Monokreck describes his style as "open minded house, from glitchy microhouse to deep techno, and all in between". Melting many styles of electronic music together to create a warm atmosphere on the dancefloor.
Kerst is natuurlijk niks zonder een goed diner en een kerstboom! Kerst is niks zonder sneeuw(!), kerst is niks zonder sinterklaas. Maar wat natuurlijk ook niet kan missen om de kerstdagen goed af te sluiten is een dijk :) van een feest.
Soms ben je ergens aan het wandelen en begint het ineens keihard te regenen. Of je wordt achterna gezeten door een groep hondsdolle wezels. Of je loopt heel hard tegen een boom. In deze gevallen is het duidelijk tijd om naar huis te gaan.
Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug are Kraak & Smaak, a Dutch trio championing the sound of funked-up breaks whilst winning acclaim from the likes of Annie Nightingale, Ali B, Lottie, Chris Coco and Laurent Garnier.
Twenty-eight year old Oscar is the main knob twiddler of Kraak & Smaak and has known the other two guys for about 5 years. "We all just met quite randomly," he says. "It was one of those things that you chat about in the pub but things got quite excitable and we actually went through with it."
Studying at the Music Conservatory in Rotterdam, Oscar cites jazz, hip-hop, funk, breakbeat and all experimental music as his main inspirations. "As a student I seem to spend quite a lot of my time locked away listening to music but it's also made me realise that I'm pretty shit hot on the Fender Rhodes too," he smiles. "I think it's this that's made me want to play live a lot more, before there's always been the small technicality of being a student and needing money to do it, but with the new Kraak & Smaak material I've got the perfect vehicle really."
The second member of Kraak & Smaak, Wim Plug has traversed the length and breadth of Holland and found himself up on the decks next to Portishead's unofficial crate-digger Andy Smith, Depth Charge's Saul Kane and drum 'n' bass DJ Aphrodite amongst many others. Adding to Wim's colourful CV is his membership of multimedia turntable orchestra, 'Polyvinyl Big Band' which has performed at various music, film and art festivals, including 2001's Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Wim first met Mark around fifteen years ago and grew up playing out at a lot of the same venues. "We used to bump into each other a lot at the weekends, I suppose we were drawn to each other because of our total obsession with music," says Mark. Mark is also the owner of the biggest independent record shop in Leiden which first opened its doors just over two years ago and between him and Wim they're adamant that they own the largest vinyl collection in Holland. "I'm being serious," says Mark. "I listen to a lot of jazz, funk and hip-hop but I grew up with new wave; and the other week I went to see a huge Kraftwerk concert which was absolutely breathtaking" says Mark. "In my sets I tend to play lots of funky breakbeat, music for the ladies and something that will get them up on the floor," he smiles, "So there isn’t really anything that escapes our radar." As DJ Knuppelhout he has played at all the major venues in the Netherlands and as far away as Belgrade and released a breaks mix cd for legendary Dutch label Fresh Fruit in 1997."
Over in Holland Mark is a bit of an all-round entertainer, "It's quite odd to think but I'm also in one of the biggest pop bands in Holland," he explains. "It's a 70s retro-act called Wipneus & Pim, we do a lot of festival stuff and we've got our own radio show but I keep it totally separate from what I do with Kraak & Smaak, although we did drop a drum 'n' bass remix of one of our chart hits recently, that was quite funny."
So how did this motley Dutch trio hook up with London's funky-breakbeat bandits, Jalapeno Records? "It was a total coincidence we came across Jalapeno," says Mark. "We sent some early tracks in about three years ago, met up and clicked instantly. Jalapeno has kick-started a scene that isn't all about the fit-inducing breaks that you sometimes come across, and so it just seemed an obvious choice." The upcoming album, 'Boogie Angst' shies away from the usual genre definitions of eclectic and lounge that Oscar, Mark and Wim so vehemently defy. "The album fits everywhere," says Wim. "We like to think of it as dance music to listen to."
They didn't originally start off to record an album but after a few EPs such as 'Money in the Bag' which earned them a guest mix on Annie Nightingale's Radio 1 show, the internationally acclaimed 'Keep on Searching' which received radio support from Australia, Spain, the US and Netherlands and with both 'Say Yeah' and 'Set Fire To The Disco' finding fans in Pete Tong, Lottie, Laurent Garnier and XFM amongst others, it became quite an organic affair. With enough tracks having made it past a selection process that usually consisted of late night studio sessions and a good variety of alcohol, 'Boogie Angst' was born.
'Boogie Angst' kicks off by slipping on a 'fro and strutting down the street to the funked up twangs of 'Money in the Bag.' Up against its back is 'One of these Days,' pouring honeyed vocals over looped guitars, spiralling trumpets and brass stabs. The balmy summer house of 'Keep Me Home' takes the dancefloor bounding through dusty woodwind and glimmering strings whilst 'Danse Macabre' opens up to become a downbeat soundscape with hauntingly soft vocals. Next we head towards '5 to 4' which takes on some epic Blade Runner-like stylings with stark mutated echoes and twisting Middle Eastern pipes, before 'Mambo Solitario' curls elegant strings around shuffling samba.
Next up, the guys are going to be spinning alongside the Plump DJ's in Amsterdam and at Bacardi Beats alongside the likes of Dimitri From Paris and King Britt. They've also just finished remix work for Skeewiff, Max Sedgley, Mark Rae and Dutch electro-rock band Mimezine.
Even though 'Boogie Angst' hasn't been released yet the guys are already thinking ahead: "With the next album we're really focusing on more song based tracks," says Wim. "We're looking forward to more collaborations, we really like the idea of getting someone and all battling through the process together to get the final result. Ideally, we'll find the right vocalist and keep them."
Kraak & Smaak release the single 'Money In The Bag' through Jalapeno Records on 6th June, their debut album 'Boogie Angst' will follow 13th June.
Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug are Kraak & Smaak, a Dutch trio championing the sound of funked-up breaks whilst winning acclaim from the likes of Annie Nightingale, Ali B, Lottie, Chris Coco and Laurent Garnier. 
