Whether you went out last weekend to check out an uber-geeky beat magician or a depressingly awesome indie rock band, we all know there’s always some serious musical talents rocking around the Dam. You might not recognize them all yet, but don’t worry, you will soon. In this series of interviews we talk to remarkable artists about their music and their inspirations.
Hernan Cattaneo: “Very good stuff!”
Eelke Kleijn: “MSTRDM for me, both mixes!”
Talul: “Love this EP!”
Mira (bar25): “MSTRDM! will play :)”
These are just a few of the pieces of praise that Hubert Kirchner received on his brand new EP ‘Jules’. The young and handsome producer from Amsterdam is on a roll, and about to make a dent in the universe with his music. His label morgen.am is throwing a release party this weekend in Doka, so we decided to ask Hubert a couple of questions about how the EP came to be.
This Saturday is your EP release in Doka. What can we expect?
“A lot of good music from the performers playing. It’s very cool to really build your own evening; I’ve been working on this idea for quite some time, and to finally see it come together is amazing. My old studio buddy Zwaan will be performing a live set (I hope we won’t get as drunk as the other time we played together), my Bolivian brother from another mother Some Chemistry will be rocking out some of his fine indie tunes, and Applescal, one of my personal heroes, will also be doing a live set. And of course, I have prepared a brand new live set for this evening myself.”
How long did you work on this EP?
“The whole idea of the EP took quite some time. The funny thing was, during the production of the two tracks we were going for, I produced another track (MSTRDM) and it really worked for everyone to replace one of the old tracks with this brand new track. This is why the EP really shows where I come from and where I am going. We really wanted to emphasise the width of the music I can produce.”
How did the collaboration with Applescal and Zwaan go?
“When Henk (morgen.am label manager) asked me for remixers I immediately went to Zwaan and he was very enthusiastic about the whole project. We had asked Applescal a while before and when he confirmed I was so happy. Applescal’s music definitely made an impact on my own music. The collaboration was awesome; he even invited me to come and have dinner at his place in Berlin. I played there the night before, and his lasagna was just what I needed to get over my hangover.”
Where do you get your inspiration?
“I don’t really have one specific source of inspiration. It could be weird things. I always try to keep my ears open for sounds. Whenever and wherever I am. I think that really makes a difference. People don’t realise how many cool sounds they hear on a daily basis. Next to the weird stuff I just love listening to good music. It could range from classical music to very solid techno. I really don’t care. What I find important is how well it is produced.”
Can you tell me a little bit about the EP artwork?
“I come from a pretty creative family and so was my granddad. He was an architect and next to designing futuristic stuff like concept cars back in his day, he also liked to draw nature scenery whenever he went on holidays. When Henk asked me for the artwork I immediately dove into this pile of drawings by my granddad. It was amazing to see sketches made long before I was even born.”
“My eye fell on one drawing from 1977; a nomadic tent with some sheep beside it. It looked amazing and the image had a certain vibe of freedom to it. One of the tracks was first called Free but as a tribute to my granddad we decided to name the track Jules, his first name. With the raw material from my granddad, my buddy Mark made it even more into a masterpiece.”
When you finished these tracks, who was the first one to listen to it?
“For the track called Jules that’s pretty hard to tell. I started working on this track over a year ago. It may have been Zwaan because I was sharing a studio with him at that time! The track MSTRDM I first shared with the guys at morgen.am.”
I have the feeling I’ve only just begun and there’s so much ahead of me still.
What was your most memorable moment from the last year?
“There have been a lot of memorable moments in the last year. What always is amazing, is hearing from people that my music inspired their lives in some way. Music is amazing. It’s funny how it all started with 5 plays a day on my SoundCloud. I have now been played over 200.000 times. It still astounds me that people are so enthusiastic about my music.”
What will 2014 bring you?
“More fame and more bitches. No just kidding, haha! I will get better and develop my sound more. I’m so extremely driven and passionate about music, I have the feeling I’ve only just begun and there’s so much ahead of me still. I will sign an international agency in the very near future so I’ll be going somewhat more internationally. Most important though, it will bring more good music.”
morgen.ep 141 release party
When: Saturday March 1st, 23.00 – 04.00
Where: Doka, Wibautstraat 150
Tickets: €8.50 presale / €10.- door
Info: Facebook event
Feature photo © Jip Broeks
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