Hugo den Hartog or HugoTheDuke is a musician with a noteworthy voice. A vocalist well known for his versatility, creativity and purity when singing. Besides his qualities as a singer he covers the songwriter part with equal ardour, putting the most effort into his lyrics; words chosen carefully, alliterations and metaphores, always including a deeper meaning.

As his love for music knows no limits, he’s been musically active since 2006 within various music genres, projects and formations. First of all, since 2006 Hugo has been the lead singer and frontman of a formation currently known as Straight from the Fridge and meaningfully active since 2011. A pop band with funk, soul and jazz influences. With this band he’s played at festivals like MadNes Festival, B-There Festival (& many more) and national radio stations like Radio 3FM, Radio 538, Radio 1, Radio 6 and Slam!FM.

Hugo’s solo project, known by the name Obscure Theatre, came to life during his music studies in Oulu, Finland (from Sept. 2012 ’till Jan. 2013). It comprises singer/songwriter music (inspired by Richard Hawley, Crybaby and The Last Shadow Puppets) which he likes to give the label Pop Noir. You can read more about Hugo’s time in Finland, right here.

Where people sometimes like to compare his voice to artists such as Wouter Hamel, Jay Kay and Jason Mraz, Hugo noticed his voice seems to be most similar to Alex Turner’s. That’s one of two reasons why he started an Arctic Monkeys Tribute with the name Mardy Bum in March 2013. The other one: ‘Because it’s fun!’.

Exploring a world full of music, Hugo became interested in other styles and projects in which he could use his vocal skills, resulting in his collaboration with dj’s (Kav Verhouzer), producers (Leon Fillips), singing jingles for Audio Imaging Companies (NOVAZ Media Group) and singing lead vocals for Karaoke-versie.nl (at Studio Artichoque) ever since April 2013.