicated. While the band started up in the mid '90s, van Tol wouldn't join up until 2001 when the band was in a jam trying to find a permanent accordion player. Amidst shuffling through different players, van Tol had started subbing for some gigs and they found that he was the perfect fit.

"He came to the club and our bassist asked him 'do you want to go through some of the songs?'" recounted Chajes. "Then Theo said 'No don't bother.'" Even without a rehearsal, van Tol seamlessly fit into the band.

"He was just a virtuoso accordion player who had a lot of knowledge. He studied composition and conducting at the conservatory. He came into the band and was kind of considered 'Professor Klezmer-Balkan.'" said Chajes. Van Tol was also the oldest member of the group, having been born in 1954

"He was an incredibly virtuoso, and very inspiring musician. The compositions he made were really, really inspiring and very fun to play…when he died he was at the age of 69 which of course is quite young, but on the other hand he lived a life," said Chajes.