Dirtybird Records‘ Kill Frenzy has been racking up hits after hits in the dance scene for a solid few years now, and we’re super excited to talk to the incredible Belgium-born LA-based artist.
Hi Sebastian, thanks for speaking with us. What have we interrupted today and how’s life been lately?
My breakfast. I write this on an empty stomach as I wake up way to early from my jetlag. I just about recovered from a bad accident on a motorcycle a few months ago and moved from Berlin to Los Angeles. It’s great to get back to it. This weekend I played the Dirtybird BBQ in Seattle which was a really positive and motivating experience to really get back on the horse.
You’ve named your latest Dirtybird release Silo, in dedication to your favorite club. One that holds a lot of memories. Tell us a little about this.
Yes, it was the place I visited many weekends as a teen. It was Located in the city of Leuven, Belgium a short drive from my hometown Hasselt. I have seen so much great music there from Techno,house, D&B to Booty, they had it all. The setting was just perfect. It’s funny when I was young, I didn’t really think about how it looked and why it was so dark in there, why it looked industrial or why the lighting was a certain way. I didn’t think about any of that I just thought thats the way it is everywhere. But now that I have traveled the world a bit, I know that it isn’t so common as I thought (to find a place like this). I feel lucky to have had that growing up.
You’ve been releasing a lot of your work with Dirtybird and many know you for your connection with the label. Now that you’ve been in the music game for a solid few years, what would you say are the biggest misconceptions artists face with being in the music industry?
Money. Don’t do it for the money. If you want a lot of money, then you should become banker or say yes to some questionable offers and basically sell out. But if you make underground music, I think you’re gonna have to keep grinding and gain the respect. You will have to put allot of time and money in what you do so you won’t be balling in your Bugatti just yet. That’s not to say you won’t make decent money if you reach a certain level [though].
To go along with that, you’re from one of the biggest dance capitals in Europe, but you’ve resonated heavily with a SF-based dance label. Why do you think this has been the case and what would you put Dirtybird’s massive success in the dance scene down to?
I always looked for things that were different. Something not allot of people were doing. I don’t know why but it attracts me.
Dirtybird just resonated with me because I never heard anything like it- it was weird and it was so different from anything else. You could count the guys on one hand who do this type of music. It also used some influences from ghetto house, which really sealed the deal for me 🙂
Give us an example of your finest, and perhaps worst, gig experiences to date.
Its hard to pinpoint just one I am lucky enough to have had a lot of great ones. One that pops up in my mind now is the first time I came to America and met Claude VonStroke. I got to play at the main Dirtybird party in San Francisco. We walked in and I saw the lineup, they had put me at the best time-slot. I was so overwhelmed with joy I couldn’t believe it, me of all people would be playing with these amazing DJ’s. After playing i felt like a million bucks. Yea thats a good memory.
Here is a little story of my worst experience as a DJ.
I played in Bergen, Norway once in a tiny club; I can’t remember the name, nevertheless, the night never came together and the next morning I needed to go to the airport. The promotor told me to pay the cab myself and he would transfer the money afterwards, which made alarm bells ringing in my head. I took a cab, got to the airport and my bank card doesn’t work. Of course the guy wanted his money, so I told him to drive back so I can find the promoter. I figured I might have enough time if I did this quickly.
We got to his house and I knocked on the door, but nobody answered so I started to freak out because I was going to be late for my flight. I looked true the window and there I saw this fucking idiot sleeping on the couch, I banged on the window but still received no answer. If that wasn’t enough the cab driver got angry and told me he wanted my phone. I told him that’s crazy and I ended up giving him my headphones until I get the money. All of a sudden upstairs a lady asked me what I was doing, so I explained and she told me to go through the basement entrance, so I did. I found my way into the house and by this point I already missed my flight so I walked up to him, told him what happened, and said I needed a new flight but to my surprise- nothing… I start yelling but still get nothing. This guy was knocked out! After splashing a full glass of water in his face, he gave me some sort of reaction and started to slowly open his eyes. I explained the whole thing again he gets up and started walking to his bed where he decided to lay down and try sleep again. Of course i was having none of that and pulled him back out of the bed. After arguing for a while he booked me a new flight, gave me money for the cab and i was out of there. To add to all this shit he never paid me a cent for playing. I still want my money!
You released your debut album TAYLR SWFT in 2014. What did you learn about the LP making process? Is this something you’d like to tackle again in the future, and what made you return to the single release format?
It’s not as scary as it sounds, but it can get a bit stressful if you have a deadline. I wanted make all the tracks club trax I could play out. It’s not really for the afternoon listen. I don’t know if I would make another album… if I have a new idea or concept I would. It’s a natural thing to release more singles and EP’s in this type of music so thats what i am doing 🙂
Lastly, do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
Yes! I have just moved over to America, so I will be playing a bunch more shows [and]festivals out here. I am super exited for the dirtybird campout and dirtybird bbq in Detroit. Oh yes I’ll also be popping over to Australia begining of september for a short tour.
As for releases there are a host of new tracks that i am signing to new labels which i don’t want to mention just yet 🙂
