We are proud to re-release Dudok’s three-track compilation Groeten uit Helversum on Award Winning Records. The album is a stark reminder, casting light on the undercurrents of Hilversum’s overlooked past, and arguably, its present.

This is no nostalgic postcard. Dudok (drawing its name from the celebrated architect Willem Dudok, a formative figure in Hilversum’s urban identity) turns the town itself into volatile, beautiful, and troubled character.

A Trilogy of Unsettling Stories

This release comprises three songs, each plunging into a darker facet of Hilversum’s myths and history:

Fakkel op de Brink (05:39)

A tale told from the vantage point of an entity that kindled fires in the Grote Kerk (the central church). The lyrical voice is sinister, unapologetic — as the flames reveal cracks in piety, memory, and faith. The musical style leans into Scandinavian black metal influences, reimagined through Dudok’s own experimental lens.

De Kermisrellen van 1899 (00:59)

Under a minute but charged with intensity. This track evokes the upheaval of 1899 when Hilversum’s county fair was cancelled by municipal decree — a decision that triggered riots. The piece crackles with urgency, giving sound to a moment when civic order collided with popular outrage.

Groesthoer (01:36)

A darker, grittier piece that personifies Groest — one of Hilversum’s well-known streets — as a seductive prostitute, drawing in passersby to its nocturnal temptations. The tone is heavy, a mixture of sludge, grunge, and metal textures. It’s simultaneously alluring and menacing, playing on the tension between surface glitz and hidden decay.

Recontextualizing Local Identity

Dudok’s approach is unapologetic. Rather than celebrating the town in conventional terms, Groeten uit Helversum interrogates what lies beneath the facades: rumors, fires, unrest, vice. In doing so, it challenges listeners to rethink Hilversum—not as a sanitized, touristic vision, but as a layered, living space with shadows.

Naming the band “Dudok” is itself symbolic: it links the architectural, structural, and cultural identity of the town with the emotional architecture being built in these tracks. The clash is intentional.

The music is not for casual listening — it’s immersive. Dudok blends genres and textures (blackened atmospheres, sludge, ambient drones, gritty metal) to envelop listeners in each narrative. The choice of combining historical themes with aggressive and experimental soundscapes gives Groeten uit Helversum both an edge and a gravitas rarely seen in local-scene releases.

Check out the release, and all relevant information on the Award Winning Records release page: https://awardwinningrecords.com/release/award002-dudok-groeten-uit-helversum/