Secret Sounds

About

Secret Sounds began as a trio in 1981 when singer/ guitarist/ songwriter Wilmer Wolf and bassplayer Chip Visser found drummer Toni Peroni. They soon became one of Holland's most promising new wave bands of the early eighties building themselves a solid reputation playing all over the country. Secret Sounds released a debut mini-album Excusez Moi in 1982 on their own Guilty Records label, showcasing their brand of upbeat pop songs blended with reggae, motown and funk grooves. For their first full album Wasteland they added keyboards to the production and Gert Van Veen (who later became the driving force of Quazar, the first dutch House pioneers) joined the band on synthesizers. When Toni left the band to join Het Goede Doel and van Veen went to pursue his own career, Secret Sounds had to re-invent themselves. Flamboyant new drummer Jean Monsou gave them a new impulse and the music gradually became darker and deeper. The core trio went on with keyboard players like Willy Huisman and George van Olffen. In their final year Angeline Bonette was added to the line-up as additional singer. The single Promises released by CBS in 1986 was their most successful in terms of radio play, but failed to score. Although Secret Sounds live reputation had always remained solid , the lack of commercial success finally broke up the band in 1987. They were also the first pop band in the Netherlands to experiment with dubs and remixes on 12" records. Members of the band spread out to groups like Time Bandits, Moonflower, Secret Combination and Roccoman. Wilmer Wolf went on to work as producer and engineer.