A Nits Character Speaks

I am a little penguin. I don’t know how I got here on the cover of a wintery Nits song (Wish/Bing Crosby’s On The Radio) bringing good wishes to the friends of this beloved band, but I’m very happy and honoured to be here on this white background, probably symbolising a winter landscape. It’s quiet here and I like that. I suppose Nits (or their friends) must love me a lot to make me the centre of attention on one of their covers. I also featured in one of their songs – a long time ago – with my old friend Pelican – who, by the way, got to be on a cover too, the Alankomaat one, if I remember correctly, he was so proud. Nits have always had a tenderness for nature and its small creatures – big ones too for that matter, I heard that they once made a trip to spot some whales in Tadoussac, some magical place I gather, up north. I like that. It’s such a privilege to dwell in their sweet world of blue skies and water, wintery white ice and snow, with birds singing everywhere from trees.There even was a dA dA dA single cover that had a large ladybug on it in full colour which really made her stand out – but I like my minimalist portrait too, in simple black and white… (which reminds me of another splendid black-and-white cover where the singer of the band is beating the big drum that is like the sun in an otherwise dark photograph). dA dA dA, the album, also had a bird, duck and butterfly on it, as part of an old wooden children’s toy a band member once had bought in some far away European country. Nits are so special in this way. They like the beauty of the world as it is.

And then sometimes the lyricist – who also happens to draw and paint – makes the weirdest associations with things like trees and houses and rivers. I saw this cute painting where a boy lived in a little house built inside the trunk of a tree, as if the boy wanted to be a bird, seeking refuge in the world of nature. And there was a river of sugar where the water was so sweet, can you believe that? Not to mention the chocolate river where a blue canoe once made its way in a distant past. All these memories in beautiful colours that the lyricist of my band knows so well how to draw. It seems he likes art just as much as he likes nature and I think that’s such a wonderful combination, to try and stay true to both – the sign of a true artist in my humble opinion, I wish more people were like that. Especially in our times… Things don’t need to be complicated, fancy or flashy in order to be valuable. That’s what I like so much about my band.

Do you know the song Jisp? It’s on Strawberry Wood – a lovely forest where you can pick the juiciest berries. But it’s probably a bit too hot out there for me. But when I hear the song about the blue skies, so airy and fresh, I’d really love to spend a day there sometime, close to the water – I like to swim too – or hiding in the reeds, a shirt waving in a distant meadow, and perhaps seeing a rowing boat pass by moving with the rhythm of nature surrounding it. Their drummer loves the water too you know – he is a decent rower (it is said he rowed a boat all through the Dutch mountains), and a sailor as I’ve heard…

Or if I can’t go to Jisp, maybe the singer can come and see me. I know it can be a little cold here, but I also know for sure he owns some very warm yellow socks and a grey sweater knitted by his grandma – he has been singing about it a lot a few years ago – , so no excuses there. This Nits universe really provides anything you could need… And there are the tiniest, almost inaudible sounds like raindrops tingtinging on the water and the softest fantasy sounds; especially this very handy one behind the keyboards knows how to bring out the wonder of sound, like ripples on the water. I can listen to it all day, my world became almost like a fairytale you can read in one of those beautiful old-fashioned Penguin books…

Dear Pelican, won’t you come out to play?

Look around around…

Joke Roelandt, June 2023