jan 1997

BOOM RECORDS

Holland


Interview and copyright by Goran Stetic & Damir Ludvig

This interview is about BooM! Records and 2 guys behind it - Matthew Hilton and Remko Strobel...

> How did you decide to open an internet record shop with GOA music?

We had already had a record shop, and we didnt like standing behind the counter all day, it gave us no time to travel, organise parties and work on other projects. Internet is a much better place to have a shop ! We just pick up our mail and do our orders when it is best for us, day or night and we arent restricted by opening times. The reason we only sell Goa music, is because that is the music we love and live for - I have been playing it for maybe 5 years already and feel I have a good understanding of it. I dont like or fully understand commercial music, so we dont sell it. On Internet it is possible to be very specialised, in a shop it doesnt work, you have to sell all types.

> How and why are you decided to create goa label "BooM!" ?

We decided last year that it was time to give some new artists the chance to break through in the world of psychedelic trance - we had heard the most amazing tracks on DAT, but only the same old predictable "formula goa" on vinyl. We thought it was about time to change this and bring fresh talent with new ideas onto vinyl. A lot of people recording for us have previously never had a release, so we are taking a risk, but we have confidence in them and their music. A lot of the big goa labels arent prepared to take this risk.

> How are you two meat eachother, and make companionship?

Surprise, surprise ............we met at a Goa party here in Holland ! It immediately clicked between us and we have been living, partying and working together ever since that party almost 3 years ago.

> What are the countries that best music comes from?

Although most of the music from this scene is on UK record labels, the artists come from all over the world. I personally like the Israeli sound for fast night tracks and the Japanese tracks for the heavy psychedelic sound. My favourite tracks on our upcoming album are from Croatia ( Dogma ) and Sweden ( Battle of the future Buddhas ), so I guess you cant really judge music by it country of origin, it transcends all borders !!

> What are the records that sell the best?

Probably the releases on major UK labels, but that is because of the distribution deals. This is all changing though, people are tired of the predictability of their releases and the low quality of the pressings, so they are now looking for new labels. This year a lot of new labels will appear all over the world, especially in Scandinavia and the USA, and they will all have their own unique sound and stlyle to offer. At present almost all of the top UK labels are controlled by one distributor, which is really doing them no good. We search continuously for new labels to bring our customers exciting fresh sounds

> BOOM! RECORDS is located in Groningen (Holland) but you represent your self as a UK / Holland label. Can you tell us something about that ? Is that the way to avoid taxes or what? :)

The simple reason is - I am from the UK and Remko is from Holland. I came here to live 3 years ago, I didnt like all the politics and bad atmosphere in England. Holland is a very free and fair country in which to live. Also having UK connections is good for your labels image, as that is one of the biggest markets and trading points, and has a well respected music industry.

> There is a recipe for preparing a chillum on your internet site. You also have a motto >>A chillum a day keeps a doctor away<<. Could you comment that and what are you thinking about releation of drugs with goa scene?

It would be silly to deny that there was a link between the two, but it is not 100% necessary. Many people get high on the music alone and get their energy from that, other people need a bit of extra help to get into the music or to understand and appreciate its complexity. Through the ages people have used music and drugs in rituals to come into a trance, and I think that is still so. I personally enjoying smoking weed instead of drinking beer, but everyone is free to make their own choices ! Each year alcohol and tobacco kill millions of people all over the world, compared to that most other drugs are very harmless !! The new generation of kids here use no drugs, or maybe only some herbal pick up drinks. I think drugs will become less popular in the future dance scene, they are going out of fashion. The music gets you high enough !

> What things thrill you the most in music and how do you define a good psychedelic track? :)

All good psychedelic tracks are a combination of a childrens story and a rollercoaster ride - it should have a beginning, a middle and an end, and it should throw you in all sorts of weird directions inbetween ! I prefer tracks from 140 - 150 bpm as they give me the most energy, and well chosen samples always work well in a track - it makes people smile and freak on the dancefloor, which is the main reason ! I think originality is also important, the artist must follow their own hearts, and not try to imitate other groups or artists. The purest music comes from within ......

> Tell us who does what in Boom!

We both do just about everything together, although I look after the music side more ( label, buying records for the shop, dj ing ) and Remko is good at keeping all the paperwork under control ! We are fortunate also to have many good friends here who help us out with various things, especially building the parties, that is more than 2 people could manage !

> Matt, you are a DAT D.J. and you play only unreleased tracks. Do you play all night sets (with unreleased tracks) or do you play just a few hour set ?

I prefer playing long sets, it gives you more time to get into your music and the vibe of the party. More chance to express yourself ! I have over 200 hours of unreleased music on DAT, so I have plenty to choose from .

> When a track becomes released for some label do you take it away from your repertoire or do you still play it because it is a dance floor stormer?

A good track is a good track, so sometimes I still play them! I usually keep them, on my DAT tapes and play it if the dancefloor needs it. But mostly I play only unreleased - DAT djs are booked because they play the music of the future, if they had wanted to listen to well known tracks, they would ask a vinyl dj ! Every week I receive at least 4 hours of new DAT music, so I dont often get the chance to play all of my new tracks even . <

> How many DAT players do you use and what type are they [walkman or rack]?

I use 2 portable Sony DATs for djing, and I have a rack DAT at home for copying and studio work. The portables are handy, but they break quite often. The rack DATs are much more reliable ! There will soon be portable DATs with pitch control like on Technics, which will be great for mixing. At present I have to play my tracks in the order of the the BPMs if I want to beat mix in the same way as you do with vinyl.

> Are you a resident D.J. in some club?

I am playing a lot in a club in Amsterdam at present, and I have bookings for many other countries including Sweden, Japan, Canada and Ibiza. I hope to travel a lot this year with my music.

> When you play somewhere do you have to carry your DAT players with you or do party organisers have their own DAT decks so you just come and play?

I always take my own players with me, I trust them better ! But it is becoming more common to find DAT decks already there at a party or to ask the promoter to provide them. It is always good to make sure someone has a spare deck with them in case you get problems with yours. DAT decks often dont like the humid, sweaty conditions at inside parties and start to malfunction.

> Is it already a normal (usual) thing to be a DAT D.J. in Holland , because we know that many VINYL DJs resist very hard to this inovation in D.J.-ing?

No, it is not so normal ! I know maybe 10 other DAT djs in the whole country. You need very good contacts if you are djing with DATs to ensure you get the newest music, not many people have them. But I also used to be a vinyl dj, and I think they miss all the hands on approach and mixing. I have devised a clever system that allows me to beatmix as if I was using vinyl, so they shouldnt be so scared !

> How do you get all this music on DAT because you cannot just go to a store and buy all this unreleased tracks?

I get most of it direct from the artists, some of it sent from other label owners, and the rest I get by swapping tapes in the post with other DAT djs. A lot of the music I have I will not copy for other people though, it is only given to me for my personal use and I wouldnt want to compromise the artists. A lot of people I trade DATS with I have met on the internet ! I trade DATs with people in maybe 15 different countries ! This is also a good way to find new artists for our label from all over the world.

> You both are party organisers, so when did you start organising parties?

We organised our first big party last year - it was really fun ! One of the reasons we did it was to breath some fresh life into the scene here. In many cities you have a few well known djs who play everywhere ALL the time, not giving a chance to new djs. Eventually, these big names can play any shit music, because they are a " big name" , it must be okay ! So we made a party with NO local djs, all the djs were friends who came over from the UK or new guys from around here. This party had so much good energy - people came from all over Europe ( some from Scandinavia even) and everyone was smiling all night. People are still talking about that party !

> Do you prefer to organise open air parties or in door parties?

I think my favourite parties are outside ( on a beach or in the forest !) but we only have experience of indoor parties. Its so cold here for most of the year! In the future I would like to put together a mobile party - I have a 1K sound system, so I would like a big old circus / army tent and a generator and then we could make a party for 300 people absolutely anywhere !

> What is important for a good party besides good music?

Nice people, friendly vibe, free water, big smiles, fluorescent / blacklight decos chill out, chai shop, hugs, open minds, unity, no agression, good energy, fresh air.

> How do you promote your parties? (What do you do to atract people to come to your and not some other party?)

Our parties aim to contain all of the above mentioned points in answer to your last question. We usually end up losing a lot of money on parties - we want to have the nicest possible of everything and lots of nice surprises so we usually go way over budget. We make parties because we love parties, not to make money. People know that the money they spend on a ticket will have gone towards many wonderful things to make the party a special night to remember. We also have many circus freaks at our parties - fire jugglers, stilt walkers, lots of free fruit/ sweets and lots of good fluor decos. A nights fractal fantasy !

> We heard that the scene in Holland is almost DEAD through the winter and that it is great in the summer. So, how is it this year?

Its a bit slow at the moment, but there are several clubs and venues doing Goa nights, just no big parties really at present, but I have seen a lot of flyers for next month, so there are good things happening . I miss all the live acts, they are mostly on the summer parties.

> Coment your Friday party [Alien City]...

It was great ! Another big success. It was our first party that we organised in Amsterdam, and we had about 400 people bouncing up and down . We had big spacey fluorescent decos and a lot of blacklights which gave an alien atmosphere. The sound system was clean and loud and the whole thing passed with no problems - 12 hours of sweating and smiling . The whole thing happened on a boat, so you could feel it moving in the dock when people started dancing ! One of the djs was a 15 year old boy from Ecuador called Torry (- the next generation ) he played a really happy set from DAT and delighted everyone.

> Please, tell us something about your party-plans for 1997.

We will be giving small parties once every month or so in various venues round Amsterdam for 2 -300 people. I like the intimate and friendly atmosphere at small parties. In the spring we are planning a massive party for several thousand, and all the profits will go to Greenpeace. It will probably start during the day so children can come too. Many of the top UK artists and djs are offering their services for free for this event.

> Who are your favorite DJs, live acts and artists??

We dont get to so many big overseas parties, so my knowledge is a bit limited. Some outstanding djs are : Goa Gil, Ramamurti, Chakra, Tsacky, Tsuyoshi, Kudo +++ Live acts - Manmademan, Germinating Seeds of Doda, Total Eclipse, +++ Artists - Hallucinogen, Juno Reactor, Mystica, Astral Projection, Rhythmstec +++

> You are just about to come out with a first release of BOOM RECORDS... can you say some more about that?

Its going to be a ten track compilation album and cd and includes tracks from Israel ( Mystica ), UK ( Yopo) , Holland ( Synchro ) Sweden ( Battle of the future Buddhas ) Croatia (Dogma ) and also has a Japanese / Croatian project on it called Trinity. The title is " Sonic BooM!"

> What are your further plan for BooM! as mail order shop, label and party organisers?

To keep going onwards and upwards and higher and higher ....................

> Tell us something about bookings for DJs [and artists?] you have set on your site?

This is a way to help people all over the world put on parties, even if they dont have good contacts. Also a way for new djs and live acts to get some exposure as well as the established djs. Have dj, can party. Any place any time ! A lot of djs are also willing to work for very small fees for underground parties which is encouraging to people who want to make small parties.

> What are you doing in your spare time [if you have it :)] beside the music/party/shop things?

You can usually find us on a dancefloor in Amsterdam, or at home playing with our animals ( a cat and 2 parrots ), maybe a bit of internet surfing .......

> Matt, have you something with Hilton hotels world-wide?? [ha,ha,ha :D]

Hehehe that would be handy, but sadly no ! It does help people to spell my name correctly though.

> Say something [if you like] to people reading this!

Keep the party spirit alive and never lose your smile !