Prog rock band The Boxx Orchestra from The Netherlands recently released their second album ‘The Horn of Plenty’ on OOB Records. Great plans for the future; touring and work upon the next album is already set in stone. Members of the band go into talks about all of this right below!
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Keyboard player and songwriter Jan Boekestein explains; In the seventies and eighties I played in several symphonic rock bands and wrote a huge repertoire of (symphonic) rock songs. In 2016 we started as The Boxx Orchestra to play these songs in a modernized way. Lead singer Ria Mulder, started as a bass player and later became lead singer in various bands. Guitarist Jos van der Zanden, played acoustic and electric guitar in several cover bands. Bass player Walter Hüsstege, multi-instrumentalist and composer with prog rock band Cause 17 which released three studio albums. The line up was completed in 2018 by drummer Kees Schollen who played in various rock bands.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Kees; One of the former bands Jan played in, back in the eighties, was called The Boxx. The Orchestra was added to emphasize the more symphonic style.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Walter; We are based in the southern part of The Netherlands. There are lots of bands mostly cover- and tribute bands. However there are also some very good prog rock bands like Argus, Glorious Wolf, Flamborough Head, My Own Army, Ice. In the past there were more prog rock bands from The Netherlands with a great international reputation (Kayak, Finch, Earth & Fire, Knight Area).
4. How would you describe your style?
Jan; The music of The Boxx Orchestra can best be described as power rock with a lot of symphonic influences. Sometimes complex almost ‘classic’ and then again "straight between the eyes” rock. The songs are filled with melody together with harmonic and rhythmic 'surprises'. You can call it prog rock but we sometimes like to step out of the box and experiment with other styles.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Ria; In 2021 we released our first album called ‘Out of the Boxx’ preceded by two single tracks ‘The Eye of the Storm’ and ‘A Star Almost Fell’. On May 26th this year we released our second album ‘The Horn of Plenty’ on prog label OOB Records. Both albums received very good reviews and got much airplay on various prog rock radio channels. We are developing more in a direction where the basic ideas for songs from Jan are being arranged by the band, instead of a complete and arranged song. Jos; further we are very lucky to have Walter in the band who is, besides a very talented bass player, also an excellent graphic designer who takes care of both album cover design and all video effects at our live shows.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Kees; Jan still has a lot of new material ‘on the shelf’. Also Walter is starting to write material. So more albums will be coming up.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Jan; we are planning to tour intensively after this summer; both in The Netherlands and throughout Europe. First gig coming up is summer festival Oekelpop in The Netherlands (Jult 6th ).Meanwhile we are working hard to improve our live shows (especially the sound quality and visual effects). Of course we are blessed with Ria our impressive lead singer, who steals the show!
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Ria; Releasing more new albums, doing as much as possible liveshows. We have enough material for at least two more albums and are still writing new songs.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Jos; we are available on all streaming platforms and CD’s can be bought via OOB Records (https://oob-records.com/).
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Walter; A very close band performing nice melodic compositions with lyrics telling a story and performed by a great lead singer.
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