Our Sound
The Caro Emerald sound was built on a deliberate contradiction: hip-hop drum programming and sample-based production underneath 1940s and 50s jazz, big band, Latin and film score influences. The rhythms were modern. Everything on top of them belonged to another era. The combination produced something that sounded like no particular decade.
The writing sessions drew from a specific set of reference points — jazz organist Jackie Davis, exotica composer Martin Denny, mambo king Pérez Prado, the Andrews Sisters, Billie Holiday, Bert Kaempfert, European dance orchestras. These were not influences applied consciously track by track but absorbed into a consistent production language. Each song was written to feel like its own short film: the arrangement built the atmosphere, the lyrics set the scene, the voice inhabited it.
The first album was recorded at The Sonic Nest in Amsterdam. Jan van Wieringen and David Schreurs built the productions from programmed drums, Mellotron loops and layered keyboards. Robin Veldman brought the hip-hop foundation — beats, turntables, effects — and played organ and strings across much of the album. Live brass overdubs were added on top. Tracks went back from mastering over a hi-hat being fractionally too loud. That level of detail defined the sound as much as the influences did.
The second album added Abbey Road. Royalties from Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor funded full orchestral sessions in London, with Jules Buckley writing string and big band brass and woodwind arrangements. Jan and David were specific: a different orchestral character on every song, not a uniform sound applied across the album. The hip-hop foundation stayed underneath. The cinematic atmosphere stayed intact.
Source: Read more on SOS Sound on Sound August 2013
Our Singles
The singles were not conceived as singles. They were tracks from a studio album project the team expected to pitch to labels, not release themselves. Each became a standalone radio hit because the songwriting demanded it.
- Back It Up (6 July 2009) — Most played song on NPO 3FM in 2009. 12 weeks in the Dutch Top 40, peaking at #12. Dutch chart data →
- A Night Like This (11 December 2009) — #1 in the Netherlands, Austria and multiple European markets. Most played song in the Netherlands in 2010. Broke internationally via the Martini brand campaign. Dutch chart data →
- That Man (2010) — UK single. A-listed by BBC Radio 2. UK chart data →
- Just One Dance (2010) — UK single. A-listed by BBC Radio 2. UK chart data →
- Stuck (2011) — European single. Dutch chart data →
- Tangled Up (18 February 2013) — Lead single from The Shocking Miss Emerald. BBC Radio 2 Record of the Week. Top 20 in New Zealand, #77 in the UK Singles Chart. Dutch chart data → · UK chart data →
- Liquid Lunch (2013) — Second single from The Shocking Miss Emerald. BBC Radio 2 A-listed. Dutch chart data →
Our Albums
Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor (2010)
Label: Grandmono Records
Released: 29 January 2010
Recorded: The Sonic Nest, Amsterdam (Grandmono Productions)
Chart peak: #1 Netherlands (30 weeks — all-time Dutch record) · #4 United Kingdom
Certification: IFPI Platinum across Europe
Notes: Re-released in Italy, June 2011, with bonus live tracks and a duet with Giuliano Palma on Riviera Life.
Stream & purchase on Bandcamp →
Live at the Heineken Music Hall (2011)
Label: Grandmono Records
Released: 29 April 2011
Recorded: Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, 22–23 December 2010
Notes: Recorded across two sold-out nights with the Grandmono Orchestra — strings, horns, percussion, and the scratch DJ who helped build the sound from the beginning.
Bandcamp →
The Shocking Miss Emerald (2013)
Label: Grandmono Records / Dramatico (UK)
Released: 3 May 2013
Recorded: Electric Monkey Studios, Amsterdam; orchestral sessions at Abbey Road Studios, London
Orchestral arrangements: Jules Buckley
Chart peak: #1 Netherlands · #1 United Kingdom (34,246 copies sold in first week)
Stream & purchase on Bandcamp →
Emerald Island EP (2017)
Label: Grandmono Records
Released: 6 March 2017
Notes: Four new songs and two instrumentals, inspired by exotica music of the 1950s and 60s. Released to accompany the Emerald Island Tour.
Chart History
Netherlands
Source: dutchcharts.nl — official Dutch chart authority, compiled by GfK.
- Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at #1 and spent 30 non-consecutive weeks at number one — an all-time Dutch record, surpassing Michael Jackson’s Thriller (26 weeks, 1983). 104 weeks total in the Dutch charts before being removed under a rule preventing albums from charting for more than two years.
- The Shocking Miss Emerald entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at #1.
- A Night Like This reached #1 on the Dutch Single Top 100, January 2010.
- Back It Up peaked at #12 on the Dutch Top 40, charting for 12 weeks.
United Kingdom
Source: Official Charts Company.
- The Shocking Miss Emerald entered the UK Albums Chart at #1 with 34,246 copies sold in its first week.
- Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor peaked at #4 in the UK Albums Chart. Over 410,000 copies sold in the UK. All six singles from the album were A-listed by BBC Radio 2.
Europe
- Deleted Scenes — Top 5 in Germany (#5), Top 3 in Austria (#3), charted in Poland, Italy and Belgium.
- A Night Like This reached #1 in Austria and multiple other European markets.
Sales & Certifications
Source: IFPI and national certification bodies.
- Netherlands: 6× Platinum — over 300,000 copies (Deleted Scenes)
- United Kingdom: 1× Platinum — over 360,000 copies (Deleted Scenes)
- Germany — Album: 1× Platinum — over 280,000 copies (Deleted Scenes)
- Germany — Single: 1× Platinum — A Night Like This, 340,000+ copies
- Poland: 6× Platinum — over 60,000 copies (Deleted Scenes)
- Italy — Single: Gold — Back It Up
- Combined catalogue sales: over 2 million records worldwide
Critical Reception
Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor
“It’s not rocket science — good songs sung well makes a great album. But while the arrangements add an almost cinematic setting to the narratives, this is all about the vocals.”
— BBC Music, 2011
“Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor is so authentic it could easily have been released half a century ago.”
— The Digital Fix, 2011
The Shocking Miss Emerald
“What saves TSME is its often-inspired mix of vintage jazz and modern hip hop. Her secret weapon, in this respect, is producer David Schreurs.”
— Simon Price, The Independent, May 2013
“It is stylish and jazz-age infused. The stakes are high as Caro’s breakthrough album sold like a crazy thing — but those stakes needn’t have worried.”
— Stephen Unwin, Daily Express, May 2013
Our Awards
- MTV Europe Music Award — Best Dutch & Belgian Act, 2010
- Buma Cultuur Popprijs — Best Dutch Pop Act, 2010
Awarded by Buma Cultuur. Jury chairman Hans Kosterman: “Een fenomeen met internationale allure, zoals de jury die in de 25 jaar dat de Popprijs wordt uitgereikt zelden heeft meegemaakt.” (“A phenomenon with international allure, the likes of which the jury has rarely encountered in the 25 years of the Popprijs.”) Source: NOS, January 2011 → - Edison Award — Best Female Artist, 2010
The oldest music prize in the Netherlands, awarded since 1960 and comparable in status to the Grammy. Jury: “De muzikale charme van Emerald verovert pogoënde Pinkpop-bezoekers en sophisticated jazzliefhebbers. Ons land heeft er in een klap een wereldster bij.” (“Emerald’s musical charm wins over moshing Pinkpop visitors and sophisticated jazz lovers alike. Our country gained a world star overnight.”) Source: NOS, January 2011 → - 3FM Serious Talent Award, 2010 — Awarded by NPO 3FM.
- EBBA — European Border Breakers Award, 2011
A European Union prize for artists who achieve cross-border success in their breakthrough year. Previous recipients include Adele, Dua Lipa, Mumford & Sons and Stromae. - Buma Zilveren Harp & Beste Nederlandse Lied, 2011
Two awards at the Buma Harpen Gala 2011: the Buma Zilveren Harp for young artists making an important contribution to Dutch music, and the Prijs voor het Beste Nederlandse Lied 2010 for A Night Like This. - NPO 3FM — Best Album & Best Female Singer, 2011
- Goldene Kamera — Best International Music, 2012 — German television and music award.
- Echo Award — Best International Newcomer, 2012 — German music industry award.
