We’re thrilled that we’ve managed to secure Goldband for track nine of View the Mauritshuis with your ears. A collaboration between a Hague band and a Hague museum... what could be better? As it’s our anniversary year, we’re secretly hoping that they’ll tear the roof off with their new song. One painting, one act, one great song. In View the Mauritshuis with your ears, we’ve asked musicians to write a song inspired by a work in our collection.
One painting, one act, one great song. In View the Mauritshuis with your ears, we’ve asked musicians to write a song inspired by a work in our collection.
Goldband’s selection
Goldband immediately hit on their choice when they saw Brueghel the Elder and Rottenhammer’s Christ’s Descent into Limbo. They didn’t need to look any further: this was the one! It appealed to them precisely because they could go off in all directions with it: there’s chaos, light, shade, dancing, crying and joy. Essentially how Goldband describe themselves.
Thousands of people already went wild for the song when the band debuted it at the Paaspop festival. And there was plenty of dancing in Haarlem, Groningen and Schijndel too! The music video is released on 12 May, when finally everyone will be able to hear the track.
About Goldband
The pop band from The Hague is made up of Boaz Kok, Karel Gerlach and Milo Driessen. In 2019, these singing plasterers came out of nowhere to storm the Dutch charts. Their debut EP and much talked-of performances at the Wildeburg and Lowlands festivals were not to be missed. Goldband quickly won the hearts of Dutch and Belgian fans. They are known for their swaggering electronic pop sound and stand-out live performances.
The name Goldband is significant, and is taken from the gypsum plaster of the same name. It’s a reference to their fathers’ professions and something that the band members grew up with. The musical trio has released two EPs and their official debut album ‘Betaalbare Romantiek’ was released on 15 August 2021. The previous summer they were named 3FM Talent by Dutch radio station 3FM, and recently they scored not one, but two 3FM Awards for Best Group and Best Album (okay, they were nominated for Best Song too). Make no mistake: there’s no escaping them!
Their track for View the Mauritshuis with your ears is released on 12 May. Keep up to date about it via our social media channels.
The story behind Christ’s Descent into Limbo
There’s a lot going on in this painting. To cut a long story short: after his death, Jesus descended to the underworld to free Adam and Eve and all the other innocent souls and take them up to heaven. This descent is painted here by Brueghel the Elder and Rottenhammer. Some of these souls have been waiting in this gruesome purgatory for centuries, unable to enter heaven or hell. Trapped in the waiting room of a nightmare.
The two artists often worked together; for this painting, Rottenhammer got the ball rolling. He began by painting details including Jesus with Adam and Eve. Only then did Brueghel the Elder add the infernal landscape with scary monsters and demons.
