The name was chosen “because of the absolute absence of palm trees in Holland, they represent somewhat of a small detail of utopia” notes Hugo.
The resulting album "Night Flight Europa" was released by NON Records in January 2013, and received positive reviews from The Fader, Red Bull Music Academy, and Decoder Magazine.
The record also caught the attention of Belgian electronic music duo Soulwax, who invited Palmbomen to open for them at their annual Soulwaxmas celebration in 2012.
[5] Following an extensive tour in support of the new record, Palmbomen again was approached by Soulwax, but this time in regard to their involvement with the soundtrack for the Rockstar Games series Grand Theft Auto.
[10] Approximately a year later, Palmbomen II released "Center Parcs EP", a dreamy IDM album cowritten with fellow Dutch producer Betonkust.
Palmbomen II and Betonkust wrote the album over the course of a rainy weekend at the virtually abandoned holiday resort "Center Parcs De Eemhof", drawing inspiration from the shiny façade and inauthenticity of "swimming paradises".