From Nirvana to Gospel Funk: Arp Frique’s 10 Defining Tracks

Kono Vidovic January 28, 2026 46 2

After the release of long player ‘The Gospel Of Jesamy’, Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers return with a heavy hitting 4-track EP entitled ‘Alpha & Omega’.

The Amsterdam-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer follows up his very well received gospelfunk album with a big chunk of funk fuelled, high energy spiritual music featuring some stellar vocals also present on the previous record:Texas born gospel singer Brandon Delagraentiss, longtime collaborator Marissa Nyamekye aka Mariseya and the legendary LA-born vocalist Rocq-E Harrell who – in her career spanning decades – has sung with Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Earth Wind & Fire, and toured with Diana Ross and the legendary Barry White.

Rotterdam born, Amsterdam based Arp Frique has been a longtime member of the Rush Hour family, kicking off his career with his single ‘Nos Magia’ – shortlisted for Track of the Year in the 2017 Worldwide Awards with airplay on 6 Music, Radio 1 and NTS whilst DJs like Peggy Gou, Antal, Floating Points and Hunee have all supported his tracks. The name “Arp Frique” refers to the sound of the Arp synths and his love for analog vintage machines. It is also a reference to Chic’s ‘Le Freak’, showing love to the original disco genre and deep danceable music from around the world.

Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers fans include Gilles Peterson, Louie Vega and Moodymann, and this mega fan base has resulted in a fiery kickoff of the live show performed at We Out Here, Oya, Flow, Way Out West, North Sea Jazz and other leading festivals across Europe.

1: Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

This is where it all began for me. Might seem odd, not what you would expect maybe. I was in the car with my mom when this first played in the 90s, and she hated it. I loved it even more of course. It made me pick up guitar and the journey commenced.

2: Red Hot Chili Peppers – True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes

I lived through the grunge era and at the same time there was this very funky band that was suddenly making international waves with their hit Under The Bridge. Much later they became a big stadium act and I lost interest, but especially their earlier work opened up mental doors for me. They also introduced me to other artists they covered, and the LA-vibe has always stuck with me.

3: Jimi Hendrix – Bold As Love

Through the Peppers, I discovered Stevie, Clinton and Jimi. And through Jimi, I got into psychedelic music and very important to me: blues. Blues is such a fundament of all pop music and Jimi knew how to twist it properly. His aesthetics, his lyrics, the love making to the instrument, yes also I fell in love with the guitar god he is.

4: Funkadelic – (Not Just) Knee Deep

Bootsy, George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel, I mean…how many trailblazers can you have in one band? For me they are the top of funk music, building on the foundation of what came before them and peaking in the 70s and 80s. I could have picked any track but this one is definitely very dear to me. I play this one live with the band, but we flipped it a bit, more like The Time would do it I guess.

5: Stevie Wonder – A Seed’s A Star/Tree Medley

No other artist has been as influential to me as Stevie Wonder. It is pure magic, what this guy created over the decades is unparalleled. I am a huge fan of his style of drumming especially, besides the obvious: songwriting, production, his vocals, the lyrics, the synths. This song I performed live very often, also to make people aware of this rare gem from one of his least succesful albums. One of my albums and the movie I made are titled after this song.

6: Herbie Hancock – Come Running To Me

The elegance, the sensuality, the virtuosity that Herbie brings on this one, I can listen to this every day, especially in the morning. All of Herbie’s work had an influence on me, and this tune and the album it’s on, shaped me very much. His soloing, his approach to synthesizers, the elegance he throws in there is what I resonate with. He was also using many Arp synths, one of my favorite gear brands ever and I still use these old keyboards from the 70s live and in the studio all the time. Gear never got better after this era and Herbie made sure we will never forget.

7: Giovanca – Lockdown

This song goes back to my production days. I was part of a duo called Nelson&Djosa and I wrote this tune for the album we produced for my ex. While in the studio for the album recordings, we hit it off, and soon after made a baby, my daughter Jesamy. Without this crucial step in my life, I would have never gone so deep into the meaning of life and true love, the basis for my own music. This song I was especially fond of, as it also features Steve Hartley from Illnoledge on vocals, one of the best singers and musicians I ever worked with, we connect on a very, very deep level.

8: Ronald Snijders – Sisa

One of my best friends, Ronald Snijders, epic Surinam flute player. I met him decades ago and we connected instantly. I went deep into his music, we made an album together, I did a documentary on his work and he played with me live quite often. This tune could have easily been a jazzfunk classic hit. Chick Corea also noticed his talent in the 70s and asked him to join Return To Forever which somehow never happened!

9: Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers – Elena

This tune has been the start of my new era in music. I created a new album together with a ton of singers and decided to call the whole thing “Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers”. Like always, labelboss Antal from Rush Hour picked this one as the first single, it surprised me he liked this one so much instead of certain other songs as a single, but again and again he is right. Happy to work with him, he really gets it. And it made me look at the song in a whole different way. A very deep meaningful spiritual one to me, the lyrics is a story of it’s own. It’s reflecting on a woman named…Elena of course. Elena means “light”.

10: Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers – Live Together Live

The first tune released from the new EP. This song is all about the state of the world, but it seems the lyrics apply to any decade sadly. A call for an uprising, but not through violence. There is only one way to change the world, it is through the secrets of the universe as Tesla described: energy, frequency and vibration.

Thank you

Big thanks to Arp Frique for sharing this honest and deeply layered story behind the music. Lists like this remind you that great records are rarely accidents. They are built on years of listening, living, questioning and connecting dots.If these influences resonate with you, make sure to check the new Alpha & Omega EP by Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers. It brings all of this together in high-energy, funk-fuelled spiritual music that feels just as urgent as it is timeless. Support the release, play it loud, and let it move you.

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Author

Kono Vidovic

DJ | MUSIC CURATOR & SELECTOR | PODCAST MAKER | BLOGGER Professional online interpreneur. Coffee practitioner. Electronic music culture maven. Total music guru. Infuriatingly humble problem solver. Food & sports fanatic.

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