Palmbomen
Palmbomen is the stage name of Amsterdam, Netherlands based musician Kai Hugo. Palmbomen has released on NON Records, a label he helped found with his friend Bear Damen[1], and French label Kitsuné Maison. Palmbomen has also scored the soundtrack for the Playstation Vista game Metrico as well as been featured on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto V.
Beginnings
Hugo's first project for the label NON Records was entitled Ganz Nackische. After a few songs, he decided to ditch the hard sound of this project for a more tropical one. Only being asked to fill in for a cancelled artist was the name Palmbomen chosen, which is the Dutch word for palm trees. The name was chosen “because of the absolute absence of palm trees in Holland, they represent somewhat of a small detail of utopia” notes Hugo.[2]
Moon Children and Kitsuné Maison
Kai recorded material using mostly antiquated equipment to capture a vintage sound for what would be his debut EP. Moon Children was released on NON Records in July of 2010, with a release party Amsterdam nightclub Trouw. The live performance featured a custom built live light set which he programmed himself. After receiving positive reviews from Vice Magazine, The Examiner, and 3VOOR12, french music and fashion label Kitsuné Maison included the title track on their 10th Kitsune Maison Compilation, released in November 2010.[3]
Night Flight Europa
Following extensive touring of the live light set, Palmbomen relocated to Berlin to record a full length record. Hugo further developed his analogue sound to incorporate more elements of Ambient House, Psychedelia, and Italo Disco. The resulting album "Night Flight Europa" was released by NON Records in January 2013, and received positive reviews from The Fader, Red Bull Music Academy, and Decoder Magazine. The record also caught the attention of Belgian Electronic Music duo Soulwax, who invited Palmbomen to open for them at their annual Soulwaxmas celebration in 2012.[4]
Grand Theft Auto V, Metrico, and USA
Following an extensive tour in support of the new record, Palmbomen again was approached by Soulwax, but this time in regard to their involvement with the soundtrack for the Rockstar Games series Grand Theft Auto. Eventually it was revealed Soulwax had remixed Palmbomen's track 'Stock' for their station Soulwax Radio in Grand Theft Auto V. [5] This sparked a new connection to the video game industry, with Sony commissioning Palmbomen to create the soundtrack for their Playstation Vista game Metrico, released in August 2014.[6] Hugo left Berlin for Los Angeles in 2014, where he continues to score music for video games, movies, and records as Palmbomen.
References
- ^ "POP-UP: NON Records". hard//hoofd. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ Flood, Kathleen. "The Voyage To Something Better: Q&A With Palmbomen". The Creators Project. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ Van der Vaart, Nick. "Palmbomen Moon Children EP". Indie Indie NL. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ Cole, Max. "Palmbomen: A trip to inner space". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ Griffioen, Ingmar. "Palmbomen in GTA V". 3voor12. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ van de Mortel, Ryan. "PS Vita's Metrico gets a release date and new gameplay trailer". blog.eu.playstation.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.