Ronald Snijders
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
The idea that there was no soul or funk music recorded in Holland has already been proven nonsense on the CD Rare Dutch Groove, but I am surprised to discover new great records in this genre all the time. Like the Ronald Snijders LP Black straight music, that I got recently. I was actually after another LP that this Surinam soul brother recorded two years earlier, in 1978, Natural resources. It has been sold on eBay for more money than I can afford to spend, but that doesn’t keep me from hoping that I will find this LP one day on a flea market for 1 euro.
Actually I would never pay so much money for an LP, I just want to hear it. LP’s like these are not available on CD. Ronald Snijders released the LP on his private label, and I have no idea what happened to the rights, the master tapes or with Ronald Snijders himself. (I will do a Google search after I finish this story.) The Natural resources LP has an almost mythical status among soul record collectors, which seemed a bit too much to me, based on some of Ronald Snijders’ later recordings that I did heard. His music is more jazz than soul or funk, and I am not a great fan of flute music anyway.
Well, the discovery of the LP Black straight music changed my opinion: it may be more jazz than funk, but on some tracks he is very funky! And man, the way Ronald Snijders plays a flute is beyond category. There are only five songs on the LP, all instrumental and all very exciting. The whole band is from Surinam and they give some songs a real jungle vibe, with weird sound effects and great percussion.
I have never heard a “Dutch” LP like this. It makes me even more curious to know what is on Natural resources. Is that better than what is on this LP?! Oh boy!
Here is one of the best songs on Black straight music, Be funky.