Tingle In The Netherlands is an electro-pop collaboration between poet Helên Thomas and electronic musician Owen J based in Manchester UK. We have been creating music together since 2009. Although we have performed at Ste McCabe’s Pussywhipped event in Manchester, we consider ourselves to be a studio band so currently do not have any plans to perform live.
Musically, others have described our sound as being reminiscent of bands such as Kraftwerk, Ladytron, Chris & Cosey, Severed Heads, Soft Cell, Human League and Vince Clarke. These comparisons reflect many of Owen’s musical influences which would also include bands such as Liaisons Dangereuses, Tuxedomoon, Danielle Dax and YMO. While Owen creates the majority of the music Helên provides most, but not all, of the lyrics as well as contributing some vocal melodies.
Our eclectic sound has led to us being played at numerous events and clubs including Club Lash and Analogue Trash at Legends, Manchester; Bed Supperclub Bangkok; The Whitby Goth Weekend and numerous clubs in London, Berlin and Tokyo. We have been played on the radio in the US and Argentina; on Dandelion Radio in the UK; RKC Radio online; local radio in Essex and Manchester and have been asked to create a mix for The Garden of Earthly Delights on CRMK Radio.
Our first EP, ‘Prostitute's Handbag’ was released in 2010 and included a remix, by Atomizer, of the title track. ‘Prostitute's Handbag’ reached number 11 in the Dandelion Radio Festive Fifty 2010, receiving votes for the original version and the Atomizer remix. In February 2013 our debut album ‘Why Can’t You Write Something Nice For A Change?’ was released on the Nerve Echo label.
"The album's a joy from start to finish, all delivered via Owen's brilliantly understated and yet somehow subversive synthesiser parts and overlaid with Helen's enticing enunciation of subject matter that moves from the provocative to the beautifully disgusting with appealing ease. It's an early contender for one of the releases of the year - don't miss it. "
- Mark Whitby, Dandelion Radio DJ, Unwashed Territories Blog (Feb 02, 2013)
"Tingle In The Netherlands has the 80s dry-ice-euro-disco-gloss of a Pet Shop Boys / Giorgio Moroder team up with lyrical inspiration from Christopher Isherwood"
- Dave Collins, Level 4 Magazine.
"Tingle in the Netherlands have certainly struck gold here with an album that is a real electro-pop sensation(!) and one that will garner the duo many new fans."
- Rik Wolters, The Sound Project (Feb 25, 2013)
Eclectic, tongue-in-cheek, somewhat sleazy, definitely game-changing, Tingle in the Netherlands are a band to keep an eye on."
- Dave Beech, Life's a Beech Blog (Mar 19, 2013)
"Their new album released earlier this month on Nerve Echo is one of the cheekiest records released this or any year, ever!"
- Head Gardener aka Shane Quentin, The Garden of Earthly Delights (Mar 29, 2013)
"Music that can make you laugh, feel sad and cringe in the space of minutes...this is one tightly produced set of tracks, with clever, precise lyrics..."
- Steve Sharman aka CrustyToon, Indie Dunes Blog (Jan 25, 2013)
"think discarded pet shop boys lyrics found in a dark room produced by anne clark (if she actually had a sense of humour.)"
- stellavista.tumblr.com
"Cool, atmospheric, witty, clever, poetic, funny and demented. This is definitely an EP you ought to check out if you like Erasure, Kraftwerk, New Order, Yazoo and others. It’s tons of fun with no doom and gloom or heavy preachy lyrics."
- Alannah Murphy, In the Night (Sep 03, 2012)
