First State starts the year in a manner that the world of electronic dance music has come to expect. Bringing in the New Year as part of a huge six city tour of Australia; alongside the Chemical Brothers, MIA and Mark Ronson among others, whilst releasing another edition of the eagerly anticipated 'The Whole Nine Yards' compilation series. 2013 also sees him team up with the vocal talents of Sarah Howells for another smash in the shape of 'Seeing Stars'. With the massive Crossroads radio show each and every month, his First State Music label, an ever growing arsenal of now legendary 'Bashups', and a whole host of brand new productions and big name collaborations; First State has truly made the step from one of dance music’s most exciting prospects, into one of its most consistent names.
The story started not so many years ago in 2008 with Tiesto picking up on Sander van Dien's emerging production talent on the back of such smash hits as 'Falling'. Taking the name ‘First State’ and signing to Black Hole Music, Sander has never looked back, and two artist albums later he continues to provide massive smash hits that rock dance floors the world over. Whether it’s his eagerly awaited tracks with Sarah Howells, like ‘Reverie’, ‘Skies on Fire’ or the hugely popular mashups coined affectionately as 'Bashups' that rock the likes of Armin van Buuren or Afrojack's sets; Sander is a consistent producer of massive dance floor pleasing anthems. Morphing the First State sound over the last two albums, the last twelve months have seen a more underground, housier edge emerge alongside the big riffs, breakdowns and luscious vocals we have come to love from the studio in Holland.
With such chart topping tracks like 'My Sanctuary', 'Cross the Line' and 'Your Own Way', it is no surprise that First State has been in huge demand as a DJ and performer. Having performed at such legendary venues as the O2 in London and Privilege in Ibiza as part of Tiësto’s world tour early on, First State has gone on to carve out a name as a quality and in demand headliner the world over. Tours of Asia and the Far East, Australia, North America, India and Africa go hand in hand with some of the biggest and best clubs and festivals from the likes of Ministry of Sound, Gatecrasher, Miami Winter Music Conference, the Official Istanbul Formula 1 party, and A State of Trance to name but a few.
His latest release which received the support of many well known jocks is the banging electro house single, ‘Humanoid’, on Black Hole Recordings' Magik Muzik imprint. Known for delivering spellbinding, melodic vocal tracks that soar to the top of the charts, the seasoned Dutch producer shows us he is not afraid to expand on his trademark sound with this release. ‘Humanoid’ features chunky, robotic vibes that bring back a nostalgic, old school analogue feeling, synth lead with a modern crunch. The magnetic melody features slick chord changes towards the latter half of the track that ignite the senses, leaving the dance floor with a memorable outro.
2013 is set to be First State's biggest year; a bevy of anthems ready to drop, big collaborations as well as shows the world over will take First State onwards and upwards hitting dizzying new heights, even by Sander's standards! We requested an interview with Sander van Dien and we are glad he agreed to do it for us. His answers are very interesting and thought provoking, proving that Sander is one of the brightest DJ’s, producers and radio hosts and with a great sense of humour.
Interview was written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Music Journalist Radio/DJ
Dimitri: First of all it would be cool to connect with the first Volume of your ‘Whole Nine Yards’ compilation series. Are you satisfied with the perception from the EDM scene of the previous volume?
First State: Yes, the Whole Nine Yards Vol.1 was received very well by its audience! The first mix CD was a nice journey of the music I played it in my sets through that whole year. It represented what I still do today; a broad style of music without any limitations.
Dimitri: ‘The Whole Nine Yards vol.2’ has as the subtitle; Jakarta- Amsterdam. Would you like to tell us why you chose this particular subtitle, and what Jakarta signifies for you, and also what it means for this compilation too?
First State: Jakarta, and of course the country Indonesia, is always close to my heart, my music, and to me as an individual. I’ve had the nicest experiences ever while playing there, and this is one of the main reasons why I’ve named my mix compilation after this amazing place. It’s rare to show up in a club many thousands of miles away from my trusted studio and hear 2000 people singing the choruses of the songs I’ve produced in my tiny studio in Holland.
Dimitri: How long did it take you to compile the album and what criteria did you use in order to select the tracks?
First State: It took me around 3 months to collect the right amount of tracks that I really liked. As you might be aware, I’ve got a broad spectrum of music that I really like; from electro to house to trance, but one of the main criteria’s is that it has to sound good and be well mixed as it’s important to go for a nice overall sound. Secondly, I always look for tracks that have that emotional content or that drive that just makes the track different from what’s out there right now.
Dimitri: After you selected the tracks, did you mix it live in a club environment or in the studio with the aid of computer software?
First State: I’ve mixed the whole compilation with my live setup of Ableton live, so it’s partially digital but the choices where all analogue!
Dimitri: What is your opinion about laptop DJ’ing? Does it really matter for the DJ or for the crowd from which medium (CD/Vinyl/MP3) the tracks are played in a club?
First State: In my opinion nobody cares anymore about stuff like that, so why should I. People want to be entertained. You can do that in several ways; one does it with a CDJ another does it with a pie. At the end of the day you want your crowd to be satisfied with your performance and make an impression. I think every DJ has his own way of doing that… With what medium, it doesn’t really matter.
Dimitri: Every single track in this compilation means something very important to you. Would you like to pick your top 5 tracks from the compilation and give us a small comment about what makes them so special and worthy of inclusion?
First State:
Inpetto - Shhhh! (Sander van Doorn Edit)
Is a great track released by Sander van Doorn’s label; this track is a perfect example of a beautiful melody with a great and interesting drop. Love this track
Project 46 & DubVision ft. Donna Lewis - You & I (Original Mix)
An amazing track by DubVision and Project 46; so much emotion and drive on one of those tracks that pass by once in a while.
Digitalism - Zdarlight (Fedde Le Grand & Deniz Koyu Remix)
Fantastic remix by Fedde and Deniz Koyu of this little piece of art by Digitalism. I love the retroness in this track.
Dannic - Flare (Original Mix)
Dannic the man is on fire at the moment, great and tight production. Appreciate the drive in it!
Firebeatz - Here We F*cking Go
These guys just never disappoint, tight productions and this track is a great way to end your set.
Dimitri: In what ways is your famous radio show Crossroads is connected with this compilation?
First State: My radio show is a great way to test new tracks, get comments on tracks and actually use it in a way to improve my compilation. A lot of the tracks that ended up on ‘The Whole Nine Yards’ where tried and tested on my radio show.
Dimitri: Do you enjoy producing your show? Can you recall the most strange place that you have ever recorded your radio show, and is there an episode which is your favourite and most unforgettable, and why?
First State: I love producing my radio show as it’s a way to show my creativity as an individual with my own voice. It’s great to tell the listeners what is actually going on in my life/career.
The strangest place I’ve ever recorded a radio show, must have been in Siberia when I did a tour through Russia in a small hotel with a temperature of minus 40 outside! Good times but cold ;)
Dimitri: Is there a mix compilation from another artist which is you’re all time favourite, and why? What elements can make a good compilation concept and what can turn it bad?
First State: My favourite mix compilation used to be ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ when Tiesto was still mixing this mix compilation. Those CD’s always referenced the year in music and the track choices on those CD’s where just right in my opinion. I think you can’t speak of bad or good in music as it’s an art. What I prefer to do myself is to mix a compilation with a story line and slowly build from some progressive track to something bigger, and bring up the energy slowly so that you’re being sucked into the mix as a listener.
Dimitri: Your single with Sarah Howells called ‘Seeing Stars’ had enormous success and support from wide variety of DJ’s. Can you tell us your feelings about this track and if you are happy that you worked once again with such a talented singer like her?
First State: Sarah is a great talent and it’s always an honour to work with her. She’s a real pro and a great musician herself, so it’s always easy to work with her because her melodies are always spot-on when she writes a top line. We we’re both really happy that the track got picked up by the biggest DJ’s out there.
Dimitri: The single is supported by great selection of very strong remixes. Which remix is your favourite and do you believe that it’s important to have a strong remix package to support the original?
First State: My favourite remix of the whole package was the Vexare remix. This guy did an amazing job and I love the Dubstep twist that he gave to the track. It gained big support in this scene and I’m really happy with that result. I think nowadays remixes aren’t as important as they used to be if you stay in the same genre. I think the magic nowadays happens when you step out of a genre, and let it be remixed into something that you wouldn’t expect. It’s a great era we live in, with great styles of music that are all compatible with each other!
Dimitri: Your brand new track called ‘Humanoid’ is out now on Magik Muzik. Why did you decide to name it that way, and is it in any way different from ‘Seeing Stars’? For instance, is there a Daft Punk influence in it.
First State: I always like to show my crowd how versatile I am as a producer and as a DJ. I think there is nothing worse than hearing your favourite producer pulling the same trick over and over again because people are expecting it. I could play safe and make 10 of the same kinda tracks each year… But for me as a producer there is no fun in that. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day, entertainment value for me as an artist and for my fans as the listeners.
Humanoid was a rough concept I made on my laptop on my way back from New York, and I loved it so much that I decided to finish it to what it is today. It is indeed influenced by Daft Punk’s older work, which I simply adore.
Dimitri: Do you intend to carry on producing the same kind of epic prog house/electro house sound for your forthcoming album? Do you have a day planned for the release of the album?
First State: Yes I try to evolve and grow as much as possible as a producer as I think that it’s important to stay relevant and become a bigger artist. Not all my fans may like it, but at the end of the day you can’t keep everybody happy. I still haven’t got a final date as of right now. I don’t really know if it’s the right time to release an album. But until that time I will push as much new music as possible.
Dimitri: We all remember your trance tracks on top record labels like ‘In Trance We Trust’. Do you intend to produce the melodic progressive trance sound again or do you feel that you now belong to epic prog house/electro house genre and trance has ended for you?
First State: To me my trance era ended after a rage of hate comments I received on forums, YouTube etc, after releasing my second artist’s album. I feel I gave that music style my all, but got brutally burned by its fans. The trance community is a great community on its own, but has such a huge amount of haters on forums etc, that for me it took away the fun of even producing something close to this genre. I still love the music for what it is, but from the moment I’ve left it as I don’t feel there has been much progression in the trance scene. I think people who make really good trance melodies and breakdowns aren’t the people who are known as trance acts nowadays. Guys like Alesso and more progressive house guys are showing a lot more interesting melody skills. But that’s just my opinion. I feel that in the progressive house scene and the electro scene things are less labelled, and are a lot more open minded. For me as a producer that’s worth a lot.
Dimitri: During the last year you performed in many clubs worldwide. Please choose your favourite gig so far in 2013, and which other gigs are you looking forward to perform in the near future?
First State: My favourite gig this year must have been at New Years Eve in Sydney. I was lucky enough to have the 12 o clock slot and it was amazing!! The roof went off, this was an unforgettable night. For the rest of the year I have a few tours planned - some I can’t talk about yet as they aren’t 100% confirmed. But I have some nice summer gigs planned also. One of the ones I’m really looking forward to at Papaya beach club in Croatia. A place I haven’t been before and it’s a great line up!
Dimitri: Do you see Facebook/Twitter/Google plus social networks as vital tools in your promotion efforts to spread the positive word about what they you are doing? Do you spend a lot of time replying and communicating or do you focus more on producing music?
First State: Yes, I always try to reply to any questions or what ever as I’m really grateful for every fan that I have. I think nowadays social media is pretty much a day job, but I feel it’s a great thing to be close to your fans.
Dimitri: What is your opinion about artists who give too much about their life in those social media and even tweet during their DJ gigs rather than focusing on their music? What is the most stupid and useless piece of information that a fellow DJ shared with you and you couldn’t stop laughing?
First State: Ah well I respect anybody who wants to share their life on twitter It’s a cool thing to do, but I tune out when I read stuff about toilet behaviour etc. TMI!! TMI!
Dimitri: You started your own record labels that had some fantastic releases in the past. Do you intend to carry on with them? When we can expect some brand new releases, if not why did you decide to stop that activity?
First State: Thanks you and I really appreciate that! I’ve started to release tracks on my label from fellow producers and tracks from myself. I will revive the label sooner or later.
Dimitri: For quite some time we haven’t had any new First State remixes of another artist. Don’t you get requests now or don’t you have time to produce them?
First State: I’ve got a lot of requests for remixes, but the problem with remixes is that I put just as much time in as I do with an original mix. As I’m never happy with chords and always put a lot of time into the music as that is the magic part for me. So I prefer to make more originals and less remixes.
Dimitri: Is it possible to take us on a virtual tour in your current studio set up and tell us about the equipment that you are using to produce those massive club bangers?
First State: Ha-ha I would love to; right now I’m running a Mac pro with Logic Pro 9, and my main plugins are all coming out of my UAD system. This is a DSP system that runs emulations of analogue gear like EQs, Tape Emulations, Compressors and more. I use mainly softsynths, so pretty much everything I do stays in the box. It’s a simple setup, but my approach is less is more.
Dimitri: Last question is a more philosophical and deeper one. We all come across in our life of various crossroads, a point where we have to make a difficult decision, and decide to go one way or another. Until now, do you believe that you have taken the right decisions in those situations, or there are there things that you regret maybe?
First State: You ask me a philosophical question; I will give you a philosophical answer. Whatever decisions we make, we will never know the outcome of it either way. If we would, life wouldn’t have any challenges and we wouldn’t have to be grateful for every day that we have. Even the wrong path brings you to a right one, so in the end it’s relative.
Dimitri: Big thanks to Sander for finding time to reply to this interview.
Thanks so much to Carlos Nino at One2twoPR for his support!
Thanks so much to Jeroen & Mark at Black Hole recordings office for their ongoing support
Thanks so much to Paul Aldridge at 1mix for proofing this interview.
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