The Mauskovic Dance Band
Shadance Hall
Dekmantel Records
I miss Amsterdam. It’s been far too long since I’ve bopped around the music venues around Leidseplein and grooved to the jazz sounds at Bimhuis. The music and arts scene in Amsterdam is amazing. If I can’t get to Amsterdam, at least a bit of Amsterdam can come to me.
Nic Mauskovic put together the band with some cousins and the cumbia loving drummer, Juan Hundred. Nic and his friends absorbed the exotic sounds floating around their town. They pull in bits of dub reggae, afro-beat, post punk weirdness, Latin grooves and Krautrock cool. Shadance Hall is a wild ride. The first 4 songs (or A side on the vinyl release) are hypnotic, groove-oriented jams designed for dancing or drifting away after downing a Space Cake or two.
The flipside is the freaky, mirror image of the A side. Mauskovic had altogether too much fun with the mixing process that resulted in these Dub mixes. The vocals on “Controleer Jeself (rhythm version) sounds like they’re coming through a spirit box from another dimension. Playing Shadance Hall straight through on CD add to the sonic disorientation. Hey, didn’t I already hear this? Maybe? What did I buy at that coffee shop? Oh, Don’t worry if you can’t make out the words. They’re singing in Dutch.
