
Van God Los
Monza
- LP
- Label
- Concha
- Expected release
- 27 March 2026
In 2026, it will be twenty-five years since the band Monza released the first of three CDs. "Van God Los" was the title, the same as the very first single (released on March 10, 2001) from both the group and their debut album. That album contained four singles, each of which received considerable airplay: "Van God Los" itself, "De Stad Kan Zo Koud Zijn," "Naïviteit," and "De Ogen Van Jenny," all of which also had music videos. A near-negotiable back then, even in the pre-YouTube and TikTok era.
The first Monza lineup—later joined by others—proved to be a strong lineup: besides singer/songwriter Stijn Meuris (formerly of Noordkaap), drummer Mario Goossens (see also Noordkaap, Triggerfinger, Hooverphonic, Sloper, and Bazart), guitarist Piet De Pessemier (LeNoise, Mad About Mountains, and Krakow, among others), keyboardist David Poltrock (Hooverphonic, De Mens, own albums, soundtracks, and production work, among others), and jazz bassist Bart Zegers, who died young in Paris, were all working hard to make the group a unique Dutch-language band. This translated into incredibly intense live concerts with an atmosphere and musicality that are hard to compare, both then and now.
Monza called it quits after three CDs ('Van God Los' 2001, 'Grand' 2005, and 'Attica!' 2008) and over a hundred shows, partly because the individual members were busy with all sorts of other bands and projects. And also because a series of ambitious concerts in a traveling circus tent proved financially burdensome… How do these things go?
But that first album still bothered me – and the single 'Van God Los' took on a life of its own. Call it a classic, played by both Noordkaap in their reunion series and by Bazart, but also held up in completely different versions. A quote from Stijn Meuris in that regard: "Play that song backwards on a pan flute and you'll still be belting it out…"
Let's definitely not try that.