Every carnival season, Omroep Brabant searches for the carnival cracker of the year. Hundreds of songs are submitted and the jury chooses 33 of them. After that, Brabant can vote. But how do you make such a good carnival hit? And what requirements must a real squatter meet?
A carnival smash doesn’t have to be difficult musically. According to Mark Versteden, producer at Omroep Brabant radio, it is mainly about the recognizability of a song. “A carnival cracker must be easy to sing along to, the people are standing in a party tent, have been drinking. Then it is important that you can sing along with it nice and easily.”
Well produced
Mark also notices the difference with the past. “Everything is very well produced these days.” That used to be different, back then it mattered less.
A professional-sounding song is now more likely to be noticed during submissions. On the other hand, Mark likes it when a song can also be performed well live.
No trick
According to Mark, there is no magic trick to winning the best carnival cracker. “In every city there is a different taste in music, in Den Bosch it is a bit more traditional and in Eindhoven, for example, an uptempo song, such as house or hardstyle, is also appreciated.”
Mark still has one wish for the Choose your Kraker competition, more women participating. Mark says that until a few years ago it was really a man’s world. He increasingly sees women submitting songs. “Submit it, go make it, put your passion into it and do it.”