Love, Peace And Petrol Bombs

When Team Hot Press descended on Groningen in January for Eurosonic we were fortunate enough to have as our tour guide Richard Bolhuis, the House Of Cosy Cushions majordomo who, after spells in Dublin and Amsterdam, now calls the rural Dutch backwater ‘home’.

We’d always thought of Groningen as being a rather conservative clogs ‘n’ aprons sort of a place but, nope, turns out it’s a veritable hotbed of revolutionary fervour.
“Going back to my grandad’s time, the north-east of Holland has a reputation for being extremely left-wing,” Richard explains over a cup of weapons-grade strength coffee. “People round here were known as ‘the red guys’! The area’s not as poor as it used to be, but Groningen still has that communist vibe.”
And a shitload of really great venues.
“That’s because there are 50,000 or 60,000 students at the university here,” he explains. “My favourite is a place called Vera, which often puts on shows knowing that they won’t make money. They do up these brilliant screen-print posters for all the bands and at the end of the night give you a CD of your gig.”
Vera also provided the loft-space, which acted as John Peel’s makeshift studio when he used to broadcast his BBC Radio One show live from Eurosonic. Along with orthodox venues like Vera, Richard and the House Of Cosy Cushion are partial to playing in squats.
“Those are the places where as a musician I feel the most at ease,” he enthuses. “There’s no promotion as such – the people living there just invite their friends who invite their friends and so on. The set-up in some cases is really rough, but there’s always a vibe. The new government, which is the most right-wing one Holland’s ever had, are trying to close the squats down but they’re not going to go without a fight!”
The “love, peace and petrol bombs!” graffiti spray-painted all over Amsterdam would suggest that he’s right.
House Of Cosy Cushions’ refusal to conform to rock ‘n’ roll orthodoxy extends to how they make their records.
“I have a little Phillips tape-deck that I’ve been recording on since I was 14. It’s just cassettes but the sound is amazing. I mainly work with a guy called John Haggis who’s made a dozen of my favourite Irish albums, so we’re pretty self-contained.”
If you’ve got Richard pegged as a member of the lo-fi bedroom brigade, think again. His current Animal Dream album, which includes a beguiling guest appearance from old friend Cathy Davey, is a warm and at times lush affair redolent of another pal of his, Conor J O’Brien.
“Cathy and the Villagers both having No 1 albums in Ireland – it’s unbelievable and proof that you don’t have to compromise to be successful.”
I couldn’t have put it better myself!

House Of Cosy Cushions play Debarra’s, Clonakilty (March 25); Crane Lane, Cork (26); The Joinery, Dublin (31); and Phil Grimes, Waterford (April 1). You can also view Richard’s art at www.richardbolhuis.com.