Klankenstapper

The second episode from our series around Arie Maasland, better known as MALANDO, ended on the year 1958, that also marked the end of the 78 prm-era. Now we move on to his long-playing records, the LP, which was quite something. Prior to the 12-inch LP, there were the 45 rpm singles that had two songs on it, the EP – Extended Plays – with four songs on it, and the 33 rpm 10-inch LP which had 8 songs on it, which all came on the market from 1953. The singles were often also released on 78 rpm. There are seven known 10-inch LPs, usually with the repertoire of the singles and EPs, bar a few. On the 12-inch 33 rpm LP we also usually find back old material.
In this third and in the further coming episodes we try to discuss the LPs with (for that time) new material for as much as possible.
The sung version of "Olé guapa" from 1959 for the occasion of his 20th anniversary as orchestra leader was broken off way too quickly last month so we owe you that still.
In 1959 and the years that followed, Malando was increasingly busy. His records were released in Argentina and Chile, the United States and Indonesia and what to think of Japan! Malando’s popularity in Japan can definitely be compared to the current popularity of André Rieu – a worldrenowned Dutch violinist and conductor. Over the years, almost 100 LPs were released, next to the many singles and EPs, in the Land of the Rising Sun. Many of those wore beautiful foldable sleeves with a lot of (mainly Japanese) information and images. Only a few of those were made especially for the Japanese market and were not released in Europe.
To this very day, his grandson Danny ‘Malando’ Overweg reaps the fruits of his grandfather’s work. Once every two years, they go on a huge tour through Japan with the entire orchestra. Not bad for the Dutchman Arie Maasland from Rotterdam who brought all this about with his beautiful compositions of which "olé guapa" was only the beginning.
In Argentina, the land of the tango, they make no secret about their admiration for Malando either. He received the important award ‘Premio Éxito Música Popular’ for his record "Tangos Famosos" in 1962 during the Festival del Disco Internacional in Mar del Plata. This same record was released in Europe under the name "World Famous Tangos".  It was rumoured that Malando ‘had no chance of success’  in Argentina but this had nothing to do with the appreciation he received for his work but everything to do with political and commercial considerations. The tango orchestras in Argentina consciously played each other’s work as much as possible so that the revenues (ergo, the money for the rights) stayed ‘among us’.
The programme for today will run to approximately the year 1960.