What’s in a name? For Bingo Players’ cofounder Maarten Hoogstraten, it’s just, well, a name.
“The reality isn’t so interesting,” Hoogstraten told Music Radar in a 2015 interview, two years after bandmate and best friend Paul Bäumer succumbed to cancer. “It’s just a name . . . we saw it, we liked it, we kept it.”
Living off of their name?
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Fair enough. But even Hoogstraten can’t deny one thing: Naming the band Bingo Players was a stroke of genius. Deliberate or not the Dutch dance music icons are named after bingo, one of the world’s most popular pastimes.
Most countries have a bingo culture, with India even having a dedicated Bingo show in 2010 called National Bingo Night, which played 75-ball bingo. The ‘How to Guide’ by FoxyBingo on 75-ball bingo states that it is a twist on the 90-ball version, and is the most popular variation of the game in America. With India and America having the second and third highest global populations, it is easy to imagine that many people discovered Bingo Players simply by typing bingo into Google. This could have opened the band up to a whole new set of fans.
Dance music icons
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Of course, we might not even know if Bingo Players actually acquired fans that way and would anyone really admit it? Then again, it’s a plausible scenario, isn’t it? That being said, what’s clear is that Bingo Players need neither clickbait nor publicity. Dance music is their selling point, and they are great at it. Their latest hit, ‘1000 Years’, is a cinematic experience. In it, Bingo Players take listeners “on a wild ride with another feel-good anthem, packed with funky rhythms and groovy synths, paired with an epic gospel-style vocal, perfect for motivating you on your slowest days!” The upbeat ‘1000 Years’ is undeniable proof that the Dutch band are dance music icons.
Bingo!
Image credit: Facebook
If Bingo Players were playing bingo, they would have shouted “Bingo!” long ago. The band formed way back in 2006, when Hoogstraten met Bäumer. Music connected the strangers, who soon became friends. That same year they released their own songs, like ‘Touch Me’ and ‘Chop’, under the name Bingo Players. Their brand of electro was energetic but soulful, fast yet smooth. Their songs started getting recognised, and were making their way up the Dutch dance charts. Thereafter demand for Bingo Players began to increase. Clubs and festival organisers were asking the duo to DJ for them. Little did they know that neither Hoogstraten nor Bäumer actually knew how to DJ.
The two learned to DJ on the fly, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. By 2010 Bingo Players were doing remixes for industry heavyweights such as Joachim Garraud, Ferry Corsten, and N.E.R.D. Soon they were collaborating with music’s finest, from Prodigy and Pitbull to Far East Movement. Then Bäumer passed away in 2013, right at the height of Bingo Players’ meteoric rise. But Hoogstraten has vowed to keep on going. He is keeping his promise. DJ Hoogstraten is still playing.
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