Actualités Electroniques / EN / Noisia

Some weeks ago, we wrote a review about the fantastic EP of Skrillex “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” released on Deadmau5’s label. One of the remix of this EP has been done by one of the most famous trio of drum and base in the Netherlands, but also well-known on the worldwide scene. Please welcome Noisia. Indeed, they have been awarded by a lot of prize like “Best Tech DJ” in the UK National D&B Awards in 2009 and “Best Drum&Bass Artist” on Beatport. This group is composed of Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger. This interview follows notably the one of Avicii, Fedde le Grand and Michael Woods. First of all, I would like to thank Noisia who answered our questions. Have a good reading!

“Hello Noisia,

You released some weeks ago a fantastic remix of “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” produced by the man of the moment: Skrillex, on mau5strap, the imprint managed by the best DJ of the world Deadmau5. Can you give us more information about this release, musically speaking?
> I got a call from Sonny asking if we could do a remix for his EP on Mau5trap, on a very tight deadline, but because i liked the track and the idea of us doing a dubstep remix of a dubstep track we decided to do it in between other projects.

Is Skrillex someone you have produced with before, or it was the first time? How did you meet?
> We got to know Sonny (Moore, real name of Skrillex) through his management at Atlantic sending some emails; they approached us for production for his Sonny Moore project. He came over in May this year and we worked on his album.

2010 has been for you a full year with a release done with Foreign Beggars, but there was also the remix of Skrillex for sure, such as your first album “Split the atom” on your new imprint called Invisible, which will cater for deeper and more experimental drum and bass releases. Can you give u more info about this new project?
> We’re trying to put out d&b that we like and think is interesting and not necessarily all about big and loud obnoxious music. So far it’s been going great, there are lots of new promising artists around who we wish to support by putting out their records. We don’t care if they are new or veterans in the scene.

For 2011, what we expect from you? New tracks for sure? A compilation maybe?
> We got a bunch of new 12”s on Vision in the pipeline, a Hybris EP on Invisible, more stuff with Foreign Beggars, music for the Motorstorm: Apocalypse game that we will also release ourselves, Dutch rapper Kraantje Pappie’s album that we are producing, other pop stuff (All under the Nightwatch name)

So now you are leading two labels: Vision and Invisible. How will you manage these two ambitious projects such as your career as producers? Is it not too difficult to be good in all the things you achieve?
> Well yeah but Invisible thankfully also leans on the talent of many other producers! :)

You’ve been awarded as ‘Best Producers’ at the Dutch D&B Awards in 2006 and 2007, by Knowledge Mag Top 20 Tunes of the Decade 2000 – 2009: No 4 with ‘The Tide’, as ‘Best Tech DJ’ in the UK National D&B Awards in 2009 and as ‘Best Drum&Bass Artist’ on Beatport. Concerning the music you’ve done along the years since 2003, which track did you think help you to win credibility and opened you some doors?
> ‘Block Control’ got our foot in the door in d&b, ‘Gutterpump’ got us some name in the breaks/electro and mainstream world, remixing for the Prodigy & Moby, pretty much all the tracks you journalists enjoyed writing about most ;)

As you are a trio, do you have also in parallel some solo projects, to express yourself in a different way?
> No. Except Martijn who makes techno under the ‘Zonderling’ alias. Or sometimes when one of us makes a track by themselves the mp3 says their name instead of Noisia.

In a classical trio for rock band for instance someone play guitar, the other the drum and another song is the vocal. In electronic music it is different. How do you work together? Do you have some pre-determinate roles to produce?
> Not really. But we are in the process of going from one studio to three again (we used to have this in our student rooms), so we can work simultaneously instead of one at a time.

After we gave this little introduction about the music to our readers, we wanted to get back to your origins. Could you please tell us in a few words, how did you become producers? Is there any story behind it? How did you meet? Indeed, the German duo M.A.N.D.Y. for instance told us for instance they met on a tennis court during a match! You come from the same city, so I can image it was easier. How did it happen?
> We all went to the same high school (our manager as well). All three of us were into graffiti and electronic music at the time and we started to mess around with it together.

As you come from Netherlands could you please tell us if there are one or two Dutch artists you would like to introduce us, today?
> Nothing comes to mind that isn’t full of Dutch vocals that non-Dutch speaking folk wouldn’t really be able to relate to.

We know the Dutch music electronic scene mainly through its trance scene thanks to DJs like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren and many more. How would you describe the scene of electronic music from your point of view?
> Well there wasn’t much of an electronic music scene in our town (Groningen) when we started out, or at least, we didn’t know about it, now there is quite a lot happening, but nationally it seems like the areas we move in are way under the mainstream dance radar.

Drum and bass has a certain public in France. What did you know about the French electronic music scene? Are there some artists that you know personally? You particularly love their works?
> We love a lot of the ‘french’ sound, Daft Punk, Mr. Oizo, Justice, Sebastian etc. We don’t know them personally, but they have been a great inspiration.

Noisia, to conclude this interview, we have a few more questions to better know you. Sometimes one word is enough!

The song you advice us to listen in your discography?
> Cold Veins

An artist you would like to work with, one day?
> Foreign Beggars

3 words to define your music?
> Listen to it

Are you using vinyl or mp3 for your mix?
> CD’s

One word about France?
> Baguette

The software you use to produce?
> Cubase

Your best souvenir of this summer: a place where you played for instance or an anecdote?
> Soccer in the park was really nice

The best club in the Netherlands (name and city)?
> Simplon, Groningen

Your favorite track these days?
> Fresku - Twijfel

Noisia, thank you very much for the time you devoted to Actualités Electroniques and particularly for this interview. We will wait for sure for your next productions. We hope to see you soon in a club in France or abroad. See ya!
Dj Aroy