Exclusive interview Redondo: "Be modest, unique and creative"
Feb 17, 2016
Redondo is one of the most interesting new artists in nowadays deep house. As the Dutch duo is about to release its new single 'I Got To Do' alongside Nora En Pure we caught them for an exclusive interview about their music, inspirations and advice for our Talent Pool artists.
Hey guys, first of all, what have you been up to lately?
"We have been making lots of new material for 2016 and a couple of cool remixes! Plus there is an exciting Asia Tour coming up in a few weeks and then of course Miami!"
You are about to release ‘I Got To Do', together with Nora En Pure. What can you tell us about this track?
"Nora came up with a track setup, but we had to give it our own Redondo flavor because she felt like there was some groove missing. We added new beats and grooves and some instruments and finally finished it all together. We do believe it has the best of both our worlds now."
What does this record say about your musical evolution as an artist?
"That's hard to tell because this is an evolving process, maybe easier to answer a year later. However, it is awesome to see how a certain other artist creates a particular style. You know the final product, but to see it built from scratch is, as Dutch people would say, 'taking a good look in someone's kitchen' to see how those delicious meals are cooked."
If music wasn't your priority, what would you be working on instead?
"For Johan probably something as an entrepreneur with a lot of travelling. For Freek probably something Human Resources related as that is what he graduated in."
What has been the coolest thing in your musical career up till now?
"To travel and see the entire world. We keep saying it: how cool is it that most dancefloor anthems are a worldwide thing? Pop or rock always has its own local bands or artists, but dance is global. Every small village can have a citizen living there who travels the world DJing without his neighbours even knowing it."
What inspires you the most when creating music?
"First of all we like all kinds of music, oldskool hip hop for example. However, when it comes to inspiration we prefer producers that are close to what we do, like Low Steppa, EDX/Nora En Pure, CamelPhat. We both love a great serie or movie but we dont see any relation with our music. Maybe its a good distraction when you are stuck in a track."
What is the most interesting/funny rumor about you?
"Rumor has it we have had over 20 music projects before Redondo. We're not gonna name any but we have been busy since 2004 releasing music!"
What do you think is the most interesting development in dance music these days?
"The constant evolving of new styles, and the possibility to get out there by yourself. For instance if you make a super cool bootleg the chances are there you go viral on SoundCloud or YouTube (if you can keep your content online that is :)). From that moment on there are good chances to get yourself signed somewhere, or even start your own imprint. There is only one problem, it is easy for fakers to fake it. There are plenty of ways to buy yourself to positions where people notice you. However in the end it is always clear to see who deserved the hype and who just bought the temporary attention."
What are your goals for the future?
"Nothing but keep on producing cool tracks, evolving our sound and playing for great open minded crowds who love dance music!"
And finally, what would you advise the upcoming stars on our Talent Pool?
"Promotional: Find the right balance between being modest and getting yourself heard. It's bad press if you paste your track in someone else's Facebook posts. Try to find out which DJs are likely to support your stuff and write them something personal. We always try to get back when something is sent not spam-ish and we even ended up collaborating on a track with someone."
"Technical: Maybe this advise makes you say DOH OF COURSE, but: be careful selecting the right samples. Sometimes you don't need 15 drum channels but just a very great kick hat and a clap. Also when you have a setup done of say four bars, try to fool around with the 1/16 timing of the groove or notes. Many unique tracks started with a copy/paste error when a grooved moved 1/16 place."
"Also something useful to do, for yourself, is to recreate a track you love. You always hear: try to be unique etc etc, of course that is true. But you can learn many things from listening super carefully to tracks you love."