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Dutch Reviews

Friesch Dagblad
* Hit The North-festival, Leeuwarden, 28 oktober 2006
De meest professionele optredens waren van de organiserende bands zelf. Gebaseerd op veel ervaring zetten de Nederlandse duo’s Zea (elektro Rock & Roll), Persil (Elektro Pop) en The Suicidal Birds (Indie Punk ‘n Roll) stuk voor stuk goede shows neer.

3voor12 Groningen
* Vera-downstage, Groningen, 21 oktober 2006
David ragt lekker op zijn gitaar en Martine staat als een blij, klein meisje op de sampler te rammen. David zet een stroboscoop aan voor een beetje extra visueel spektakel. Ze staan er aanstekelijk enthousiast bij, als twee vriendjes die samen iets heel tofs hebben ontdekt. Als Persil op het podium staat, lijkt het alsof ze geen mindere tijden kennen. Op deze manier laten ze zien wat veel muzikanten door een writers block, onderling gedoe in de band, financiële sores of andere problemen vaak vergeten: muziek maken is leuk!

Subjectivisten: Schaduwkabinet
* John Peel Day 2006 @ OCCII, Amsterdam, 13 oktober 2006
Ondanks de verkoudheid van zangeres Martine liet Persil zich niet kennen en ging het duo lekker fel en vrolijk tekeer tijdens de tweede herdenkingsavond voor John Peel. De gitaar stond vol en luid afgesteld waardoor de anders zo lieve elektronische indiepopliedjes (inclusief exclusieve covers van The Fall) opeens vervaarlijk gromden en groter klonken dan ik ze ooit eerder bij Persil had gehoord. Erg fijn.

Guidblog
* Transformed Dreams @ Eurosonic Festival, De Walrus, Groningen, 13 januari 2006
Van het ene uiterste naar het andere, het op het Amsterdamse Transformed Dreams label opererende jongen/meisje duo Persil speelt in de Walrus, het ranzigste rock café van Groningen (dat overigens direct mijn sympathie heeft als ik in een krantenartikel aan de muur lees dat de eigenaar er fier op is dat ie nog jaarlijks de Dag van de Arbeid viert) - een betere lokatie is nauwelijks denkbaar. Met hem op toetsen en haar op gitaar, of hem op gitaar en haar op toetsen en dan aangevuld met een drummachine zetten ze een erg leuke set neer. Vrij hard rockend en derhalve veel minder lief zoals het op cd staat en met een zangeres die een niet al te vaste stem heeft - maar dat draagt weer bij aan het hoge charme gehalte van het duo. Het schijnt dat wijlen John Peel fan was en dat die man een goed oor had voor leuke groepjes is hierbij opnieuw bevestigd. In Nederland zouden we eens wat trotser moeten zijn op zulke leuke groepjes.

3voor12 Amsterdam
* Transformed Dreams-avond/k-Tsjoem @ Paradiso, Amsterdam, 5 januari 2006
'Fuzzy boy / girl electropop' meldt de flyer. Persil maakt up-tempo bubblegum pop om heel erg blij van te worden. Martine straalt haar enthousiasme met succes af op het publiek en houdt daar niet mee op tot de laatste noot van het laatste liedje. Drumcomputer, gitaar, elektro en David stuiteren vrolijk met haar mee. Hoogtepunt: Martine die verwoed op de sampler hamert terwijl een stelletje giftige felle kleuren op de achtergrond je gek proberen te maken door psychedelisch door elkaar heen te bewegen.

English Reviews

Is This Music
* Greenside Hotel, Leslie, Scotland (UK), 24 October 2009
Dutch duo Persil are veterans of three sessions for DJ John Peel, and have opened for Blondie in an arena in their home country, but their charming electronic pop is ideal for a club like the Greenside.

SoundsXP
* IndieTracks Festival, Midland Railway Butterley (UK), 29 July 2007
Persil from Amsterdam are a two piece who could be a six piece given the volume of their hyperactive punky, shouty attack and the way they fill a stage with just the two of them and some willing volunteers. They use guitar, sampler, keyboards and Marine’s full-on vocals, that are sometimes sweet and sometimes brutal, to create a mix of animated electro-dance with a dark Factory Records edge.

IndieMP3
* IndieTracks Festival, Midland Railway Butterley (UK), 29 July 2007
They provided that chainsaw sound that had been missing for most of the weekend. Singer Martine showed off the weekends slickest dance moves whilst David got thrashy with his guitar. Both made noises that made the ground move via their samplers and keyboards and it was good to hear Happy and Light Up My Light Life played live again! Almost band of the weekend.

Miwsig
* IndieTracks Festival, Midland Railway Butterley (UK), 29 July 2007
Persil provide outlandishness and inspired performance with their upside-down electronica and that brilliant track I remember from Peel

Vanity Project
* Cardiff Chapter Arts Centre (UK), 16 February 2007
John Peel may no longer be with us, but his legend and legacy live on, the term "Peel favourites" still a marker of quality. Having had countless songs played on his show (including a track from their debut demo) and recorded no fewer than three Peel sessions, Amsterdam's Persil can be justifiably described as such. The duo comprise David (guitar, synths, beats, oddly shaggy hair) and Martine (vocals, synths, beats, stripey stockings and green dress which would be worn either by a psychiatric nurse or a psychiatric patient - I can't decide which, though the way she wraps the microphone cord around her neck suggests the latter). Their mission appears to be to create a kind of mutant robotic replica of fanzine-friendly indiepop, perhaps best exemplified by 'Happy', the lead track from their 2005 EP Tune-Up, and 'Light Up My Life', from last year's LP Comfort Noise. At times the intricacies of their songs are lost in the mix, and there's a glitch with the projections which leaves the message "This CD is dirty" displayed on the screen for some time, none of us quite knowing if this is deliberate. But for me Persil are more than all white in the end (arf)..
(...) of tonight's bands, it's Persil who claim my £2 for a copy of Tune-Up.
Ben Woolhead

BBC Radio 1 Exposed Blog
* Cardiff Chapter Arts Centre (UK), 16 February 2007
Had a busy weekend - went to a night called Peppermint Patti in Cardiff on Firday night where Persil from Amsterdam, Retro Spankees and Das Wanderlust all played and sounded grand.
Huw Stephens

Oh Inverted World
* The Head of Steam, Newcastle (UK), 13 February 2007
Persil definitely provided the colour and most of the energy for the evening. There were only two of them, but between them they managed to put on quite a show - guitar, keyboards, drum machine, noise box, strobes, lights, but mainly the stripey tights! My immediate impression was a Dutch Mates of State, raw garage guitars, stacatto synths and drum-machine driven pop, though I’m sure of course that Persil got there first. Their performance was utterly dynamic, swapping instruments mid-song, great chemistry between the two of them, and just completely enjoying themselves and what they were doing. Singer Martine played a compelling role at the front, her performance sizzling with sultry looks and sexual expressionism. Perhaps it is the way of the continent but on stage they seemed to have complete disregard for any self-conciousness, suffering no delusions to the size of the audience or the venue, but just making the most of the opportunity they had to perform. It was great live music, and the EP I bought shows they live up to it in the studio too. 

Moles Club Reviews
* Moles Club, Bath (UK), 10 March 2005
Persil do things differently. To anyone. A duo from Amsterdam based around keyboards and electronic twiddley bits they’re largely cutesy but pulsating until an occasional shout and a flaying guitar jolt you. Give the impression their trying to leave flecks of dirt in the pop whitewash.

Vanity Project
* The Cavern, Liverpool (UK), 6 March 2005
Stripped down from 3 to 2, Persil play a wildly different set to that which took on the Wedding Present’s audience on their tour a week or two prior to this, so it’s refreshing to hear some of their more electronic-based material.

Artrocker
* The Water Rats, London (UK), 3 March 2005
First up we have Dutch couple Martine and David aka Persil. Martine has a heavy cold and shouldn't really be here, but trooper that she is, leads the band (David on bass, keyboards and anything he can get his hands on) through a set of up-tempo electro pop with rather Cocteau-esque vocals. They dance as though convulsing and are a fine start to the evening.

Kyphos weblog
* Academy 2, Birmingham, (UK), 28 February 2005
I saw them supporting the Wedding Present at the Birmingham Academy, they came out on stage, tested their equipment whilst throwing amusing expressions at the crowd, and the bass player warmed his hands on a beaker of takeout coffee. Finally David asks if anybody knows what time it is, and they start off an intro sample of some guy talking about keeping dogs as pets, whilst the guys pull strange poses with their guitars. Already I had the feeling that I was going to like what I was about to hear, had a big smile on my face which just got bigger once they started to play.  If memory serves they opened with the song 'Mum' a very catchy 'electro-pop' tune with great use of samples, fuzzy guitars, drum machine beats and the sweet voice of Martine (seriously, you could listen to her voice all day long and never tire of it) floating over the top. Bliss! By the end of the second or third song I had made my way over to the merchandise table and was proudly purchasing their latest ep Tune-Up and their Duotone album, which with my financial troubles of late I could not afford, but I just had to have them. Besides the soft sensuous voice of Martine soothed the earache I got when i returned home having spent too much money, so it was all good.

Stupid Name Group
* Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth (UK), 23 February 2005
Guitarists should take at least two strings from their instruments, keyboard players should remove the black keys and drummers should junk their toms and cymbals. Seriously. Music is needlessly complicated, and musicians try to be too good. Which is why I like support band Persil. Not that they did any of these things, but they were truly refreshing. Their nursery synth lines and pounding drum machine were bare, open and more affecting than muso noodling or hero-aping. Persil have guts and imagination - they know they don't have to be all BassDrumsGuitars to be a Real Band. That may not sound like much, but take a random sampling and you'll see it's a Big Thing. In their mid-song instrument swapping and naive electronics, they were reminiscent of New Order, but Persil's set was lighter, prettier, poppier, quirkier. The audience seemed perplexed at first, but soon warmed: sporadic guitar thrashing amid the bleeps, bloops and keyboard runs helped win them over. Meanwhile, the drum soundtrack and live bassist kept things tight enough. How much did I like Persil? I bought their ep. For me, they justified the evening.

Gigwise.com
* Academy 2, Manchester (UK), 21 February 2005
The band members are a cherry bunch from Amsterdam, who seem to be having fun despite the stationary audience. The sound is a little 80’s, Casio keyboards and synths.

Rock Sound
* In The City Festival @ Rebos, Manchester (UK), 18 September 2004
Amsterdam's electro-freak-popsters Persil gather more attention with their blend of Yeah Yeah Yeahs with keyboards jammed up their noses, they sound delightful.

Is This Music
* Monty's, Dunfermline (UK), 3 September 2004
The sweet childish voice of Martine, coupled with her fascinating dance twitches (which seem to be connected to the sampler in some weird way) prove to be engaging to watch. 'Agony Aunt' sounds like The Bangles with added beats; they're sweet, and even when you don't quite 'get' them, they somehow ingratiate themselves to you. Indeed by the time they're kicking out a brave cover of Satus Quo's 'Down Down (Deeper and Down)' you think perhaps there's more to this band than what sounds like twisted Kids' TV tunes (see track 'Mum' for evidence).