Maxazine Presents: NITS Essentials (curated by Henk Hofstede)

NITS can be, with the necessary reverence, labelled as the ’eminence grise’ of Dutch pop music. For more than four decades now, the band has managed to attract a huge crowd of national and international fans, and they still manage to amaze us, move us, touch us and sometimes even leave us confused with every new work. Exactly what art with a capital K should do. NITS are idiosyncratic and opinionated, averse to what commerce dictates or hypes dictate, they do their own thing all the time, and that is still highly appreciated.

Their latest masterpiece “Knot” dates from 2019. Their planned spring tour in 2022 could coincidentally coincide with the release of a new album, the recording of which has now been completed. With their extensive oeuvre, it was time we asked the band themselves what they think are the most important recordings from their work. Not the well-known songs, no “greatest hits,” but which songs would the band put together themselves if the intention is to give someone who does not know NITS, a good idea of what the band stands for.

Maxazine asked this question to NITS frontman Henk Hofstede, who saw a challenge in compiling this list. Henk has taken it seriously, because although he was going to do it ‘for relaxation’, the list has become truly magnificent, spanning the entire career of the band.

The list is characterized by Henk Hofstede as the ‘turning points in our studio recordings and compositions’. With much pride, Maxazine presents: NITS Essentials, curated by Henk Hofstede.