Dutch Boogie stalwarts Kraak & Smaak return with another summer anthem released via their own Boogie Angst imprint.
Their resident keys virtuoso – Oscar De Jong gives his analogue synths a comprehensive ‘funkercise’ workout, while Wolfgang Valbrun lends his vocal talents to promise you a day of dancing, lovemaking, no sleep, and general all round fun. But that’s only one day mind you, it’s strictly a ’24HR Fling’. For fans of K&S it’s no surprise that this is an absolute beast of a boogie track, sprinkled with more than just a little dancing powder to get the floors moving. It’s the first taster of their new studio album, slated for release this autumn. And if this track is anything to go by it promises to be another instant classic.
For those wondering where they heard the name before – Valbrun’s recognizable vocals are the very same that graced French superstar DJ – Kungs’ platinum selling track ‘I Feel So Bad’ last year. When he’s not doing his day job fronting UK based soul/jazz crew – ephemerals, or guesting on worldwide smash hits, he likes to unwind by strutting his stuff to some good old funk !
Perfect for sunny days, ’24HR Fling’ is an upbeat pop romp packed with disco vibes that will make you want to dance your socks off. On the occasion of the release and the announcement of an upcoming album, Sidekick Music had the pleasure to meet Kraak & Smaak, with a few questions.
Hey guys, great to have you. It’s no secret we’re longtime fans : “24HR Fling” featuring Wolfgang Valbrun was just out recently, catchy title ! What’s the story behind it ?
Thnx guys! We definitely wanted to work with Wolf (singer of Ephemerals) or our new album and so we invited him to our studio in Leiden. Did some more serious stuff first but we also had this funky demo lying around, and one thing led to another I suppose! The lyrics were written by our songwriting and live collaborator Ivar Vermeulen. It’s about a night of dancing, lovemaking, no sleep, no strings attached and general all round fun – something Ivar’s not unfamiliar with 😉
Kraak & Smaak quickly made a name for their unmistakable boogie. Seriously, what’s you recipe ?
Ha ha ! All three of us are longtime funk, boogie and disco aficionados, and already from the start we were keen to sprinkle that onto our productions. We have of course become more versatile over time, but thankfully it still is a recurrent thing in our work. I guess maybe we just love the quirkiness of many boogie artists and records, a feedback we often get on our music as well.
Anything past the “24HR Fling” we can expect from the three of you this year ?
Oh yes! With 24HR Fling we have officially started our new album cycle. Before that drops later on this year, we’ll first release a couple more singles, remixes, etc., to work our way towards it. We can’t name names yet, but we have put a lot of effort in finding new vocal collabs and are really happy again with the results, just as with Juicy Fruit. We will also do some extensive touring the next couple of months, with for example a string of shows in the USA (July) and in Asia (June). To top things off, our label Boogie Angst will continue to release various exciting and fresh signings. Much to look forward to!
Who’s on your watch right now ? Any under-the-radar artists that caught your attention ?
We have been listening to loads of artists lately, also to find collabs for the new album, as mentioned earlier above. Stuff that has stood out for us were for example Shook, Still Woozy, David Marston, The Palms and Mk.Gee in the more hippety hoppety / indie electronic scene, but also more dance-orientated producers such as Kassian, Intr0beatz, Sworn Virgins, Girls of the Internet, etc. But too much to mention really.
Last but not least, if you guys had to keep only one song of yours, wich one would it be ?
Oh dear… well, to stay on the boogie side of things then I would say the Boogie Funk version of ‘Dynamite’, a staple track in our dj sets, always does the damage! Has a relatively high bpm as well, which makes it a great record to drop after an uptempo house record and change the vibe al lof a sudden – while keeping the tempo up. Nice….
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