The electronic scene has become an incredibly volatile place where prodigies are being born every day. Savant type producers like Madeon, Zedd and Porter Robinson have penetrated the scene in unprecedented manner powered by pure talent and a grinding work ethic. And yet it is still hard to believe that Vicetone, the fast rising dj/producing duo from the Netherlands, have only been active for little over 6 months. Starting with releasing remixes of popular indie songs, like their flawless rendition of Youngblood Hawke’s ‘We Come Running’, and being supported by the likes of Nicky Romero and Hardwell, Vicetone proves they are the real deal. Now starting to release a couple more originals, we were able to chat with both Ruben & Victor to discuss their plan for 2013 as well as a lot of aspects about the music they produce.
But before we get to the interview, we have a MASSIVE exclusive mix handed down to us fresh, hot and ready from Vicetone’s musical oven. Containing a well versed sample of all the reasons why we love Vicetone, and a couple of powerful new tracks mixed in. Tracklist after the jump.
Download Here: Vicetone TMN Guestmix
TMN: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us here at The Music Ninja, first round is on us, what would you like to drink?
Thanks for having us, we’d like two beers please!
TMN: In just a short period of time, you guys have grown to become one of most exciting emerging artists in dance music, walk us through some of your earlier successes, any “Oh Shit!” moments that felt unbelievable at the time?
Another moment was when Nicky Romero played our remix of his Sparks track on the radio, we had only been in the scene for a month or 3 at that time so that was definitely an “Oh Shit!” moment. Since then, he has supported a lot of tracks on his radio show and we’re very thankful for his ongoing support.
TMN: You guys seem to complement each other really well, however, what do you think is the biggest difference between the two of you, musically and personality?
Musically we have a very similar taste, and that makes the process of making music together extremely easy and productive. We work really well together in the studio because we have the same ideas about how we want our music to sound. As far as differences go, we do have our own ways with coming up with melodies. For example, Ruben nearly always uses the piano to come up with melodies and chords, while Victor normally prefers to draw the melody in directly. The melody types we both come up with are often different too, which is what makes it so much more fun to work together!
TMN: Being pretty early to producing music, with both of you starting around 2011, what has been your biggest technical challenge so far? Can you tell us what an average day is for you guys?
Well, we really started in 2012, in 2011 it was mostly just messing around with sounds and melodies, purely experimenting and never really finishing a track. In 2012, we really started to get the hang out of it and take it much more serious, devoting pretty much all of our time to it. Our sound has improved and changed significantly during that time, and that is the process of hard work and continuously learning new things.
An average day for us is waking up, drinking coffee, studio, eat, studio, sleep! We work in the studio every single day and we actually feel like we’re slacking if we take a day off. We absolutely love what we do though!
TMN: If your music were an animal, what would it be?
Good question. It would probably be a jaguar. Stylish yet powerful…
TMN: You are stranded on an island and can only listen to three tracks until you are rescued in 6 months, what would those three tracks be?
1) Eric Prydz – Pjanoo
2) Rachael Starr – To Forever (Moonbeam Remix)
3) Deadmau5 – Faxing Berlin
TMN: How do you think your music has evolved in the last 12 months, and what can we expect going forward in 2013. What are your thoughts on the current state of electro house and emerging beat bass genres like Trap?
Our music has been evolving in both a technical and a creative way in the past 12 months. There are periods that we discover a new plugin or a new synth that we love, and those moments can have a pretty big impact on our sound!
The electro house scene is definitely changing, and it seems like hard style-kicks in house music are now going to be prevalent in 2013. We don’t really care that much though, we only think of the music we want to make, rather than following the particular trend. We will definitely be trying out new things this year, while also staying true to our melodic style as much as we like. We will never be tied to a single genre or feel constrained to not experiment with our music, but we really love catchy melodies and melodic tracks, so if you like our previous tracks, you will surely love the track we have lined up for everybody in 2013.
TMN: Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk to you guys, where can fans expect you next? Any upcoming tours?
You’re very welcome, thank you for having us! We can’t say any dates yet, but we are working hard on getting the first tour set up, so keep a close eye on our Facebook post for the first tour dates.
Tracklist TMN Vicetone Guestmix
1) Cazzette – Weapon (Vicetone Remix)
2) Daddy’s Groove – Stellar (Extended Mix)
3) Mat Zo & Porter Robinson – Easy (Original Mix)
4) Hook N Sling VS NERVO – Reason (Vicetone Remix)
5) David Guetta Ft. Taped Rai – Just One Last Time (Hard Rock Sofa Big Room Mix)
6) Alesso – Clash (Original Mix)
7) Vicetone – California (Original Mix)
8) Doctor P Feat. Eva Simons – Bulletproof (Vicetone Remix)
9) Swedish House Mafia – Antidote vs. Vicetone – Twenty vs Dada Life – Feed The Dada
10)Fedde Le Grand & Nicky Romero Feat. Matthew Koma – Sparks (Vicetone Remix)
11)Youngblood Hawke – We Come Running (Vicetone Remix)
12)Calvin Harris Feat. Ne-Yo – Let’s Go (Vicetone Remix)
