That Amsterdam Sound: Stereologue

Well heads, this post has been a while in the making… but I’m glad I can finally bring you guys this tag-team from Amsterdam that have caught my attention in a big way! When Tom and Joran first met it was not the question if, but how they would collaborate. Both considered key-talents in their respective gerne’s, they found a simple answer: Dubstep. They will be making their festival debut in 2010, a little less then a year after their initial dubstep tracks. Stereologue has been kind enough to have us preview some of their latest tracks, I personally am loving, “Here We Go”, and “We Represent” puts a stamp on their unique sound, showcasing their versatility and making their sounds recognizable amongst some of the saturated sounds that us true heads have all come to recognize. These guys also shot us some free downloads and a seamless mix for you filth fiends. I’d say it’s gotta be something in the water, but we all know what it really is…haha. Check out the tracks and interview below and see what’s poppin’ on the other side of the pond…

Stereologue – Here we go by Stereologue

Stereologue – Crank by Stereologue

Name/Age/Location?

Tommy a.k.a. The king Lego Constructor, 23, Amsterdam
Joran a.k.a. Captain Duplo, 19, Amsterdam

Where did you first hear dubstep, what track was it, and what was
your reaction?

Joran: TC – Where’s my money (Caspa remix), The track totally surprised me, my first thought actually was: welcome to the 21st century, this is the future!

Tommy: Probably Skream – midnight request line on the radio, when I was on holiday in Britain. But the one I remember most is Benga & Coki – Night. I was in a club in South London, during a short stay. And
damn that track made the club go crazy, I will never forget that.

How long have you been making Dubstep and what did you produce before dubstep came along (if anything)?

We’ve been producing Dubstep for little less than a year now. Before that we produced house together. Tom produced Breakcore/Hardcore and Drum & Bass before we started collaborating. Whereas Joran produced Minimal, Tech-house and Techno. So we’re both coming from very different genre’s. That makes working together very joyful and a lot
of fun.

What is your current setup (gear/software)?

As we both have our own studio we have two (actually three) different setups:

In Joran’s studio we have a PC running FL Studio with two Yamaha HS80M monitors, a Access Virus TI desktop and a Native Instruments Machine and some plug-in’s. Besides that there’s a DJ-booth with all the club standard gear(eg. DJM-800, CDJ’s, SL1210 MKII’s and Traktor Scratch Pro). In Tom’s studio we run cubase with mainly Massive and a bunch of samples. Besides that we have a studio mic & a soundcraft mixer at Tom’s place for our vocals and Yamaha HS50M monitors. As Tom’s studio
is in the city centre we cannot crank the volume up all the way, Central piece of hardware at Tom’s place is the midi-keyboard/controller; a emu- Xboard 25 & Korg SP-250. Tom has a
second studio just outside Amsterdam where we can be as noisy as we
want (naturally, we have bigger monitors over there; Stanton AMT 6).

What process do you guys go through when you make a track?

It’s difficult to describe something as a ‘process’ as the way it works is totally different every time. Sometimes we start with a bassline, sometimes with an interesting effect. Sometimes it could be
a musical piece or a movie. After the initial ideas the track usually goes back and forth between our studio’s or we’ll go in one of the studio’s and work on it. After producing multiple tracks we lock
ourselves up in one of the studio’s and do the final mastering.

Did you start of DJing or producing first?

In our starting years DJing was the big thing for both of us. Tommy Started DJing when he was 10 and Joran when he was 12. after that we got ourselves some software and sample-libraries and that’s how we both started to make our music.

What do you think makes dubstep stand out from all the other genres?

Dubstep has something in it for everyone. Whether you come from Hip Hop, House, D&B or whatsoever, dubstep can work for you. It’s slow rhythm combined with the massive basslines and electronic sounds it’s irresistible. All the different elements involved work really well in the space that dubstep offers. Also, at parties it doesn’t matter what you look like or what you do, as long as you’re enjoying the music;
nobody cares.

How would you describe Stereologue’s sound?

It would be nice to say: typical Amsterdam sound. Only problem is there is no such thing as a typical Amsterdam sound yet hahaha. But our productions usually contain heavy basslines. Completed with some melodic stuff most of the times. We always seek that thing we call: ‘The bounce’ (check out some Timbaland studio vids to understand that LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kIJAVF0Jl0).

Who are your influences?

Rusko, Caspa, Benga, Skream, Bassnectar, Datsik, Noisia (check out the track: ‘Lekker’ that had been of a big influence ), really the guys that are big at the moment. But we’re also influenced a lot by
everything that is going on in Amsterdam. Whether it’s a walk through the city or the park. And as we’re both from different genre’s, we’re influenced a lot by that as well.

What artists are you currently listening to?

Tommy: the new Gorrilaz plastic beach album, The Eels, Radiohead ( love to play their songs on piano.) and of course a lot of Dubstep (old and new) like the newer guys from Circus Records and I really like the coming releases of Chronos Records and Rottun records.

Joran: I like to listen to Chris Liebing his CLR podcast, Kyteman (check his music out, it’s really good!), BT’s binary universe and all my techhouse and dubstep tracks I play out.

Where do you see dubstep going in 2010?

Big, certainly in Amsterdam dubstep is boiling and about to explode. Everyone has heard about it and talking about it, but the amount of parties and artists in Amsterdam is limited. The demand is there, so no doubt that people are going to respond to that demand and push dubstep to the dutch scene. As far as the dubstep sound: perhaps we’ll be seeing more influences from other genre’s like house, minimal and techno.

Plans for the future?

There are always loads of plans, but making and playing music are our key-plans. As we’ve now produced a significant amount of tracks, we’re searching for a label to release our first EP in 2010. Besides that we’re trying to get out and play as much as possible. When it comes to
dubstep, we’re still in our start-up phase, so there is a lot of work to do! We think it will be cool to do some remixes and collaborations but the amount of artists here is still limited.

Advice for up and coming dubstep producers?

Keep it real, haha. Seriously, do not try to force your music career, it has a bad influence on your motivation and passion. Make and play music for the sake of it, not to become the next DJ Mag top DJ.
However, that does not mean that there’s no hard work involved.

Anything you’d like to add?

Thanks for the interview, big up to Dubliminal for supporting upcoming artists and the Dubstep scene! For the readers: check us out on any of the social networks (we’re pretty much everywhere) and let us know what you think about our music!