The Nixe was a Dutch punk band from the city of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

in the Netherlands. The Nixe was possibly the first all-female punk band in the Netherlands. Their lyrics emphasized women's experiences, and were written from a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

perspective. Although the Nixe played at many women's festivals, they preferred not to be thought of as a politically motivated punk band. They liked to play in front of audiences that were not only women. They defended the movement to squat in unused buildings and performed in squats on the Plompetorengracht, the Biltstraat, and the Lange Nieuwstraat. The band won worldwide attention through contributions to compilation albums such as the American ''Killed by Death'' series and the album "I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It" released on

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

. A photo of members of the Nixe is one of the most iconic photos of the early Dutch punk scene. For example, this photo was used to advertise the Centraal Museum of Utrecht's 2012 exhibition entitled "God Save the Queen" about Dutch punk from 1977 to 1984.

History

The inspiration for forming the band came when Ilva Poortvliet and Nikki Meijerink saw a concert by the Utrecht punk band The Duds (earlier known a
Blitzkrieg
the first punk band in Utrecht) at the Kasbah in Maarssen in January 1979. The band's name is the Germanic word for a mermaid or water spirit (see also Nixie). The Nixe's first live performance was on June 14, 1979, at the café De Baas in the Biltstraat in Utrecht, where they played with the

Lullabies A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural know ...

, another punk band from Utrecht. The Nixe then regularly performed at the Spinnehok in Utrecht. In November 1980, the Nixe played at the rock festival ''"Rock tegen de rollen"'' (English translation "Rock against

ender Ender is a masculine Turkish given name, derived from the Arabic word Andar (اندر) meaning extremely rare. It is also a family name, prevalent in families of German or Austrian origin and, as a surname, it is derived from the Middle High Germ ...

roles") which took place in Utrecht. In 2008, the Nixe gave a reunion concert at the Ekko, a popular concert venue in the city of Utrecht. Their recordings were re-released on Polly Maggoo Records the same year.

Discography

Albums

* The Nixe E.P. - 7" Rock Against Records, 1981 * The Nixe Complete 1980-1981 Recordings by the first Dutch All-Girl Punkband, Polly Maggoo Records 2008

Samplers

* Utreg Punx E.P. - (7", ep) - Rock Against Records 1980 discogs.com
/ref> * "Parkhof 11-4-81" on label "V.G. 012" - LP 1981 * "I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It" on

1996 * "I Don't Care (Dutch Punk 1977-1983)" Pseudonym 2016 * "I Don't Care Volume 2 (Dutch Punk 1977-1983)" Pseudonym 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixe, the Dutch punk rock groups Musical groups from Utrecht (city) Musical groups established in 1979