“Hey Tymen, lift up your computer mouse” Under the mouse lies an LP by Respighi and Rossini, titled La Boutique Fantasque. Up to that point, Rotterdam-based producers Tymen Bergman (36) and Maurits Goossens (35) had been searching for an appropriate name for their music projects. “Later on we changed the name to ‘la Boutique Fantastique’, which sounded better. It’s a very open name and it suggests that anything is possible.”

This anecdote nicely illustrates the way in which la Boutique Fantastique works and their music. Bergman and Goossens know intuitively what they are looking for, and often find it in the unexpected. Whether this is an old record being used as a mouse pad, or the on-going cadence of a carousel that can be heard in the song Round and Round: the idea that anything is possible becomes a reality.

Bergman and Goossens are composers, producers and musicians. Ever since they first met at the end of the last century they have travelled from city to city, as true nomads. Wherever they went, they took along with them their “mobile playground” Studio Nowhere. Time and again this studio was set up and serving as a stable home base. There they recorded music together with family and friends they met along the road.

la Boutique Fantastique’s music is hard to categorize. Film music, soul, chansons, classical music, hip hop, soundscapes: it’s all in there. “We don’t want limit ourselves to a single style of music, even if we could.” Their broad musical registry is probably intrinsic to their broad music taste: Bach, Jacques Brel, James Brown, Pixies, Carlos Gardell, Billie Holiday, David Bowie, Parliament, Funkadelic, Public Enemy, Morphine, Beethoven, Chopin, Moloko, Sonic Youth. “All these people have had, in one way or the other, their influence on our music and our record.”

The eponymous debut by la Boutique Fantastique is the result of years of research into music and the colour of sound.  Thus the samples, synthesizers, turntables, cello, violin and viola, double bass, music box, melodica, concertina, drums, guitar, clarinet, bass clarinet, sopranino, trombone, and alto, baritone and tenor saxophone turn this album into a colourful painting. For their debut album Bergman and Goossens played the majority of the instruments. The remaining instruments were played by guest musicians, some of which also play in the live band.

la Boutique Fantastique is an adventurous record. “We wanted to make an organic and positive record. It had to be boundless and dreamy, but not avant-garde.” Well, they succeeded in that. Opener Le Depart evokes Paris, Texas-like images. It is followed by Schoolyard, in which the sound of playing children can be heard, carefree and happy. In Here Comes we discern people marching and celebrating, urgent and full of nostalgia. After this, Bittersweet drags you into playful hip hop melancholia.  Melodica, strings and a carousel all play a leading role in the mysterious Round and Round. The hardjazz badass attitude of We Will Cook You leads us to the darkest corners of the night, where trombone, tenor sax, samples, violin and musical saw can be heard. Subtle, yet raw. There’s no point in trying to escape from the catchiness of synths, distortion guitar and pumping bass in The Attic. Ever thought you would dance your ass off to an old Christmas carol and a Turkish children’s song? Ya better watch out. Fiery and exhilarating Ispjenzola is all about urgency. Gibberish lyrics, ruthless baritone, clarinet and synths: this is Arabian Nights at an illegal techno party. After this solemn Deserted allows you for some trombone-induced introspection. Floraison, with its beautiful vocals and harmonica, makes you wonder how you ended up at wedding party in rural France. The la Boutique Fantastique feast comes to an end in style with the uplifting soul shuffle of Backdoor Rumble. In this grand finale everything and everybody gather together one more time to close off the musical circle. Just like the child in the middle on the album cover, the listener is left encircled by a musical dream.

Seeing la Boutique Fantastique live is like watching a movie. A movie consists of different scenes that together tell a story:  tense scenes, love scenes, laughing scenes, action scenes. “That’s what we do when we perform live, we tell a story.” Threatening and ominous moments are interspersed with intimate ones, to be followed shortly afterwards by imperative dancing. “And of course we just want to rock. Live we try to convey the same positive energy that the album has.” And that’s exactly what they did during their many gigs at various summer festivals in the Netherlands, among which Into the Great Wide Open, Festival Mundial, Metropolis, Oerol and Lowlands. As of October 2011 la Boutique Fantastique will embark on a club tour that lasts until April 2012, performing at all major venues throughout in the Netherlands.

In addition to their own music, la Boutique Fantastique has recorded music for various theatre shows and documentaries, as well as for TV commercials (Canon EOS, Hornbach) and they have also remixed music by other bands (C-mon and Kypski, Amsterdam Klezmer Band).

la Boutique Fantastique are:

Maurits Goossens
-Cello, Turntables, Melodica, Synths
Tymen Bergman 
-Keys, Synth, Samples, Effects
Jornt Jan Bras (of Boom Boom du Terre) 
-Drums, Samples
Coen Kaldeway
-Alt sax, Bariton sax, Bass clarinet, Clarinet
David Beukers (Mdungu)
-Tenor sax
Kobi Arditi (Kyteman’s Hip-hop Orchestra)
-Trombone
Paul Fitzpatrick (Dean)
-Guitar
Eddie Kuijpers (Barockpuppies)
-Bass, Double bas
Camilla van der Kooij (Kyteman’s Hip-hop Orchestra, Red Limo String Quartet)
-Violin
Sakia Meijs (Barockpuppies)
-Viola
Frank Wienk (Kyteman’s Hip-hop Orchestra, Eefje de Visser, De Avonduren)
-Percussion