After exploding onto the scene in his native Amsterdam with his now chart topping hit, 'One Day' (also notching over 20 million YouTube views), Bakermat has gone on to prove he's more than a one hit wonder. Playing festivals and clubs the world over in the last few years, this relative newcomer has gained a huge new fanbase with his melodic, organic brand of house and techno.
These days, along with DJing and producing, he's begun playing with a five piece band, and has an album in the works for this year, the concept of which he describes as "trying to create a new, original genre in dance music." With the success he's already seen, we wouldn't be surprised if he pulled off this far reaching feat. So we caught up with Lodewijk Fluttert, AKA Bakermat, to find out more about how he got into dance music, where his love of organic sounds comes from, and he reveals more details about his upcoming LP.
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First of all, ‘One Day’ broke into the UK Charts Top 20, how did that feel? Felt great and actually really unexpected. The track is pretty old and has already made it's way through Europe, I don't know the exact reason why it was released so late in the UK, but it felt great that it made it to the charts anyway.
Can you explain to us your introduction to music in general and to electronic music? I have always had a passion for music, and I’ve been collecting jazz, blues and soul records since I was 9. When I was around 16, I started listening to dance music as well, especially minimal techno, deep house and tech house. When I was in college, I took a semester off just to see if I could make my own music as well. I downloaded the software, combined minimal and deep house with jazz, soul and blues, and that's where it all started.
What influenced you to start producing music? I really don't know, it was some kind of urge. I loved studying psychology and I loved my student life, but I felt there was something missing. I just had to make my own tunes and express myself, and didn't really care if anyone would listen to my music. I put my music on YouTube and SoundCloud and people actually liked it. That was a great motivation for me to pursue my dream of becoming a full time producer and DJ.
Your productions have a strong relationship with instrumentation you wouldn’t usually find in house music, particularly the saxophone – why is this? This is because of my love and passion for jazz, blues and soul music. I love classical instruments like saxophone, violin, piano and flutes more than synthesizers. I like synths to be a part of music, but the actual acoustic instruments make music more human, more organic.
Your music is contains dance floor elements as well as musical elements that suit home-listening – where do you think is the ideal place to hear your music? At a beach party, on a boat, at festivals, in your car.
How do you set-up when you play live? For DJ sets, I just use 3 CDJs and a mixer. When I perform live, I play with 5 musicians so it's a bit more complex. I use Ableton with two MIDI controllers: one to play with effects and one to play with clips and scenes.
You’re playing in London on 8th September with a full live band – can you tell us more about this? It's a new challenge for me. I've been playing DJ sets for two years now and really wanted to do something special this year. Since my music contains a lot of classical instruments, I thought it would be cool to perform these parts live, because it's gives a more human touch to my shows. The saxophone, violin, percussion, vocals and piano parts will be live. The actual beats and synths will be under my control.
Do you have plans to plans to work with live musicians more? Any plans to introduce live musicians into the recording process? Already on it! I just finished my album, which will contain a lot of live elements and samples. My ultimate dream is to play with an entire orchestra, but it will take a while to get that sorted out I think...
What can you tell us about the album? Any collaborations or big surprises to it? I'm trying to create a new, original genre in dance music. The album is all about this melodic house music, and I hope it will be a fundament for the future. I think it will surprise people because it's a different view on house music and it's a very fresh sound that nobody has ever heard before. It contains a lot of blues, soul and jazz elements.
Is there a concept to the album? I'm trying to go back to the days when dance music was fun and not about credible or non-credible. Nowadays there's a huge gap between the big room EDM sound and underground techno, and everybody is cynical and commenting on everything. I think the EDM guys lack creativity and originality, and the underground techno guys are not open-minded and too busy trying to prove they are credible.
With this album I’m trying to bring the fun, where dance music was originally all about, back by just making music that I love without thinking too much about credibility, strategy or marketing.
Finally, aside from your UK date, are there any plans for an autumn or winter tour? I have a tour planned in November in the UK, I will be playing in Manchester, Bournemouth, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and London.
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