Press
NORTH STAR
Layered, cinematic electropop from Zwolle, the Netherlands.
Hushed vocals, deep bass and slow-burn tension, built for late nights and screens. For fans of Portishead, Massive Attack and The xx.
2017 · 2023 · 2025
by Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas
Death (2025)
booking · press · sync
Three records, one world. The debut North Star I (2017) set the layered, cinematic tone. North Star II (2023) turned a solo project into a band. Death (2025) is the darkest and most focused chapter: not an album about dying, but about living, knowing it ends.
Singles from Death: Just My Luck · Read the Sign · Big Oak · Better Place
Better Place · single from Death (2025)
Live at Hedon, Zwolle · full band
North Star are Rene Postma (bass, production), Anne-Linn Beekhof (vocals) and Mark Schimmel (guitar): a Dutch trio making layered, cinematic electropop in the lineage of Portishead, Massive Attack and The xx.
Their sound sits between the space of ambient, the structure of a song and the texture of electronics: music that surrounds you before you notice it started. On stage, with Peter ten Wolde on drums, the songs grow into something dynamic and physical, completely inside the world the records build.
The band began with a need to make music that fit nowhere else. Rene and Anne-Linn were looking for a place for their own work, on their own terms. Mark joined on North Star II and gave the sound its texture; by Death he was a full member, co-writing songs on the band’s most focused record to date.
Three albums deep, the proof is in the collaborations and the stages: every record was co-produced in Nashville by Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas (MuteMath, Twenty One Pilots), the debut features Darren King on drums, and the band toured Popronde (2019) and played rooms from Hedon to the sculpture garden of Museum De Fundatie. They love festivals, clubs, theatres, churches and special locations.
A short and a full bio are available as text for programmes and press, via the contact below.
“Dealing with life hassles can be a chore, but well-crafted synth rock might offer some solace.”
h. werksman, Here Comes The Flood
“Death is an album about life, no pun intended.”
Mark Schimmel, North Star
Also featured in Maxazine (NL, 2023), an in-depth interview on the band’s origins and sound.
Click to download in high resolution. Live photos: Robert Westera. More formats and portraits available on request.
- Hedon, Zwolle · Death release show (2025)
- Muzieklab De Rog, Zwolle & Splendor, Amsterdam · May 2026
- Hedon, Zwolle · North Star II release show (2023)
- Sculpture garden, Museum De Fundatie · open air (2021)
- Popronde · national touring showcase (2019)
- Based in Zwolle, the Netherlands
- Rene Postma · bass, production | Anne-Linn Beekhof · vocals | Mark Schimmel · guitar | live: Peter ten Wolde · drums
- Independent, self-released
- Tech rider & stage plot available on request
Sync & licensing
Music for film, series, trailers and advertising. Fast response.
rene@northstar.bandNorth Star · Zwolle, the Netherlands · northstar.band