Biography

From 1988 to 1995 powerful trio from Amsterdam, Sjako! toured the Dutch pop/rock circuit to great acclaim. Internationally the band showcased on The New Music Seminar in New York, the Berlin Independent Days (Germany), The EU Festival in Cork (Ireland) and the Popkomm in Cologne (Germany). Sjako! did a full set at the Roskilde Festival (Denmark). From 1996 on the band recorded and toured as a five-piece band ending in 2020 when Covid paralyzed the circuit. By the time “live concerts in front of real people” were made possible again, the three men of the original trio line-up decided it was time to get together and see if the trinity still has its magic and eletricity. Also by that time the Haarlem based recordshop and label Sounds Haarlem Likes Vinyl suggested to put together a ‘Best of Sjako!’ double-LP. As a result the choice of songs for this album consists of those from the trio era ’88-’95. In 2023 Sjako! did a short tour (BackToTrio) in sold-out venues at which they were last spotted more than 30 years ago. The fans were still there too and some of them even brought along their daughters and sons. Jaap J. Vrenegoor – drums
Thijs Vermeulen – bass
Wouter Planteijdt – guitar & vocals The trio is working on new songs and instrumentals and plan to release a full album in April 2024. www.sjako.eu