: Henk is the first name of singer and guitarist Hofstede from the Nits. When you look at this cover, you might initially think: 'Strange, naming an album after a Christian name.' A case of narcissism? Nothing can be further from the truth, because if you look closely at the cover you will see composite images of the three band members of the Nits. As you used to see from those composite images of criminals that were taken by the police. The idea came from keyboardist Robert Jan Stips. The Nits were wildly popular in Finland in the 1980s. Stips saw '12 Henk' written on an elevator door. Henk turned out to be the abbreviation of Henkilo, which means person in Finnish. (It also explains why another album from the Nits is called "Kilo"). Stips thought a composite image was symbolic. The very moment Robert Jan Stips, drummer Rob Kloet and Henk Hofstede start making music, they merge into one person. A nod or a wink is sufficient to start a song, that much well attuned they are to each other. No counting down by the drummer with his drumsticks before a song. That's just nonsense according to Stips. Henk Hofstede developed Robert Jan Stips' idea with photomontages. On the back of the cover you'll find the original photos of the band members and on the inside of the gatefold sleeve two other composite images of band members. Subtly conceived and a genuine Nits cover as far as I'm concerned. It has to do with the concept of identity. What exactly does identity mean? Is everyone a truly unique person or is your ego intertwined with all kinds of other personalities? I sometimes have those moments when I brush my teeth. I look in the mirror and then suddenly I wonder, 'Who is that person I see in front of me? An amalgamation of my father, my son, and a good friend?' Images are intertwined. Until the toothpaste drips from my mouth onto my freshly ironed shirt. The covers and lyrics by Henk Hofstede for me are a genuine addition to the music of the Nits. His humorous fantasies, his touching, real or fictional, childhood memories and these idiosyncratic angles. Like on this particular album. A man goes out on a bicycle ride, a boy who dreams of an adventurous sea voyage, a gas station attendant who seems to have walked right out of an Edward Hopper painting, a singing telegram man, or someone who experiences linear reality the other way round. Lyrics that seem to lift you above reality, which is quite a pleasant experience. "Henk" is considered to be one of the best studio albums by the Nits. Three years after their highlight "Omsk", they recorded this album which is constructed through the use of samples and surrealistic sounds. 'Port of Amsterdam' and 'Bike in Head' are excellent examples. But fair is fair. Actually, the rendition of a number of songs from this album on the live album "Urk" are even more beautiful. As with many bands, the music of the Nits sounds more loose, more spontaneous, less artificial than in the studio. So glad we have live albums. And even better, that we have live shows: tomorrow Henk will play with Robert Jan and Rob at De Boerderij. I am very much looking forward to this. And I do not rule out the possibility that the entire venue will then merge into one Henk." By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink Thanks to Henk Hofstede Translation Alex Driessen