Today, Dutch Experts shares the first single, “MORRÍGU,” from the forthcoming Bound By This EP. Listen to it here.

Dutch Experts was born out of the Covid Pandemic from the ashes of singer-songwriter Hannah Hoffman’s former dream-pop band, Dune Hunter. Faced with long-Covid symptoms and the crumbling of societal infrastructure, Hoffman turned one of her lowest and most challenging points into a revitalization of her approach to music.

Experimenting with layering synths and electronic drum beats, Hoffman created a sonic landscape that bore the fruits of Dutch Experts. This sonic approach served as an escape from the chaos while subsequently spawning the creation of her debut. The process became both an ego-shattering catharsis, a celebration of devoting oneself to the creative process, and an exploration of Hoffman’s capabilities as a songwriter. 

Inspired by her personal challenges, in awe of the gothic landscape built by The Cure, and informed by melodic choices made by Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins, Hoffman locked into a sound that became uniquely modern yet captured an ’80s sonic sensibility: synth pop with a darkwave edge. Undulating synths driven by chorus-laden bass and danceable drum beats, pair with Hoffman’s euphonious soprano, and pay homage to an aesthetic gone by. 

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mikey Allred (All Them Witches, Inter Arma), Dutch Experts’ debut EP, Bound By This sees releases digitally February 24, 2023, with a vinyl release to follow.

“I spent the last few years feeling pretty isolated, as many of us can relate to,” Hoffman says. “I feel like this EP is, in many ways, a return to myself after years of trying to find out who that person was.

“The first single, ‘MORRÍGU’ is about the Celtic Goddess of War and Death of the same name,” she says. “Although a pretty fantastical subject matter, the Morrígu served as an icon for me during these really dark times. She’s a shapeshifter who can predict the fate of warriors in battle, and is associated with life and death cycles. I really felt like the Covid pandemic killed off a piece of me. It was in those darkest moments that I connected to the creation of this music and was able to find new life in its process.”

Upcoming Shows:
March 19, The Stone Church, Brattleboro, Vermont, Bound By This EP Release Party
Full lineup TBA

Photo by Josh Steele