Coffee Break with VNTM

VNTM's career began in 2017, and since then he has become a well-known figure in the techno music scene. His music is characterised by an uplifting and hypnotic quality and a fusion of modern techno with harmonious melodies. He has performed at a number of prestigious venues, including Burning Man, Printworks, Tomorrowland and Awakenings, and has released music on a number of record labels, including Afterlife, Obscura, ARTS and many others. At the end of last year, VNTM launched the Open Source project, an innovative initiative that will see new tracks released periodically over the course of a year, along with all the associated MIDI files, Audio files, and synth presets. This initiative is open to music producers who are welcome to use these resources as they see fit, whether for creating original compositions or remixing and sampling VNTM's own tracks.

Hey Tom, it is a pleasure to have you for one of our coffee break interviews. What have you been up to this past week?

This past week has all been into preparation for ADE, I’m doing 3 sets.. maybe a 4th.. who knows!

One liveset for Recondite, one b2b dj set with Beswerda, and an improvised live AV show with Serti!

So this upcoming week is all about collaborating on amazing stuff all with their own artistic angle.

First of all, I was curious to know how this passion for electronic music, especially techno, started and why did you decide to pursue this career? Was it something you had planned for a long time or was it something spontaneous?

I sneaked into a few nightclubs at the age of 15 with a fake ID, my friends and I pasted a small number on top of the year of birth to increase our age to the legal 16 at the time haha! I instantly felt a connection to the dj booth and after some time started taking dj courses and eventually went to a music bachelor after high-school.

I think it was pretty serious from the start already, and my parents always encouraged me to follow my passion. I think something that largely contributed was the fact that my dad switched from being a data-analist to studying Architecture when I was around 10 years old, so he gave the right example of following your heart! For context, my sister just graduated from the Dutch Film Academy, so I guess creativity is in our blood.

“I want to create a space for the creators, the people behind the music, the real curators and diggers. And me and the team really don’t care about trending tiktoks or viral videos, its about the music.”

How did you come up with the Open Source project and what was your initial goal with it?

I think the trigger to start this project is based on two principles:

The first one is having total creative freedom to drop music other labels would not sign,

I got so much great feedback from live-gigs on music that works for me and my listeners, but sometimes doesn’t fit in with other labels or dj sets.

Secondly, on a daily basis I see artists complain about royalty splits, about the music industry being “harder than ever” and all that negativity. But if you look at technical advancements over the past years and the introduction of AI, it is somewhat logical digital art is devaluated. So in order to make this project stand out I wanted to increase the value of the Art, enabling other artists to contribute to the project by remixing or sampling me.

And so far I have received some incredible remixes by well known artists, but even more-so by smaller local artists looking for a first release.

It’s by no-means a financial decision to make a big profit on this, I’m reinvesting every penny into new gear to make the next releases.. So basically to “fund” this self-fulfilling organism.

Your Open Source project started with 'Whispers'. A track that combines dark beats with uplifting melodies that somehow resembles the melodic techno of the early days. Could you tell us a bit more about the creative process behind it?

I bought the Elektron Rytm mk2, and new gear always gives me a burst of inspiration and creativity. So the drums and bass all come from a single recording in the rytm, and then played my melodies on top. It all went very smoothly, and it’s one of those tracks that has just written itself within a few hours.

Regarding your live performances, what tools do you use and how often do you feel the need to change some of the equipment? Is it something that you are constantly experimenting with or do you have a predefined set of tools?

I started naming my liveset projects by “Phase”, currently I’m in “Phase 14”, which is in a way an advanced version of 13 and so on. Along the way I changed my gear drastically haha!

Current setup consists of:

Analog Rytm Mk2

Waldorf Iridium Core

2x X:one k2 controllers

X:one 96 mixer (and soundcard)

Macbook Pro

Ipad Pro (with an app called Touchable)

The main improvement is the Iridum and the iPad, the iPad is about as big as the current cdj screens and allows me to close my laptop almost entirely, which reduces screen on stage and increases interaction with the crowd. Aside from that the touch-screen and custom mapping allow for very deep midi signals and changes with a single button!

The iridium core is my 9th synthesizer, and so far its the best I ever had. It’s the first one that speaks to me in a futuristic way. Most synths are built on old-school engines and ideas and therefore always feel a bit limited. The iridum is more like a modern daw with touchscreen and easy navigation + 2000+ presets that already sound insane from the start.

It’s not a machine I would recommend getting as your first synth, its complex and hard to handle but its extremely versatile and perfect for those looking to play live and have everything in a relatively small compact box!

What would you say was the biggest turning point in your career as a musician? Do you think it was in 2019, when some well-known artists like Tale of Us started playing some of your tracks like Diva and Dark knight?

I think playing my first Awakenings in December 2018 was the moment my surroundings all started to acknowledge that this “music-thing” was for real for real, and it was no longer a hobby.. Right after that gigs with Afterlife at Tomorrowland and Printworks followed and I was definitely on the right track. In 2020 covid hit hard because I was about to play a serious amount of major festivals which obviously got postponed, and I think that I had difficulties at the time sustaining my momentum.

Now looking back at that period I think an unclear vision, and lack of persistence were definitely at the heart of things not going as fast as I wanted. But in the past 2 years since covid I have done shows I never imagined I would play, and I think my vision on what I want to present on stage is getting stronger by the day. In a way I feel more ready for these big-gigs than I was at the time, and hopefully I can translate that in my sound and performances. The fact that a major part of the melodic-techno scene moved into some sort of mainstream form felt like a big threat, but lately I’m having lots of conversations with fans and listeners praising me for keeping my sound deep and melancholic so I’m pretty sure I’m on the right track to where I want to be!

Last year you launched your Mindscape series of events. What are your criteria for booking the artists and what was your initial goal to start this series of events in the first place?

I want to create a space for the creators, the people behind the music, the real curators and diggers. And me and the team really don’t care about trending tiktoks or viral videos, its about the music. A major part of the concept revolves around focus.. focus on the dancefloor from artist to crowd and the other way around. And any distraction we’re trying to take away, so we have a strong no-phone policy to keep everyone involved.

So imagine dark warehouse venues, minimalistic and sophisticated lighting rigs that are audio responsive and music that is based on a hypnotic techno foundation with small bits of melody and harmonies on top. But the groove and energy is by far leading.

On a current topic, what is your opinion on AI and how do you think these AI tools can help in music production?

I think I touched upon the AI part of Open Source earlier, and I recently did a bootleg remix on Vaal’s “Wander To Hell”, so I’m actually using it in a nice way I think. But I’m also aware of the dangers of AI, and I think working with hardware and real-life recordings is a way to create human imperfections that really make the music stand-out from the rest.

If music, and art in general, becomes too “perfect” it loses the soul and distinction between human and machine. And it’s exactly that interaction that I want to hear within music, the battle between controlling synthesizers and sometimes things shooting out of control.

So if anything I want to encourage artists to keep experimenting with machines and look for the boundaries of what we’re capable of pushing out a speaker cabinet. Let’s search for the craziest sound designs and futuristic ideas, and not look for perfection by machines.

On a hot topic, some venues in Ibiza have recently decided to implement a no mobile phone policy. What do you think about this?

I 100% vouch for no-phone policies, but only in places that have a corresponding door policy, and lights and visual approach inside the venue that matches these values.

I don’t think Ibiza is the right place to implement this for now, as many people like to share their Island adventures and its a pop-place.

What can we expect from you in the upcoming months?

I’m working on a big load of music with Ae:ther, and we’re planning a hybrid b2b set that is going to be very very exciting.

And I’ve worked on a collab with Hunter/Game, that you can already preview in my Tomorrowland set on Soundcloud ;)

Which is set for Fall 2024.

And I’ll happily continue dropping one track a month within the Open Source project,

For more info and downloads head to vntm.bandcamp.com

Finally, as someone who spends so much time in the studio, how do you like your coffee?

DOUBLE ESPRESSO NO SUGAR.

Or a Flat White If I’m sitting outside on a terrace,

enjoying an iced one too every once in a while.

Interview by João Alves

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