Micha de Jonge is a Dutch-born and-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and producer, who has received attention both nationally and internationally with his pastel colored, 80s inspired, indie electro pop recording project Kita Menari. de Jonge’s debut single “Young Lovers” was included on Apple Music’s “Best of the Week,” as well as Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists in both the UK and Holland, where it would go on to appear in the top 5 of both country’s Spotify Viral Charts. Building upon a growing profile, de Jonge quickly set about assembling a backing band, comprised of Jonne Venmans, Job Fisser, Daniel Zoutni and Samuel Veerhuis, and with that backing band played live sessions on Radio 2FM and Radio 3FM — all before they played their first live show. Speaking of the act’s first live show: it was a live session on popular Dutch TV show De Wereld Draait Door that was seen by over a million people.
Interestingly, the project’s name can trace its origins to a trip the Dutch singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and producer took to Malaysia. While scuba diving, de Jonge’s tank got jammed underwater, and as a result, he was forced to race to the surface on his final breath of air. Once on land, his adrenaline-fueled recounting of the story eventually blurred into an entire night’s worth of partying. And as the story goes, when he woke up he noticed the words “Kita Menari” scribbled on a piece of pace found in his pocket. “I don’t know how it got there and I didn’t know that the words meant ‘we dance’ in Malay. As soon as I found out I thought ‘that’s it’! From now on that is going to be the motto of my song writing,” de Jonge recalls.
When he returned to Holland, de Jonge set about songwriting with a more reflective angle while drawing from Passion Pit, MGMT, and Phoenix among others. Additionally, de Jonge’s work is largely inspired by his unique living arrangement — he resides on a 40 hectare estate called Doorn Huis, famously known as the final home and resting place of Germany’s last Kaiser, Wilhelm II. “In the Netherlands the government has a program where you can apply to live in some weird and wonderful places to deter squatters and burglars” de Jonge explains. “I won’t bore you with the history but it means I’m surrounded by gardens, fields, even a palace, it’s a really incredible environment which helps to inspire the music I write.”
His latest single “Pretty Sure” will further cement his reputation for crafting infectious and rousingly anthemic synth pop as the track features a slick production centered around shimmering synths, thumping beats and a soaring hook — and while sonically bearing a resemblance to St. Lucia, the song finds its narrator expressing crippling self doubt and uncertainty, giving the song’s overwhelming sunny, dance floor friendly vibes, a murky and ironic quality. “The song revolves about a common conversation I have with myself: whether or not what I’m doing creatively is good enough, and the fear of letting that feeling go,” de Jonge explains. “Having big ambitions and dreams can sometimes have a negative effect on the process of achieving them. It’s like having an angel on one shoulder telling you to go for it while a demon sits on the other telling you it’s not good enough. I wanted there to be a sonic build throughout the song that would erupt after the second chorus, as a sign of letting that fear go and having creativity burst free.”
