Kaas FM

Nobody wants to talk about it, but I have to bring it up - the year 2020 and the “unprecedented” event which locked us all inside. Less than a year before, I was living in Romania crossing my fingers that I’d be accepted to study abroad. I could only dream of all the bands I would finally see live; all my favourite artists whose world tours never included Eastern Europe. And there I was, in the Netherlands, living 10 minutes away from a venue that would be closed for two years except for the occasional sit-down concert.

Thankfully this ended up being a happy story, as the endless days spent scrolling online connected me to the world of internet radio. I never thought that making radio could be so accessible and the community around it so welcoming. This is when my playlists started to be curated around specific themes, exploring potential radio shows I could one day host - and one such playlist was called Dutch Dream. It only contained music from artists based in the Netherlands, in an attempt to discover and connect to the music that was local to me. My longing for the world tours of foreign artists transformed into a newfound appreciation for the Dutch music scene. Looking back, the “dutch dream” became reality as this playlist grew to include around 600 songs and later took the name of Kaas FM.

There are so many events that shaped the inception of Kaas FM - my internships at radio stations throughout the Netherlands; learning to use a CDJ live on air; the lockdown opening just enough to let the local bands play; the post-gig dinners at snack bars, learning the difference between a frikandel and a viandel. And finally, my graduation - when I decided to turn my Dutch music playlist and experience from radio stations into a project that would show my respect, admiration and hope for the Dutch music scene.

Perhaps it’s a long introduction, but one that includes some of the unexpected snowballs that rolled together into this one big project. Today, Kaas FM is more than an ever-growing playlist - it’s an online radio station that lives on its own website modelled after a snack bar. I’m playing only music from The Netherlands and my sonic database grows with each new artist I discover, whether it’s a young high school band or a hidden gem from the 70s. At the same time, I want to explore beyond my own taste so I often invite guests to curate shows, or to have discussions about the Dutch musical landscape. Everything I do serves the bigger goal of giving back to the local music community which has been welcoming me so kindly for all these years. Simultaneously I want to share this valuable sonic treasure and connect the local artists with a potential international audience.