Joost Klein racing in a mobility scooter along a polder road in Etersheim, chopping a group of gabbers next to the De Breek mill: the Dutch gabber scenes in the clip of the Eurovision Song Contest song ‘Europapa’ have already been viewed more than five million times in recent days. De Breek manager Samantha van den Bos loves the attention paid to her location. “I was afraid for a moment that I had ruined it.”
It died out on Monday morning at the De Breek mill in Etersheim, a tiny hamlet in the municipality of Edam-Volendam. The visitor center door is locked. For the time being, there are no hordes of tourists or TikTokkers who, following Joost Klein, come to view this vast landscape.
Samantha van den Bos hopes that this interest will continue to grow in the near future. “It was the talk of the weekend among our guests. But these were mainly people who already knew this place. Joost’s clip isn’t going crazy yet. Previously there were recordings here for the TV program ‘Farmer Seeks Woman’. The mill and the grounds were presented very romantically in the program. I expected requests for the wedding location to flood in, but we only had one party. I’m curious to see how things will turn out now.”
Location scouts
On a chilly February afternoon, Joost Klein’s location scouts showed up unannounced. The visitors center yard had turned into a mud puddle due to the heavy rain and a stormy wind did not improve the overall picture. Van den Bos had just laid down on the couch when there was a knock on the closed door. “I didn’t feel like having visitors at all, so I opened the door in a very grumpy manner. Those people suddenly started talking about a clip for the Eurovision song and whether they could look around here. Because of my grumpy behavior, I was afraid for a moment that I had ruined it and that they did not want to film here.”
“The scouts immediately said that they were also going to look at other mills. Secretly I knew: they will come back here. This place is unique, a bit raw which suits Joost Klein well and the mill is remote. Perfect for shooting a video clip.”
Shout
Van den Bos talks about her first encounter with the music of Joost Klein. She initially felt tricked. “It was at Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen. My husband and I wanted to check out up and coming bands for a festival here on site. Joost started screaming loudly during his performance. I wondered what I was listening to. Is this music now? I got so angry that I wanted to leave the room. My husband stopped me and later I found it more fun. I even cried at the end. That is what he achieves with his audience. He knows how to touch people.”
Van den Bos welcomed the musician with open arms in February when he was in Etersheim for the recording of the clip of ‘Europapa’, his entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. A day she looks back on with a good feeling. “It felt like a group of friends came here to have something fun. It was all very light-hearted, but certainly also professional. Our catering area turned into a dressing room where make-up was also done. They asked for a separate room for Joost. “It’s on all day and then he can relax,” was the reasoning. He didn’t use it, they were always together.”
In the ditch
The catering entrepreneur still has a set of shoes from one of the extras. He ended up in the ditch with his mobility scooter during the recordings. “No, it was not Joost himself.” The dance scene next to the mill is one of her favorite moments from the clip. A group of goers are having fun next to the mill, while Joost is sitting on the roof of a car. The driver of the car is hardcore DJ Paul Elstak. “It was a beautiful image, the mill illuminated and surrounded by smoke. And then there are those chopping gabbers. We never see things like that here otherwise.”
Van den Bos expects that Joost has a serious chance of competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. The attention for the song, which has already been listened to millions of times, certainly contributes to this, she suspects. “It is a good song that is not only about the Netherlands, but also about other countries in Europe. It sticks in your head. My six-year-old children wake up with it every day. I think we will put up a large screen here in May so that the entire village can watch the broadcast.”