No Ninja Am I: Kiss Your Friends Deluxe

Sander van Munster went back to the songs that were recorded during the sessions for Kiss Your Friends, the latest album by his No Ninja Am I project. In hindsight the exclusion of Quand se Couche le Soleil, which is now also released as a single, seemed a bit odd, since it fits the overall mood of the album pretty well.

Kiss Your Friends Deluxe also features the short dreamy instrumental Snooze, acting as a set-up for him being woken up by his daugther in the title track, an alternate take of The Fire is Good, and the instrumental Kiss Your Friends #2,5. The inclusion of the latter is the fourth version of the same song on the album, which might seem overkill, but each one of them can hold its own. Try playing all of them in a row.

No Ninja Am I: Kiss Your Friends

photo: Jaap Scheeren

Nearly two years ago, Sander van Munster released a single, Kiss Your Friends, a track that was supposed the title track of his new album No Ninja Am I project by the end of 2023. It took quite a bit longer than that, but it was worth the wait. Van Munster is quite happy now, as he is surrounded by his family and friends - something he does not take for granted.

His vocals and acoustic guitar are always smack in the middle of the mix, with the other instruments and voices swirling around him. Touching base with folk and pastoral psychedelic pop, the album has a Laurel Canyon vibe that conjures up the warmth of a glorious Spring day in the midst of a rainy day in Winter.

No Ninja Am I: Kiss Your Friends

Dutch indie folk artist Sander van Munster is already working on the follow-up of his Plenty of Blankets album with his No Ninja Am I project. It will be called Kiss Your Friends and the title track is an amalgam of styles, almost a pocket symphony, starting as an acoustic solo track with kids voices in the background urging him to get out of bed, before evolving into a multi-layered, melancholic plea for being nice to your inner circle that could have been recorded during the heyday of the Laurel Canyon scene.

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HCTF's annual list of the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come. As per usual many genres are represented. Here Comes The Flood covers a lot of ground and it shows in this eclectic, final tally.

Today: countdown from number 10 to 6.

Please shop at your local record store. The folks who work there know their stuff. And most of the stores have a pretty good website where you can order your stuff. It might even be cheaper than the big ones on the 'net.

Buy directly from the artist, attend live shows and stop by the merch table. And be sure to tell your friends about that great new act you discovered. Word-of-mouth can't be beat as the prime source to discover new music.

No Ninja Am I: Plenty of Blankets

Sander van Munster project hits the ground running with Next Time Around, the opening track of Plenty of Blankets, the new album by his No Ninja Am I project. Channeling Harry Nilsson (plus a quick reference to the Beatles's Come Together) this is as close as he ever got to being part of the Great American songbook. The hooks, the melody, the arrangements, it's all there. It is followed by the gentle title track, a change of pace about the need to stay close to each other. With this quick one-two Van Munster sets the tone for these new full-length, trying to be an extrovert, but being more comfortable as an introvert.

Van Munster is genuinely worried about the rampant rise of fake news. With Custom Pope he urges the listener to check the facts, like New York Times journalist Michael Barbaro does with his podcast The Daily. It is an album without any weak spots and it's hard to pick a stand-out track, but when push comes to shove it is the sprawling Come Closer - 13 Steps - Good Times (For John), an adventurous amalgam of a '70s inspired songsmith tune giving way to a dreamy bridge for the 13 steps, while being chased by a freak-out guitar, culminating in a Beach Boys sequence. One more then? He added dabs of electronics, plus a hint of jazz and psychedelic pop to Storyline, using tension and release to set the mood for a dreamy tale with his vocals knee-deep in echo.

No Ninja Am I: Storyline

Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I has released Storyline, the third single from his forthcoming album, Plenty of Blankets, due for release on September 8. He added dabs of electronics, plus a hint of jazz and psychedelic pop, using tension and release to set the mood for a dreamy tale. As a singer he never has to speak up to be heard, pulling the listener in into his inner world and serious concerns.

No Ninja Am I: Custom Pope

Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I has released Custom Pope, the second single from his forthcoming album, Plenty of Blankets, due for release in the Spring. He takes it slow, but the lyrics pack a punch. He urges the listener to check the facts, like New York Times journalist Michael Barbaro does with his podcast The Daily. Van Munster never raises his voice, carefully riding the crest of the wave created by the music, with Wubbo Siegers (Novack, Klangstof) once again acting as producer and drummer.

No Ninja Am I: Plenty of Blankets

Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I has finished recorded a new album, Plenty of Blankets, due for release in the Spring. The title track serves as a first taste, a gentle song about the need to stay close to each other. Wubbo Siegers (Novack, Klangstof), who acted as producer, also played the soft-spoken drums, and Coen Hamelink was invited to contribute a short but sweet Flugelhorn solo.

No Ninja Am I: White Lies b/w Playwrights

Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I recorded two new, mostly acoustic, songs in his home studio. White Lies deals with people telling things that aren't true, but it will keep him and his loved ones safe. Playwrights echoes the same sentiment, using fiction as a way to cope with reality. Keeping up appearances is only human and Van Munster urges the listener to give him a break. As long as he does that with his tasteful guitar and spot on vocals he shouldn't be worried. Backing vocals were provided by Gijs Kerkhoven, Rens van den Boogaard and Chris Siegers

No Ninja Am I: If You Want This to Mean Something

photo: Michel Vermeulen

Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I only needed "one take, one mic" to record the four tracks on a single day @ Studio peggy51 for his new If You Want This to Mean Something EP. With only his voice and a guitar Van Munster sings soft-spoken songs about Burmese cats, the intellectually challenged inhabitant of the White House, love, and bluebirds.

This EP is like a house concert, with the artist right in front of the audience. Kudos to Michel Vermeulen who captured it perfectly, handled production, mixing and took the photo that was used for the cover art.

No Ninja Am I & Fusée Dorée: You Are Always Here

Two electronic indie folk acts joined forces for a single. Dutchman Sander van Munster (No Ninja Am I) and French Emmanuelle Ornon (Fusée Dorée) have been discussing writing and performing for years, whenever they bumped into each other in Amsterdam.

You Are Always Here grew out of a couple of beats and a sketch for a melody that Van Munster had created. Ornon said yes and together they wrote a gentle song with intricate harmonies, taking turns at the vocals. Downtempo pop kept together by a rhythm as fine and effective as a gossamer thread.

No Ninja Am I: "Dance Dance" video

Watch the new dreamy No Ninja Am I video for Dance Dance, the standout track from his new We Share a Dream EP. The clip was written & directed by Steef Hupkes and shot by Hjalmar Ilmer. Editor Frits de Beer. Starring: Mandela Wee Wee, Lotte Rischen, Shannon Man and Martin Deelstra.

Live date:

• Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ De Nieuwe Anita

» noninjaami.com

HCTF review of We Share a Dream.

No Ninja Am I: We Share a Dream

photo: Mirjam van der Most

Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I created an intimate and in the moment mood by recording his guitar and vocals in one take. It shines through all the tracks on his new EP We Share a Dream. His less is more approach works best with Swim Another Sea on which he plays a deceptively simple rhythm guitar and added a few swirls of extra guitar.

When he goes for a wider sonic palette his songs gain depth. Coen Hamelink's trumpet and Gijs Kerkhoven's viola Magnolia, but it is Hamelink's inspired Flügelhorn on the exquisite slow song Dance Dance that takes this collection of tender, hopeful songs to the next level. Van Munster is a dreamer and he likes to share them through his music. We Share a Dream does what it says on the tin. Open it and the contents will make the world a better place for as long as the music is playing.

No Ninja Am I: "Perfection" video

Watch the new No Ninja Am I video for Perfection, a track from the Broken Dice EP, featuring footage from the 1939 New York World's Fair. Interpretive dances, a cowboy act and vintage nudity.

» No Ninja Am I on Facebook

HCTF review of Broken Dice.

No Ninja Am I: "Onder Invloed" live videos

No Ninja Am I did an Onder Invloed session when they performed a the Grasnapolsky Festival in Bunnik, The Netherlands. They played Sinking Ship (Balthazar), Junk (Paul McCartney) and Sister Of The Moon. The clips were edited by Matthijs van der Ven.

No Ninja Am I:
Sander van Munster: guitar, vocals
Wubbo Siegers: drums Chris Siegers: bass
Rens van den Boogaard: guitar

» No Ninja Am I on Facebook

HCTF review of Broken Dice.

No Ninja Am I: Broken Dice

No Ninja Am I, a project by Amsterdam based musician Sander van Munster, take the spoken concept to the limit on the new Broken Dice EP. The songs were recorded in his apartment, using an acoustic guitar as his main instrument, with gentle electronics and keyboards contributing to the dreamy atmosphere.

With outside help from friends providing bass, trumpet, viola and electric guitar, Van Munster never raises his voice, demanding silence and undivided attention. He turned the Dutch nursery rhyme Zo Gaat De Molen into an afterhours jazz tune and the treated vocals in the title track make his poetic lyrics ("the crash test dummies turning a blinding eyes") even more compelling. He is a pied piper whose intentions are good. Draw the shades, dim the lights, open a bottle of wine and press play.

Sander van Munster: vocals, guitar
Coen Hamelink: trumpet on 2 & 4
Gijs Kerkhoven: viola on 4 & 5, backing vocals on 5
Rens van en Boogaard: electric guitar on 4 & 5
Chris Siegers: bass on 3

Broken Dice is a self-released EP. Buy it from his website. The CD version also includes the 2013 EP Vegas. Release date: December 12th.

Tracks:

1. As Long As You Like
2. Zo Gaat De Molen
3. Broken Dice
4. Perfection
5. Spin The Wheel
6. Siren Song II

Van Munster is working with a band on a new full-length for 2015.

» No Ninja Am I on Facebook

HCTF review of Hold Still & Watch (w/Sue le Chasseur).

No Ninja Am I & Sue le Chasseur: Hold Still & Watch

Dutch musician No Ninja Am I (Sander van Munster) and photographer Sue le Chasseur (Suzanne de Jager) teamed up for a soft-spoken EP. Hold Still & Watch contains six songs, with a visual companion of girl staring at the listener from beneath the water.

Multi-instrumentalist Van Munster made a name for himself in the Dutch indie underground, mixing acoustic guitar and piano with electronic tidbits. Hold Still & Watch has his subdued vocals upfront, a poet singing about his dreams and nightmares. Although all the tracks are rather short, each of them tells a full story, even when he skips lyrics all together and settles for humming in Marigold. No Ninja Am I is the missing link between Barrett-era Pink Floyd and Nick Drake. Recommended if you like Jacco Gardner and I am Oak.

Hold Still & Watch is a self-released EP. Buy it from their website. The limited CD edition (120 copies) comes in a handmade cover with all six photos plus one enlarged 12"x 12 print (20 copies of each one).

Tracks:

1. Muddy Water
2. When You Are Here
3. Loadstar
4. Smash the Clock
5. Marigold
6. No Rain

An alternate take of No Rain, with Lotte van Diepen on vocals and Rens van den Boogaard on guitar, can be downloaded for free from Soundcloud

» noninjaami.com
» Suzanne de Jager on Facebook