SEKOIA, today’s Motown of electronic music

Sep 3, 2013 | by Ridz | Event, Music

About the author

Ridz, advertises, produces indie/electronic music, performs throughout the Netherlands but ultimately always ends up at an Amsterdam based ensemble... then he blogs about all these things.

SEKOIA has been building a quality deep house and techno community, one track at a time, for over a year now. With its Facebook and YouTube channels, a monthly podcast series on Soundcloud, and contributing to the Dutch edition of DJ MAG, SEKOIA has a broad range of media to share its musical knowledge with. To spread their sound, they recently started hosting events here and there. The next one of which is Next Monday’s Hangover Festival. We got to know them a little better in advance.

Who is SEKOIA exactly and what do they do?
“SEKOIA is three guys sharing a love for a certain kind of music. It started off with me (Florinsz) and Ward at school discussing new ideas to start a community to educate people about quality deep techno and house music. The aim of this project is comparable to what Motown became in the sixties: it was just a label releasing music, but that music was so unique that people didn’t know what to call it so they just called it ‘Motown’ music, even when other labels started releasing the same kind of tunes. They became synonymous to that kind of music. That’s what we’d love to accomplish with SEKOIA.”

And what about the literal definition?
“That’s simple: it’s the biggest tree species out there. We like to think of our style as a more organic kind of electronic music. We felt artists like Dominik Eulberg understood the concept of music crossing over with nature, back in the day when we started out.

This ideology concedes with the artwork we make for every track. Which is kind of different compared to a lot of other music platforms on YouTube who mainly attach pictures of hot women to their content. I always wonder how the female listeners of those tracks feel about that. It’s not about the chicks, or clicks. For us, it’s the quality of the music and the story behind it that are important.”

How did you get in contact with the music you tend to feature on SEKOIA?
“Interestingly enough, Ward came from a hardcore background, while Cédric has a more indie-band history. Me, I’m originally a real trance guy, remember the Cygnus X Superstring days? I guess it was a slightly nicer kind of electronica than all that hardstyle everybody else was listening to where I grew up in Brabant. Nevertheless, the actual reason probably lies with my dad. He was involved in throwing music events that featured ‘walk-in music’, music that would set the tone as people were entering the event, setting the mood immediately. And at home he’d always play new age and Celtic stuff. It wasn’t for later that I realised these dreamy kind of genres caught my attention because of previous influences.”

Cool, well let’s get into the good stuff now. What does a track need to have in order to be featured on SEKOIA?
“Ah that’s easy, we have to like it! There isn’t a formula for getting your track on SEKOIA. It’s just a reflection of our music taste, which can change over time you know. My latest discovery is this South African producer called Daniel Ray, who manages to put down an amazing atmosphere with very little recourses.”

Ok, and if you could make love to a track, which one would it be?
“If I have to choose one, it’s definitely John Tejada’s – Farther And Fainter (Original Mix).”

What was your latest genius discovery, artist or track?
“At the moment, I’d make love to Petar Dundov’s complete new album as well.”

You’re also involved in parties. How is the offline world treating SEKOIA?
“We’ve been doing some monthly events in Utrecht together with our partners from Claydrum at Lux and Hal16. We definitely throw the coziest party in Utrecht, taking place in a space not bigger than the average broom closet, but with a party atmosphere that can rival any big event out there. Furthermore, we’ve had the privilege to host Studio 80′s second room during one of the PRISMA nights. Finally, we’re really happy to be involved with a stage at Next Monday’s Hangover festival this coming weekend. A definite match for us music-wise!”

What is your dream line-up?
“Actually, Next Monday’s Hangover Festival’s line-up comes pretty damn close. John Tejada, Robag Wruhme and Lake People would all be on it. Supplemented by Petar Dundov and Dj Phono to name some.”

Cool, so tell me more about your stage at Next Monday’s Hangover Festival then?
“As it’s looking now, we’ll be aiming for an outdoor living-room kind of vibe. Maybe we’ll exposition some real sequoia trees here and there and create more of a jungle-ish kind of setting. Expect lots of wood, lamps and more nostalgic kinds of items.”

Finally, where are you taking SEKOIA next? Is there a goal to reach?
“Yes, it might surprise you, but we actually have a plan. Our first year was all about getting our online content out there. In our second year we wanted to get our brand out there through some stage hostings, which we are doing now. The third year will hopefully see our own events and finally, the ultimate goal for the fourth year is to go international with the sound. Think big, right?”