Amsterdam a.k.a. Mokum for insiders has quite a reputation as an adventurous and liberal city in every sense of the word. Somehow this typical characteristic hardly ever pops up in Dutch-made rock. Mr. and Mrs. Jo Average set the tone. ‘Be modest, don’t show off please, keep your ambitions low,’ seems to be the credo. We want to hear the real Amsterdam attitude, maaaan! We want lads who rock like f*ck like they do overseas in Cool Britannia. And this is where Moke from Mokum comes in. Finally a band that is definitely not your boring man next door.
Listen to their debut album Shorland and you’ll hear 10 fab tunes in a production that is absolutely spot on. This is the kind of stuff one can take across to invade the Mighty Albion and beyond. Bluff, you say? No Sir, ask their style icon the Modfather Paul Weller, who invited the band in December 2006 to open up for him two nights in a row at the legendary Forum in London.
What about the content? Let’s be honest, real art tackles real subjects, and that is the case here. You might consider this highbrow rubbish, but Shorland could just as well be described as a conceptual album. It was never meant to be, but there’s clearly a sort of a storyline. Singer Felix Maginn is a true Belfast kid by birth. He has witnessed a lot of sectarian violence in his native Northern Ireland. ‘For me rock ‘n’ roll is more than guitars and drums,’ he says. ‘I don’t mind having something more substantial to it. The message on this album is rather positive. Don’t look back at the past all the time, but look to the future, because to move on we’ve got to live together.’ Those who don’t care about lyrics, should just enjoy the haunting melodies with a nice indie edge to it. But if you want to, you can sing along with these tunes like a true Irishman.
The release of the album marks the end of an era in which the band has fine-tuned pretty much everything. It started with numerous auditions and it ended up with a band line-up that is just right. Like a puzzle, all the pieces have fallen into place. ‘It’s like that film The Magnificent Seven,’ observes Maginn. ‘The hero of the silver screen couldn’t handle the gunslingers who attacked the village single-handedly. Therefore he needed a gang of dedicated followers.’ That’s exactly how it went with Moke, Maginn describes. “Your best mates in life you meet in the trenches,’ confirms Maginn’s sidekick, guitarist Phil Tilli. ‘The sole person in Holland I would like to start a band like Moke with, happens to be Felix,’ he adds.’ The line-up further consists of drummer Rob Klerkx, one of Maginn’s old buddies, keyboardist Eddy Steeneken and bassist Marcin Felis. With this band they can fight the world. That’s exactly how they sound: big fat indie rock that is totally inevitable.
The album title Shorland refers to the Jeep-like 4x4 of the Brits that has caused so much fear among the population in Ulster. The track Emigration Song is about Maginn’s departure from his country. ‘I couldn’t do anything else but leave,’ stresses Maginn. ‘It wasn’t driven by the no future principle at all,’ Maginn says looking back. ’I simply couldn’t do the things that I wanted to do. The situation was much worse at the time of my departure. You can take the man out of Ireland, but you can never take Ireland out of the man. ‘I don’t mind if people like to wave their flags, as long as the context is good and without hidden agendas,’ Maginn concludes.
Since the album release in March 2007 a lot has happened to Moke. It was a pre-release television appearance that raised awareness nationwide. Finally the Dutch public found out that Moke was the band behind that massive tune (debut single Last Chance) that was used as the backdrop to the highlights of the UEFA Champions League on Dutch TV. Only a few days later they became the one and only Dutch band in the 15-year history of the legendary London Calling Brit band-based festival at the renowned Paradiso Amsterdam venue. Moke has taken off to an unprecedented flying start. The band played at practically every summer festival in Holland, including a slot at the most prestigious Lowlands a.k.a. ‘the Dutch Glastonbury.’ Their gig list reads as the ideal topography of their homeland.
Meanwhile their debut album is still in the Dutch charts, having sold in excess of 25.000 copies. Second single Here Comes The Summer (not a cover of the Undertones Classic) topped MTV’s Brandnew list for seven consecutive weeks. Additionally Moke is nominated for an MTV Border Breaking Award. Signed to PIAS domestically, it’s about time they cross the borders again like they did with the aforementioned Weller shows of the year before. Weller is still their biggest fan. The album comes with a striking red sticker quoting their hero adequately: ''F***ING SMASHING TUNES' - Paul Weller.’ Well, that's not too bad, is it?
All in all not bad for a band that formed not even two years ago and this is certainly not where it ends.
Line-up:
- Felix Maginn: guitar, vocals
- Phil Tilli: guitar
- Marcin Felis: bass
- Rob Klerkx: drums
- Eddy Steeneken: keyboards
