What will be the carnival hit of 2026? There is a massive vote for Kies Je Kraker. From hundreds of entries, 33 carnival songs were selected by a jury. And what is striking: 15 of those 33 songs come from the studio of Lars van Berkel from Hoeven. What is his secret?
The first selection of Kies Je Kraker will be announced on Friday. Of the 33 songs, 11 will advance to the final round. It must be very strange if there is no song by Lars van Berkel included. The music producer is responsible for the production of no fewer than 15 songs in the Kies Je Kraker election.
Foal Gère, Lamme Frans, Lanterfantje, De Tappers, Peter Selie, Johnny Purple, De Dorini’s. Just a few names of artists who entered Van Berkel’s studio this year.
“I think those artists mainly come to me for the sound which I have developed more in recent years. And perhaps also the great collaboration, I think,” says Van Berkel in the Omroep Brabant radio program Afslag Zuid.
“You try to give each artist their own sound.”
So many artists with the same producer. How do you ensure a unique number every time? “You try to make each artist a little bit unique sound to give, but at a certain point you naturally have your own working method and then it starts to look a bit similar,” Van Berkel explains.
“I also work a lot with professional musicians. They also provide a certain sound and you can give them an assignment. ‘It has to be played in this or that way. A little more trumpet there, a little more accordion there.’ That’s always where I try to make a difference.”
During production, Van Berkel is the only one who knows which hit is made by which artist. He has therefore imposed a duty of confidentiality on himself. “I keep my mouth shut to everyone about what someone else makes. Unless they are in each other’s way. Of course, quite a bit is covered,” says Van Berkel.
“I had already made a production for someone last year, and then someone else came to me and had exactly the same idea. Then I said: ‘maybe it would be better not to do this, because this is already there’. They then moved on to something else.”
“I would like to make a cool carnival production for Vieze Jack.”
Van Berkel has already collaborated with many carnival artists, but who would he love to enter the studio with again? “Dirty Jack. I would find it interesting to make a cool carnival production for that.”
And in terms of style, he wants to stick to the traditional carnival hits instead of a big beat. “I really like classical carnival myself. I think ‘We have it on the kitchen door’ is a great song. That is also where my heart lies most, with that older carnival music.”
The producer also tries to get that into the minds of the artists. “But I notice, especially this year, that it’s all up-tempo. It has to be faster, louder, more banging. That’s the time we live in and that’s fine.”
Here you can read all the stories about carnival in Brabant.
