Few acts have been at the forefront of modern dance music like Showtek has been for over a decade. The production duo of Dutch brothers Sjoerd & Wouter Janssen have been through many cycles of the dance music industry. From their early days producing UK hardstyle tracks, to their massive mainstage anthems like โBooyah,โ โWe Like to Party,โ โBadโ and โCannonball;โ Showtek have ridden the industry rollercoaster and have emerged as heady veterans.
Like the rest of the world, the Janssen brothers dealt with the trials and tribulations of the global pandemic, while at the same time evaluating where they wanted to take their music career. With plenty of time to record and a new mandate to experiment, 2022 is setting up to be an exciting new chapter for Showtek. The duo have been hard at work in the studio, and Sjoerd is back out on the touring circuit. We got the chance to chat with Sjoerd ahead of his show at Academy LA. He gave us updates on Showtek music, his move to Los Angeles, growing as a person and artist, and so much more. Check out the exclusive interview below.
Hey Sjoerd, thanks for chatting with us. Give us your Showtek 2021 year in review. The year started with most people still in lockdown, but we ended the year with some great shows.
โYeah, so a little throwback. Like, 2020 and 2021 were obviously tough for everybody, everybody had their own challenges. I think that those two years did a lot of good as well. I think a lot of people realized what their lives were bringing them, and what was noise, and whatโs not. Because, sometimes when youโre just going and going and going, and you donโt really see the noise anymore; the noise becomes part of you, so you kind of sit back.
A big thing for us was creativity, because we have been just like, if we think back on it, since like the beginning of the boom, basically since like 2014, we did the Major Lazer record in 2017 which was pretty big. So, weโve been going up until like 2019-ish, weโve just been going and going and going. And, the first two years of the pandemic, I had a personal issue, I had two knee surgeries. So, I used those two years to really recover, but, it also reconnected me with a lot of family members, and my friends who were there for me, who I normally only see like once a year. So, on a personal level, to be really honest, itโs been amazing. I really gained a lot of deep connections that are close to me. Same for Wouter, Iโm also speaking for Wouter in this case. But, we also used that moment to realize what do we want for Showtek? Because, if you look at the history of our career, we were really big in hardstyle, we sold out all the stadium shows, we sold out big shows in Sydney and Amsterdam. And, we realized, hey, is this what we want forever or do we want to go in a new direction? And, it was a little tricky.
We took like two or three years for that, to really find ourselves again, overcome some struggles as any artist has to overcome. So, the past two years, we were like, you know what, thereโs not many shows anyway, we canโt really travel. And the challenge was, even though Wouter and I live in the same city, he doesnโt always go to the studio, because every studio we use, they need testing results everyday. They didnโt allow people to go in because of insurance problems and stuff. So we were working from WhatโsApp and working over FaceTime. It was super challenging, but, we realized, letโs do a big kind of relaunch in 2022 somewhere. The idea was to launch a new album earlier this year, but, to launch that, you need a lot of prep time. And because of Covid, we didnโt really know what was going to happen. Yeah, the US is opening in some states, but that doesnโt mean itโs going to be forever. So, why would we launch an album without knowing if we can tour?
So, we built up, I think 59 tracks. Yeah, and then Wouterโs a night owl, and Iโm more of a day person. So, sometimes, when heโs been working at night, heโll send me something at 7 in the morning. Iโll wake up at like 8:30, and itโs like, oh, thereโs a bunch of IDs, letโs continue. So, we kind of find a really weird groove. So, it wouldnโt work if we were together, but, because of the situation, it kind of worked. So, weโve really been trying to make a lot of new songs, and now we actually have a list of 20 tracks that we filtered from those almost 60 songs. Weโre probably going to launch into an album, but we realized that it would be better for us to do it after summer, because I think the world is slowly opening up. Asia is starting to show some progress, even though our show in June got cancelled due to Covid restrictions. So, even if we had an album out right now, it would be very restricted. And I really want to come out with a proper tour with proper visuals. So, if we do it, we do it right.
So, weโve been doing a few club shows, like tonight Iโm doing Academy. Because, itโs still good to stay on the radar and play for some big promoters, obviously itโs Insomniac. So, you know, you still want to show like, hey, Iโm alive, weโre still doing things. But, we have a lot of new music in the pipeline. So, long story short, weโve worked a lot of music that hopefully we can bundle that in an album for after the summer. Weโre going to release a lot of music, and probably the tracks that will release this year will be part of the album. And, then weโre going to surprise people with some unreleased tracks to kind of put the album together. Itโs going to be fun, everything is new, but we donโt want to pull the same tricks out of our sleeves everytime.
Because, you think of Showtek, you think party, hard, energy. And, yeah, thatโs still part of us, who we are, but Iโm not 15 forever. Sometimes Iโm vibing on a totally different track than I would when I was 18, like, what is this crap? I never used to eat sushi when I was 18, but now I love it! So, we grew a lot, and I think Wouter is very focused on, like, okay, I want to do something new, I want to reinvent myself. And we did it from hardstyle to EDM, so weโve got a few cool tracks, unexpected IDs coming up. And a few collabs with some artists, and not all of them are super big. So, we also try to work with names that are interesting to us. Weโve worked with Major Lazer, weโve worked with Tiรซsto, weโve worked with David Guetta, what else can we do in that spectrum, right? So, we also focus on who do we think is really cool right now, which artists surprise us music-wise, what genre can I vibe with? So, we have a lot of different things and hopefully weโre going to put it together and build a strong concept.
So, from the music side, weโre super excited, but itโs also very important to be happy in your personal life, and thatโs something I know from other artists, itโs hard to be in-touch with your family, especially if theyโre overseas. I think that really helped me feel good, just taking time off, spending some time with your mom or your dad, things that sometimes you take for granted. Iโve really charged my battery.โ
Tell us about your latest track โPour it Downโ with VรRITร. What was the Genesis of the track? I like the vibey piano house.
โSo, Wouter met her via a contact in New York, because he lives there in New York part-time. So, he met her via a writer in New York, she is actually a really great voice. So, she wrote the lyrics, Wouter immediately felt like, hey, this needs some like house-y, 90s stuff. My brother is very big on house and 90s, like Crystal Waters, that kind of vibe, thatโs my brother. So, he likes all the chord progressions, just a little more difficult. So, he kind of setup the ID to do it. So, then I said, letโs make it a bit more summer-y, because tracks these days take time to grow. With all the music being released these days, sometimes it takes months before a track is even digested by the crowd and other DJs, whatever.
As for Covid, instead of bringing a party track, we wanted to do a good vibes song. So โPour it Downโ if you listen to the lyrics, literally, itโs a love song. But, if you listen to it from another perspective, we also put a lot of love into music and we havenโt been seeing our fans. It kind of took away everything weโve been doing, so why donโt we show a little bit of love to the crowd, to the fans. So, even in the video, itโs literally a collection of iPhone videos that we just filmed being on the beach during Covid, or when we were traveling. I was in Paris, and this stuff that made us feel good. So thereโs a few layers, which we like. And, today the remixes came out. I personally like all of them, but the Holseek remix, thatโs a vibe!โ
I know you also just recently moved to LA full time! Tell me what the transition has been like?
โSo, Wouter has been based in L.A. for quite a while, so heโs been going back and forth between New York and LA a lot. And, I was always based in Miami, and donโt get me wrong, no hate on Miami, itโs an amazing place. But, sometimes, you just are ready for a new chapter. And, that doesnโt mean I donโt love Miami, itโs beautiful, the food is amazing. But, everytime when I came to LA, I have my friends here from Europe, from Germany, from the Netherlands, I have a few guys here that I hang out with on a personal level. I love hiking, hiking in Florida, forget about it. And then, I realized, when my friends went skiing here, I said, what the hell, thereโs skiing there? Because I love that stuff too. And, the music industry is very active here, and the weather isnโt humid, itโs a lot of things that I liked. And I always said the first time I came to America with Wouter together. We had a big first tour in 2011 or something, as Showtek we played like 500 people crowds. First time I got here, I said, I want to live here one day. Itโs like the palm trees, and the vibe, and the mountains.
So, I had a place in LA, like a small place, but I just stayed there when I had shows for a week, and then I would leave. So, during the pandemic, this was also fun, I discovered my neighborhood for the first time. I lived there for two years and I had a little apartment, but I never walked through the neighborhood. So, during the pandemic, I was like, this place is amazing, all these houses are amazing. Oh wait, Whole Foods is here, all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, it gave me a lot of peace, and my wife said, oh, I always thought you were more Miami than LA, but maybe this brings us peace right now. And I was like wait, I want to be here more often, I have more friends here. So I sold everything. I was like, you know what, Iโve worked so hard my entire life, Iโm going to make a decision that Iโm not going to regret. So, we just packed up our stuff and we left, and weโve got one nice place. So we sold everything we have and now weโre living full time here in L.A., itโs been amazing.โ
What do you think is the state of the music industry right now? It seems like dance music came out of the Pandemic pretty unscathed.
โWell, this is the thing. First of all, the industry kind of changed. I kind of realized, in the beginning of the pandemic, that club music was kind of low on the streaming portals, DSPs. Well, I understood it; if youโre a kid or a youngster that just wants to go out and have fun, you listen to go to a club. But, if you donโt have a place to go to really listen to it, why would you pump yourself up at home if you have nowhere to go? So, I understood that listening to EDM music or dance music is part of a culture where you also go out. If youโre home and thereโs no festivals or clubs to go to, why would you pump the music the whole time? So, we understood where it was coming from. But, now thereโs festivals on the horizon; Coachella is happening, EDC is happening, Europe is slowly opening up. Now, I see more engagement on social media again on music, itโs really noticeable. So, I think dance music came out pretty strong.
The funny thing is, personally, Iโm listening to a lot of drum & bass lately. And here in LA, they also digest things very well. They always have been, since the beginning era of Skrillex with dubstep, itโs always been accepted. But the UK drum & bass sound, I listen a lot to it, you know the kind of Rudimental vibe, the kind of uptempo, but not too hard, still vibing. So, I think a lot of people have been listening to a lot of different kind of music as well during the pandemic. Not just EDM, like four-to-the-floor, 128. And I think now itโs almost like good and bad at the same time. Itโs shitty that it happened, but now, itโs almost like a fresh start. Right now, when I do something, I can always say I have a story to tell behind it. Because, before, people were like, oh, wait, this is different; now people are open to it.
We did a meet and greet with fans here in LA, it was part of a contest for fans to have dinner with Showtek. It was super fun, because it was hard to connect over music the past couple of years. So, we thought, why donโt we connect over food? And, it was cool, because we want to give a little something extra to our fans. So, why donโt we connect through music and food? It could be a cool thing, and Iโve always wanted to have something going on with fans thatโs different. Instead of being all sweaty backstage, Iโm tired, my ears are popping, so we decided to make some time for our fans; not every show, thatโs impossible; but once in a while letโs do this experience. I love all kinds of food, and food is also a big part of culture.
So, yesterday, the girl was from Mexico, she only moved to LA seven years ago. She even saw us in Mexico and saw us here. And then you start to talk, and itโs like whoโs your favorite artist? And itโs just mind blowing that these kids have such a wide range of who they like. It goes from Kaskade to Steve Aoki to Showtek to Darren Styles. Like 10 years ago, it would have been one or the other, never both. So, it was really fun for me to talk to the fans and hear what theyโre listening to. All the four different fans had different ideas about what I listen to, how I listen to music. It was a really fun experience to do.
So, I think people are very open-minded nowadays, that provides a lot of opportunities. Obviously I follow a lot of other artists, I think what Diplo is doing is amazing with his whole new house vibes and really built up an identity. But, five years ago, who would have thought heโd go in a direction like this? If you can see itโs real, and feel the authenticity behind a character or a person. Itโs the same with Kanye Westโs albums. Say whatever about Kanye that you want, but, as a fan, when he came out with his new album, I was like okay whatโs he going to do this time. But, if you listen to it, you can still hear itโs him, but itโs fresh. Thatโs what I want to do with our style, weโre really building to, okay, you can still hear itโs Showtek, but thereโs a little shock value in there. Like, oh, wow, I didnโt expect that.โ
Any other words for the fans?
โYeah, I hope they like the remixes that just came out. Thatโs a pretty big thing for us, so just go and support the music. Thereโs also a new single coming in early April. I also think whatโs really important, especially after the pandemic, is that we start to appreciate each other and whatโs happening in the world, we donโt even have to talk about it. We are all just seeking love, love each other, let people be whoever they want to be without clashing into each other. So, hopefully everybody stays strong-minded and doesnโt go into a direction where it turns negative. So for everybody, just send all your love to whoever needs it because itโs very important at this point. I think we really need it after these last couple of years. So, hopefully our music brings some good vibes and people will have fun.โ
Check out the remixes of Showtek & VรRITรโs โPour It Downโ out now on Virgin/Universal.
This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Showtek Talk Surviving the Pandemic, New Music, Artist Growth and Personal Moves [Interview]
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