In Brown Shoes: Walking in Nits History.

On the eve of Henk Hofstede’s seventieth birthday.

The passing of time is a curious thing. Most living creatures on earth are not concerned by it, not even those who sing from trees, like birds on a wire. But one boy in a tree is: his name is Henk Hofstede. And by extension, Nits are too. As provident phenomenologists of the art of music, they have always been preoccupied with the passing of time. They must have decided long ago that they would be historiographers at least of their own life times. Or perhaps it all happened naturally, like real history does. After almost 50 years of musical history recording, they have firmly established a Nits tradition which is a very personal construction of what they consider as their very own creative life experiences past and present, which they constantly carry with them through all their albums, preserve and renew tirelessly. They are quite a unique case in pop history offering a whole lifetime of ever continuing musical storytelling which makes their music feel both so lifelike and intimate at the same time. Music as it is happening. A chronicle of the freshness of the air, the wind, the water, the colours of a Northern European city, dwelling in time. You can hear through the musical lines that Henk Hofstede always carries a camera with him; as he moves through life, the eyes of the camera register, the sound tape is constantly rolling. Patience and craftsmanship do the rest. “And all I hear is the wind in the leaves…”, the boy thinks…

I lived in Amsterdam for a short time. And being there, – listening to Nits in our tiny flat in the Old South of the city and while walking the streets, breathing the air – has since then remained one of the most intense and elating experiences of my life. Although it was just a simple case of being at a place of musical being-in-time which by chance coincided with my own very personal history. In winter time this moment sounds like this: “Your sister, in brown shoes, walking down the street, as it begins to snow”… These lines still send shivers down my spine, a scene awash with such beauty and melancholy, the colour of the shoes imbue the whole street with brownness, the soft pace of time slowly progressing as footsteps on a snow covered road. It’s like a picture to me that I can see clearly in front of my eyes, even though it was never painted. And I was there. In a painting with music, but it was all real. Listen how time is passing with the smooth strides of two skaters on a frozen river, till one of them fell on the ground. The eerie, transcendent presence of the guitars of Henk and Joke, the enigmatic suspense of the percussion of Rob, the brilliant scenography with its slightly sinister and vast sounds by Robert Jan, all mimicking the passing of another day, another year, another era into oblivion. The beauty of moments on the brink of disappearing into eternity. Listen to the beginning of this song: it’s as if God created the world in four days and then the boy starts to sing.

Sketches of a particular place at a particular time, that is what Nits have always excelled at. Their music has this exceptional capacity of bringing forth the uniqueness of moments that make up a life, seizing the mystery and wonder of the inexplicability of all that happens. And I don’t even own a pair of brown shoes…

“Two Skaters”, this gorgeous winter song framed by its ominous edges, featuring a gun, snow and ice cream and peeling walls, is so typical of the Nits mystery where the world becomes a musical picture or a cinematic music sequence. Over the years the music has grown, weaving itself into our present as it becomes past. And as a result, all who listen to their music, have compiled themselves a marvellously detailed album with musical photographs to look back on, to relive through all these momentous songs that we take with us into our future.

When I think back on the early days when I first discovered Nits on the radio in my bathroom as a student, it is always with a profound sense of melancholy mixed with joy. I had no idea then what this music would come to mean to me as my life progressed. I think of the young Nits and their music as the start of an iconic sample of adventure, musically, artistically and geographically – the boy with his knapsack and camera travelling the world, looking round and round – a sweet, almost fairytale world that I firmly hold on to and hope will never cease to be. I remember all the places I lived, the circumstances of my life with each album I discovered. In more than one way Nits capture the uniqueness of life, of their lives, both in musical ideas and lyrical observations.

I would like to thank you, dear Henk, for this ongoing, most wonderful achievement and wish you a very happy birthday!

Joke Roelandt, September 2021