Something was brooding in the furthest outskirts of Amsterdam. The isolated concrete suburbs of the western part of the city constituted the ideal dwelling place for the writing of De Ambassade’s debut album Duistre Kamers.
Pascal Pinkert, accompanied by bass player Timothy Francis, searched for new horizons and managed to find them on this next chapter in the evolution of De Ambassade. Icy electronics display a love for NDW, ragas and raves. Beneath the surface lies a deeper Dutch language narrative celebrating free speech and thought, starkly in opposition with a world where alienation and solitude create ever more distance between all beings.
After releasing two, by now classic 7″ ep’s, a long player will shine brightly. The album release will feature a long awaited live performance with additional band member Aniek.
Producer – Pascal Pinkert
Music & Vocals – Pascal Pinkert
Bass, Sitar – Timothy Francis
Mastered by Ruud Lekx
Listen / Purchase
Reviews
Three years after his arresting first release for Knekelhuis, “Wat Voel Je Nou, soon followed by the equally tasteful ‘Verloren’7” in 2017, Pascal Pinkert puts on his De Ambassade guise again with ‘Duistre Kamers’, taking his retro-laced, eerie synth pop blends into full-length grounds for the first time. Accompanied by Timothy Francis on bass, Pinkert has cut and polished what – we’ll dare taking the bets here – will undoubtedly sit as one of this year’s finest debut albums, hands down.
Best example of De Ambassade’s idiosyncratic take at a “deeper Dutch language narrative celebrating free speech and thought” as the label very wisely notices, the title-track ‘Duistre Kamers’, which also opens the LP, sails us off to a realm of velveteen warmth and subdued basement atmospherics; its weathered guitar riffs, percs and FX-altered vocals set deep into woozy textural folds and layers, as the bass and synths wash over in pleasurably penetrating onslaughts. Mad good.
Inverted Audio
The long-awaited debut album “Duistre Kamers” by De Ambassade a.k.a. Pascal Pinkert and bass-player Timothy Francis are responsible for the DIY eighties wave sound that has become integral to the bands identity. The album is perfect to sit in and listen to on a rainy day, dance to in the blazing sun and most of the inbetween. After releasing two 7” EPs that are already Dutch classics, a longer dose of icy electronics and clever Dutch narrative that makes it feel like a local treasure, is exactly what we needed.
Peripheral Minimal