THE SPACE LADY (us) + BERT SCHOLTEN
The Space Lady
Described as the “interstellar matriarch of outsider music” (Bandcamp), The Space Lady is beaming down on Dutch clay soil to perform her ethereal, Casio-driven pop songs across a series of intimate concerts.
The Space Lady’s story began on the bustling streets of late-70s Boston, where her performances—featuring an accordion and her iconic winged helmet—captivated audiences with her otherworldly interpretations of contemporary hits. Following the theft and destruction of her accordion, The Space Lady acquired a Casio keyboard equipped with a phase shifter, drum machine, and headset mic—an event that drastically changed her sound and led to the pioneering of the cosmic, synth-driven style that has inspired and mesmerised generations of listeners and underground artists ever since.
Setting the Casio aside in 2000 for retirement, The Space Lady experienced a renaissance in the early 2010s, following inclusions on compilations by John Maus, Erol Alkan, and Irwin Chusid‘s Songs In The Key of Z, as well as features in NME‘s 101 Albums To Hear Before You Die and The Guardian‘s The 101 Strangest Records on Spotify.
Her legend continues to burn brightly, with recent performances at Mosswood Meltdown in California (where she was given a glowing introduction by John Waters), as well as performances at Desert Daze (US), Valkhof Festival (Netherlands) and Pohoda Festival (Slovakia), sharing stages with the likes of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, B-52’s, Perfume Genius and so forth.
RIYL: Broadcast, outsiders, Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Knife, Kraftwerk, Joe Meek, Moondog, Laurie Anderson, Delia Derbyshire, lo-fi pop, Laraaji, psychedelic pop, sci-fi, Dr Who, Suzanne Ciani, Breadwoman.
FAR OFF SOUNDS – The Space LadyDon’t miss this opportunity to see a seminal, musical maverick live in concert!
BERT SCHOLTEN (NL)
Bert Scholten is often called a contemporary troubadour, fascinated as he is by the tradition of spreading stories via song. Scholten’s songs, with titles as ‘De Paardenmishandelaar’ (The Horse Abuser), ‘De Gefrustreerde Metropolitaan’ (The Frustrated Metropolitan) or ‘Mina Koes’, find their origin in old folk stories or local news items, often from the Northern Netherlands. Scholten investigates these stories of which there are often different versions. They evolve into songs that make him sound sometimes like the Dutch reincarnation of Daniel Johnston, with minimal instrumentation. Or they are recited as a sort of internal monologues, like mini radioplays.
“Hond Geworden” / “Became Dog”
On his third album ‘Hond Geworden’, Bert Scholten continues where he left off with ‘Dat Speelt Hier Niet’ (2023), creating songs about the speculaas woodcut set to erratic electronic compositions. Exploring these local Dutch traditions through exhibitions, videos, and songs, he transforms the archaic from quietly ours to something peculiarly present. The talk-singing of ‘Dat Speelt Hier Niet’ has shifted into singing. ‘Hond geworden’ (‘Became Dog’) marks a more personal and intimate approach. Synths are combined with explorative drumming and vibraphone, injecting the electronic sounds with physical energy.
Scholten has a background in garage punk bands, DIY experimental music and performance art, but is often called a modern-day troubadour.
Release date: Friday May 30th 2025.
The album is released as an LP+book and as a book folded into the LP jacket. The book contains photographs and drawings from exhibitions and performances in Haus der Kunst Munich, the Fries Museum, Tent Rotterdam and de Lakenhal.
File under: electronic songs, Dutch folk, cultural language, heritage, performance art.
