HESTER blends honesty and fantasy. Just as a desolate gaze peers over landscapes, lost in thought but perhaps at its most peaceful, so sounds HESTER. In the comfort of our luxury cabin, we drive through misty cities, stormy beaches, or fluorescent underwater worlds. The landscape changes, but there seems to be no final destination in sight. HESTER is a four-piece band that transforms alternative indie rock ballads into wondrous paintings.

Central to this is the voice of Damian Bosch. His wailing falsetto sketches a dreamy backdrop upon which his raspy low voice tells stories. He sings about the rawest forms of honesty, the dystopia of our time, and that which connects us all: love. His vocal sound is reminiscent of singers like Jeff Buckley, Tamino, and Mark Lanegan.

The Amsterdam band Stella brings together their love for 90s rock, 2000s pop, and shoegaze into a sound entirely their own, which the band themselves describe as “soft-grunge.” The raw, personal songs of songwriter Tosca van der Waals drag you along through her dark world full of long nights and conflicting thoughts, broken hearts and (bad) parties. The band has already caught the attention of 3voor12 and the British blog For The Rabbits, and impressed during the Popronde as a strong live act. After the release of their debut EP “I Love You, Fish” at Paradiso, the band is gearing up for the next chapter: dreamy, dark, and straight from the heart.