The new NITS album ‘Knot’ was recorded in their own Werf studio in Amsterdam. Its 11 songs originated from three long sessions that produced some 20 hours of improvisation and text fragments. But whereas the band’s previous album ‘angst’ was largely inspired by conversations between lyricist Henk Hofstede and his mother, ‘Knot’ covers a much broader range of topics, including experiences from his immediate environment, mixed with observations and fantasies. A dance party in Ostend connects Marvin Gaye with Belgian painter and printmaker James Ensor (‘Dead Rat Ball’), clearing out the parental home evokes the work of British sculptor Rachel Whiteread (‘The Concrete House’), and a character from a thriller inhabits the text of ‘Music Box With Ballerina’. For 45 years, NITS has been the Netherlands’ most elusive band with a truly awe-inspiring oeuvre. They are still on the road giving concerts full of dynamics, humour and virtuosity, infused with a deep European melancholy and performed with stylish versatility.

01. Ultramarine

02. The Delta Works

03. The Concrete House

04. The Garden Centre

05. The Blue Car

06. Machine Machine

07. Dead Rat Ball

08. The Electric Pond

09. Une Petite Allumette

10. Music Box With Ballerina

11. (Un) Happy Hologram