Ekseption
Ekseption was a symphonic rock formation from the Netherlands. The group existed from 1967 to 1975, after which it was sporadically revived several times with different line-ups until 1989. The band played mainly new interpretations of classical works and is best known for an arrangement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony .
history
Ekseption emerged from the school band The Jokers , which was founded in 1958 by the Dutch trumpeter Rein van den Broek (1945-2015, father of Marlayne ). After renaming to Incrowd (based on a song by Ramsey Lewis ), they changed their name to Ekseption in 1967.
Originally the band played a mixture of jazz , pop and R&B , but in 1969, shortly after keyboardist Rick van der Linden (1946-2006) joined the band, they were so impressed by a performance by the English rock band The Nice that they were under the lead von van der Linden changed their style in the direction of Progressive / Symphonic Rock, mainly offering modern reinterpretations of classical works. The first LP Ekseption , released in 1969, was in this style. Most of the later albums contain both original compositions and newly interpreted classical pieces.
Van der Linden de facto quickly took over the leadership of the group, and in an interview in 1972 he communicated this openly. After the release of the album Trinity in 1973, he was asked by his bandmates to leave the group; in the fall of the same year he formed a new band called Trace . He was replaced by the Dutch keyboardist Hans Jansen. Jansen took the band in a more jazzy direction; two LPs with original compositions have been released. Because of their moderate sales, the band broke up in 1976. Later that year, an offshoot called Spin was formed, which released two more albums, but these too remained largely unsuccessful. In 1978 Trace and Spin reunited to form Ekseption. Up until van der Linden's death in 2006 there were several reunions, some with new members.
Founding members
- Rein van den Broek (trumpet) (only permanent member)
- Rick van der Linden (piano, organ) (1969–1973, 1978–1981)
- Rob Kruisman (saxophone, flute, vocals) (1969)
- Huib van Kampen (guitar, saxophone) (1969)
- Cor Dekker (bass) (1969-1975)
- Peter de Leeuwe (drums, vocals) (1969, 1971–1972)
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 NL
|
|||
| 1969 | Ekseption | - |
NL2 (16 weeks) NL |
|
| 1970 | Beggar Julia's Time Trip | - |
NL3 (11 weeks) NL |
|
| Ekseption 3 |
DE44 (1 week) DE |
NL1 (15 weeks) NL |
||
| 1971 | 04.00 |
DE35 (5 weeks) DE |
NL1 (6 weeks) NL |
|
| 1972 | Ekseption 5 |
DE7 (14 weeks) DE |
- | |
| 1973 | Trinity |
DE14 (4 weeks) DE |
- | |
| 1978 | Ekseption '78 | - |
NL47 (1 week) NL |
|
| 1989 | Ekseption '89 | - |
NL83 (3 weeks) NL |
|
More albums
- 1974: Bingo
- 1975: Mindmirror
- 1981: Dance Macabre
Live albums
- 1993: The Reunion (Live in Germany)
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
NL
|
|||
| 2015 | The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music | - |
NL38 (2 weeks) NL |
|
More compilations
- 1975: Ekseptional Classics
- 1976: Back to the Classics
- 2004: 3 Originals (two CDs with the four albums Ekseption , Beggar Julia's Time Trip , Ekseption 3 and 00.04 )
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NL
|
|||
| 1969 | 5th Symphony Beethoven Ekseption |
NL3 (14 weeks) NL |
|
| Rhapsody In Blue Ekseption |
NL18 (5 weeks) NL |
||
| Air ekseption |
NL2 (16 weeks) NL |
||
| 1970 | Italian Concerto Beggar Julia's Time Trip |
NL18 (6 weeks) NL |
|
| Adagio Beggar Julia's Time Trip |
NL15 (6 weeks) NL |
||
| Another History Ekseption 3 |
NL34 (3 weeks) NL |
||
| 1971 | Peace Planet Ekseption 3 |
NL2 (10 weeks) NL |
|
| Ave Maria 04-04 |
NL24 (3 weeks) NL |
||
| 1974 | De Fietser Bingo |
NL22 (3 weeks) NL |
Web links
- Official website (Dutch)
- Ekseption at ProgArchives (English)
- Ekseption at Allmusic (English)
- Ekseption at Discogs (English)