The New Dutch Superstars
Boys, a great start to your careers, where did you first hook up?
“We’ve known each other since 2006. We met up at a gig in a club in Rotterdam, discovered we had the same vision about house music and also music in general and decided to give it a go in the studio. Since then we’re like peanut butter and jelly.”
Your production career is going through the roof at the moment you’ve remixed for the likes of Kid Massive, Prok & Fitch, Mike Polo, Lucien Foort, Muzikjunki, Lojak and Plastic Funk – which has been your best remix work do you think – and why?
“We put our entire heart in each remix and therefore we love them all. But we do have to say we’re very happy the way our El Beasto remix for our buddies Ben and James (Prok & Fitch) turned out. Because the main riff is really trancy and we wanted to keep the trance vibe in, but also keep the club feel intact, it became a challenge, but we found a way and it works really well!”
You have quite a unique sound when DJing – the girls love you, so do the boys – how would you describe your musical style?
“We just play what we like and hope it comes across well. We love to create a kind of wave of intensity in our sets. Build up, then go down a bit and then up again etc. It’s important to us that people feel the music itself, so we play as much melodic stuff as we can, and not just tracks which consist of virtually only beats to which people move because of the loud volume. We always keep the dance floor in mind, focusing on the female part of the floor. So it’s safe to say we play women friendly.”
You hail from Holland – what other Dutch counterpart DJs/producers over the years do you/have you rated?
“We absolutely like the productions of DJs like Fedde Le Grand and Funkerman. It’s credible in their basics, but accessible to all people. The Bingo Players are doing great things too.”
Everyone has a ‘guilty pleasure’ – a band or artist they dance around to in their living rooms – what cheesy people do you secretly listen to?
Gabriel: “I love music from the early nineties, all one hit wonders like Shanice – ‘I Love Your Smile’ for example. or Snow – ‘Informer’, that track just puts a smile on my face every time I hear it because of the memories I get when I listen to it.”
Steven: “I have a soft spot for ‘Murder She Wrote’ by Shaka Demus, early UB40 tracks and all seventies / eighties stuff like Earth Wind and Fire or Donna Summer.”
Gabriel – tell us about winning the Music Is The Answer remix comp. on Beatport – what was all that about?
“Music Is The Answer has been one of my faves since it came out and to be able to remix it with all the outtakes was like a dream come true! I made the remix just for my own sets at first, but thought what the hell, I’ll send it in anyway. Turned out I won. To be released on Twisted was a real honour and to get the goodies next to that wasn’t too bad either. Still waiting on that Pioneer mixer though…”
Who is the best DJ in the world and why?
Gabriel: “I’m a big fan of Axwell. His productions are flawless and his quality is what we strive for. It’s very musical. Besides him I really love Chuckie. He is a Dutch DJ who I expect to become very big worldwide real soon. The things and tricks he does with Pioneers is incredible! That man is a freakin’ wizard. I’m not entirely sure, but I think he has four arms or something.”
Steven: My favourite has to be Derrick May. He’s one of the pioneers of techno / house and his skills behind the decks are amazing. He knows how to play sexy and funky but he also knows how to break the house down…”
What is the best piece of production you have ever put out…
“We made a bootleg once of Snow Patrol’s Shut Your Eyes and it started to lead it’s own life since we gave it to a few colleagues. This bootleg will now get an official release through Dutch company Selekted Music. A lot of DJs picked it up after they did a mail out and it’s set for released end of June in Holland and Belgium. Hopefully worldwide very soon. We’re very proud with the result, as we had to cover everything of the original. You can hear it on our site www.gabrielcastellon.com, which links to our MySpace.
What is the best club you have ever played at?
“There are a lot of clubs we like. We think it’s more important to have a crowd that wants to join you in the vibe you’re putting out, which happens more often in the smaller venues. With that in mind, we had a lot of fun in Brighton on the Floorplay label night at Coalition. The clubbers were really up for it. We’re also doing a lot of festivals this year and the one positive thing about global warming is that even in Holland, the climate is nice. So to do our thing open air with the sun shining and people going mental is an awesome feeling too.”
DJing and producing music has become more accessible in recent years, leading to a saturation of the market; what makes you stand out from the rest?
“We just do our thing and try to put our heart and soul in it whether it’s in our music or in our sets. Interaction and contact with the crowd is very important to us as we’re playing for those who bought a ticket to come see us play, so you won’t see us DJ-ing for two hours with our heads hanging down. We’re always having a party ourselves behind the decks. Apart from that we play a lot of our own stuff in our sets. Not only to promote ourselves, but because it’s a part of our sound.”
What is the best piece of musical advice anyone has ever given you?
“Someone told us once to make what you love, not what you think will sell. Since then we made music that I’m proud of and for us it’s the only way to go now. It’s not our intention to make hit records, but we want to make music we love. You can’t even create a hit record anyway, it evolves.”
What music were you listening to as kids growing up, what artists turned you into the dance music world…?
Gabriel: “I listened to a lot of different styles: rock ‘n roll, grunge, hip hop, italo and even classical music. I still listen to classic music every now and then. When I started listening to early house tracks, thanks to my older brother, a whole new world opened up to me. Especially the part that one could create all of this on your own, with just a computer and synthesizers. There weren’t any specific artists who led me into dance, it was just the house and the energy of it that grabbed me and pulled me in.”
Steven: “In my case, that happened during my job at a local record shop when I was seventeen years old. I got in contact with different styles and genres thanks to DJ’s like Michel de Hey and Benny Rodrigues. They showed me that there was a more to life than just commercial house.”
Who are the best producers in the world?
“Again, we have to say Axwell. His productions are really tight. It sounds flawless and it’s really musical. We really appreciate it when the mix is crispy clean and not just samples stacked on top of each other. His mixing skills are something we hope to master someday.”
What one track in the world would you most like to remix?
“‘You Don’t Know Me’ from Armand van Helden. One of the records that still gives us goose bumps…”
What one club you haven’t played at yet do you want to spin at?
“Oh, loads of clubs we would like to spin at! For example, Space Terrace Ibiza and the Womb in Tokyo. And Cocoon in Frankfurt…. All on the priority list!
What is next production wise for Gabriel and Castellon?
“We actually have a lot coming up. As mentioned earlier, ‘Shut Your Eyes’ is officially to be released end of June. We have a huge summer vibe track ready which will be in promo this summer called Soul, It’s a little bit softer than our usual stuff and full vocal, but we don’t want to limit ourselves too much to one thing. Soul will be released through Selekted Music. Another soon to be released track is ‘Tramp’, also through Selekted Music. This is a straight up floor banger with a fierce old school vibe. And on Adapt Recordings (run by Jorgenson) we did a collaboration with Jorgenson called ‘Fusion’. It’s a more deep anthem like track with a massive breakdown and it’s named that way because of the fusion of the electronic and the organic (Curious? Check YouTube). Remix-wise we just finished one for James Fitch & Filthy Rich which is coming out on Roger Sanchez’s Stealth label.