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Interview: Roland Klinkenberg
Dutch producer Roland Klinkenberg doesn't do interviews, doesn't DJ and doesn't play live. But all that is about to change, writes Tami Fenwick.
With a name like Roland, it was only a matter of time before Roland Klinkenberg decided to make electronic music. "From an early age I always wondered what those shiny boxes with my name on them did," he jokes from his studio in the south of The Netherlands.
In truth, it wasn't a TB-303 or TR-909 that led the 35 year old producer to start dabbling. He tinkered with pianos, cellos and guitars before discovering synths and samplers, eventually giving up on live music to hole himself up in the studio to make vocal house, trance and even drum n bass before finding a niche in progressive. His biggest success so far is the single 'Inner Laugh' (1998), famously retooled by then up-and-comer James Holden, and like many studio heads he keeps a foothold on the floors by collaborating with a DJ, in this case fellow Dutchman DJ Remy. Since 'Inner Laugh' Klinkenberg has stuck to what he's best at, eschewing clubs in favour of studio tinkering and even a bit of instrument building. If you want to hear what he has achieved, you'll have to check out the recorded evidence, released on many labels including Global Underground, Deep Dish's Yo! imprint and Armin Van Buuren's Electronic Elements.
But while many late-nineties progressive producers have thrown in the towel, in 2007 Klinkenberg is more active than ever. He has just released his debut artist album, 'Mexico Can Wait', a home listener that takes in Border Community-style neo-trance, 'Belfast'-era Orbital, ambient electronics as well as more peaktime club fare. Now that the album is in the can, Klinkenberg is even thinking of opening his studio door and getting out into the clubs as a DJ and a live act, which you sense will be a big step for this self-described introvert. But one step at a time - first there are some nosy RA questions to deal with.
Let's start with something stupid. Given your first name, did you ever feel destined to make electronic music?
(Laughs) No, not at all. I never made the connection - it was always other people who noticed that. Actually, I read an interview with a Japanese guy who was an executive at Roland and the reason why they chose that name was because it's pronounced the same in almost every language. So there you have it. That's probably the reason why my parents called me Roland, too.
But one thing that I have to get off my chest is the fact that a lot of people call me Ronald instead of Roland. I’ve already had two releases already where my name was wrong on the sleeve. It seems like people become dyslexic when they read my name.
"On MySpace, everybody calls themselves talented. But the fact is talent is scarce."
So how did you get into electronic music and music production anyway?
I guess you could say I come from a musical family. Both my parents played the piano pretty well, mostly classical stuff like Debussy and such, and I started playing piano at the age of six. After that I played cello for a couple of years. Then I switched to guitar, which I played for about eight years. I still play guitar sometimes, but I don't have the skill anymore. I guess I should practice more often.
So you were in a band?
Yes, I was a guitarist in a funk band. We were playing Herbie Hancock and Headhunters stuff. Man, we even had some horns. But that was about twenty years ago. That's also how I got interested in electronic music. We used to have all these effect pedals, stomp boxes, you know, which I could create all these weird and wonderful sounds. For example, I'd connect my record player to a delay pedal so I could loop pieces of music and play them faster or slow them down. At the time the possibilities seemed endless. In fact, they still are. After that I bought a drum computer and borrowed a synth so I had a very basic setup with which I could experiment further with.
So do you own and use any of the famous machines that share your name?
No. I did own a Roland synth once but that was nothing special. When I bought my first real setup, the only thing I could afford was a sampler because back in the early nineties those Akai S1000 samplers cost a fortune. Of course today, you can buy a proper setup for the same amount of money.
There's a photo diary online documenting you making your own compressor from a kit. Are you a DIY kind of guy when it comes to electronic music production?
Well, I’ve built a couple of compressors, a solid state Pultec EQ and I’m capable of repairing whatever breaks down, except for computers (laughs). That all started when I bought a twenty year old mixing desk that needed some fixing. The DIY thing is more like a hobby now. I’m not a purist who thinks analog gear is better, you know. Ninety per cent of my productions are done within a computer environment. I do use some analog hardware, but that’s mainly because I have it around, and it’s easy to work with.
So have you needed to dig out your soldering iron out lately?
No, no projects lately, no siree! I've been far too busy producing. I have all these remix swaps to do so I save those projects for quiet times, which I might never have again. I mean after this interview gets published I might reach super stardom right? (laughs)
You started out making strictly club-oriented trance and ravier stuff in the mid-nineties, but these days you're more diverse. How do you define your music? And what is its purpose?
Hmm. (thinks) That’s a tough one. I just try to make original tracks with interesting rhythms and music to go with it. I find it very hard to describe my own stuff. Most people know me from the peak time prog stuff or whatever it’s called, but I’ve also produced drum n bass, club house and some vocal stuff, and my new album is a little more ambient orientated. I just produce what feels right at the moment without thinking about genres or labels.
The purpose question is also tough. I think good music is timeless, and if it’s dance music, it should make people dance. Simple ain’t it? (laughs). But basically I make music because I really enjoy making it and it's a way of expressing myself. About nine years ago, I stopped producing for a year because I was bored with it. I thought I would never pick it up again but then I went to India for six months and during that time I realized how much I really missed making music. When I don’t have any way to express myself there’s always a constant flow of ideas inside my head. Man, I had a lot of inspiration over there (laughs).
Your music seems designed to get a big crowd reaction. DJs probably love to play it because it makes them feel special when the crowd go wild. Is that intentional?
Well, I guess you’re referring to tracks like for 'Melting Point'. That was certainly made to achieve that effect. Something like that takes a lot of listening to before you get it right. I must have heard that track a couple of hundred times before it was finished (laughs). The tension build up has to be just right otherwise it gets boring. The track 'Mexico Can Wait' has elements of that approach as well, but other tracks on my new album take a more subtle approach because after a couple of times those kinds of tricks get boring even for me.
How did you approach making the album?
About half of the tracks on it were half finished tracks which I'd had lying around for years. I'd never released that kind of music before because there's no point putting that kind of stuff on the B-sides of club singles. I thought the tracks were much more suitable for a home listening album but it wasn't until Global Underground said they wanted it that I got the push I needed to finish them off. So except for tracks like 'Mexico Can Wait' and 'On My Mind', all the tracks are kind of laidback rather than upfront. I guess because I like albums that you can just play in the background which don't bother you.
Do you listen to other dance music or check messageboards to find out what people are talking about and digging? Or do you just follow your heart when you make music?
I do hear a lot of dance music especially when I'm looking on sites like Beatport (sighs), but I don’t listen to it to relax or as background music. My music always turns out different than what I expected. I guess that’s what following your heart means, going with the flow. But you do need that initial spark. Once you’ve got that, the rest follows naturally.
"I just produce what feels right at the moment without thinking about genres or labels."
Which other dance music producers do you rate?
Squarepusher, Funky Porcini, the DnB producer Matrix, but those are not really dance producers I guess. Hmm, let me think. The Orb, James Holden, Dubfire. Mainly because they make good music. Seriously, these days whenever you read the About Me section on MySpace, everybody calls themselves talented. But the fact is talent is scarce. Acts like Squarepusher or The Orb are way ahead of the pack. Then there’s James Holden, who I still want to thank for that 'Inner Laugh' remix he did for me. Yeah, he’s talented for sure. What I also really like is the Ninja Tune stuff like Amon Tobin, Funky Porcini, Luke Vibert and so on. I also like sample-based jazzy stuff.
What are some of your favourite albums, both electronic and non-electronic, so far in 2007?
The last CD I bought was by the Orb: 'Okie Dokie It’s The Orb' On Kompakt, but that's not from 2007. This year I've also bought 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' by Brian Eno and David Byrne. That’s early electronic experimental stuff, again not from 2007 though. I think it was released in 1980 or so. I've also bought some good stuff by Trentemoller, Joris Voorn, Green Velvet, Pig & Dan and Dubfire.
You often produce with DJ Remy. Do you enjoy the collaborative process? Who does what in the studio?
Yes, of course! Being a producer, sometimes you're alone in the studio 24 hours a day, which is no fun. Sometimes it's good to have someone else there to get the work done. (laughs) Remy is a good friend so it’s always good fun working with him. Always. I can be a major pain in the ass to work with so bless Remy for his patience. For example, when I'm producing sometimes I have these mood swings where at first something sounds good, but the next minute I think it sucks. I think this is particularly frustrating for the other guy when you’ve been working on something for quite some time. So sometimes I have that but most of the time it goes quite smooth. We both have studios at home, so if we're at my place, I sit behind the controls and vice versa. Remy is more of a DJ and I’m more of a musician, so this works very well.
'The Detroit Track', which you made together, steers away from progressive into something more techno focused. What was the inspiration for this track or is that implicit from the title?
'The Detroit Track' is actually a two second sample from one of our own tracks. I can't say which one, but it was released recently. I don’t think it’s that different from our other releases though. For example 'Till Ya Drop' is also kind of techno. We actually have some new tracks coming up which are like that as well. Maybe it’s our new sound (laughs). The title was just one we used while we were working on the track. Actually, we never wanted to use it but Sharam thought it was a good idea.
There are no tour dates listed on your MySpace page or website. Does this mean you don't DJ or perform live or does it, uh, mean you need a new booking manager?
I've always liked producing better than doing gigs. I don’t know why, maybe because I’m an introverted person. I did do some live sets in the past, but I stopped because I couldn't get my live sets to sound the same as my records. In the past I played live with hardware sequencers and such, no laptops. But after a couple of years I got fed up with it because for some reason the equipment kept breaking down. I also got bored playing the same set more than once.
I've done a lot of back to back sets with DJ Remy, where he played records and I did my live set in between, but I always felt that the records sounded better, louder maybe. You know when you really play live, not just pressing start and letting it run, it’s quite a task to achieve the proper sound and tension build-up. That's something you have to rehearse a lot.
In terms of DJing, I've played in the past but it's never been a serious thing. In the last three or four years I've had a lot of requests for DJ gigs so I've been thinking about taking it more seriously. These days it’s a lot easier to get nice tracks with all these download portals. There’s just so much more choice compared to the vinyl times. So the last couple of years I've had some gigs at festivals like Dance Valley and Extrema and club nights in the UK, but the plan was always to do the album first and then have a serious go at a DJ career that. So I guess, this is just the beginning now.
I’ll have a tour date section on my website and MySpace page soon. I haven't given up on performing live, but I just won’t to do it the old school hardware way again. I guess it’ll be a laptop set with Ableton so I can DJ with it and play live at the same time, a hybrid DJ, live, decks & effects type set.
So does this mean you have a day job?
No, I don’t have another job. I don’t drive a big car either. Actually, I don’t even have a car.
You've been making music for fifteen years. Which of your tracks are you most proud of? Are there any that make you cringe?
I’m always the most proud of my latest work. Everything from before that makes me cringe (laughs). Well, not everything, but most of it. I still enjoy the album even though I’ve obviously heard it a lot.
Finally, some of your tracks have been immortalised as ringtones. Have you made your millions from that yet? What ringtone do you currently have on your mobile?
Well, I've probably made some millions yeah, but I still haven't collected them yet. (laughs) My ringtone? Hmm, that would be “old phone”.
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Published / Tuesday, 02 October 2007
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