Hi there and welcome to OurSpace. We are Apes in the Orange Grove, three minstrel monkeys who have been making music together for over a decade now. When we got together in 1996 we were still in high school, and for the first couple of years of our musical career we exclusively played hard rock covers. From the start we were telling each other that we wanted to write our own songs, but it wasn't until 2002 that we finally found our style, which turned out to be radically different from the heavy metal we had been playing all those years. Apparently we had to grow up a bit (just a bit) to realize that we were playing all this angry music, but that we actually didn't have much to be angry about. So, from hard and heavy we went to fresh and light.
The main ingredients of our music are rock and reggae, with a tablespoon of folk and a pinch of latin and blues. In all our songs we try to mix slightly melancholic lyrics with catchy tunes and a danceable beat. Besides the basics of guitar, bass, and drums, our music also features several "baby" instruments, and an occasional banjo. On stage we perform our songs unplugged as well as in a full band setting, but we prefer playing our music for small audiences in barns, basements, living rooms or tents, or on the beach on a hot summer night. We like campfires, the ocean, traveling the world and meeting new people, and we believe that every monkey should be free to eat the oranges he or she desires.
In September 2004 ape Gijs left to study abroad, so we had to go on sabbatical for a year. When he returned we simply picked up where we left off, working on our new ditties, whilst high on hashish. In April 2006 our efforts resulted in the release of our first EP, containing eight ape-a-licious tracks.
We believe that our current release is only a glimpse of what we can and will create in the future, but sadly these plans will have to be put on hold for a while, since Gijs decided to leave the country again, forcing the Apes into another sabbatical year. We're confident, however, that we will continue our musical venture in the future, and in the meantime you can check our website for news from your favorite performing primates.
Release the simians from the zoos
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
Help us set the monkeys loose
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
We fight for every primate's right
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
We strive till every ape's outside
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
The chimpanzees charge San Francisco
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
The bonobos bang San Diego
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
We fight for every primate's right
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
We strive till every ape's outside
We are the Apes in the Orange Grove!
