Vicetone have built an incredible name for themselves in a relatively short period of time. The Netherlands based artists, who perpetually produce and tour internationally, epitomize the notion of hardworking producers and established themselves as one of the most in-demand DJ-duos in the world. Between their constant stream of releases, high profile remixes, and ubiquity across festival lineups, it’s easy to forget that Ruben Den Boer and Victor Pool were virtually unknown before releasing their major breakthrough remix of Fedde Le Grand & Nicky Romero’s “Sparks” in September 2012.
Just after their postponed Ultra Europe performance, we had the privilege to sit down and have a chat with the high-flyers about their influences, goals, and evolution as a duo. Despite some tumultuous weather conditions which led to the cancellation of the first day, the second day of the festival reportedly went off without a hitch. Ultra was even able to make space for a few of the day’s previous headliners like Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond and Vicetone to still perform.
Hi guys, thanks for taking time out to speak with us! How has the past year been for you?
Vicetone – Last year has been amazing for us. We got to play festivals all around the world and have gathered amazing support from fans. This year is going to be even bigger though!
Do you plan to explore newer sub genres of dance music, with your style, over the next few years?
Vicetone – Music is something that is constantly evolving and so are we as producers. We are very excited about the new songs that are coming out this year, they are sounding very different, yet still energetic and very melodic.
How did it come about that you contributed ‘Apex’ to the soundtrack for Rocket League?
“Before Rocket League even came out, I knew about it because there was buzz about it in the videogame community. So, I sent Victor a text to check out the video game. We like soccer and it’s about controlling cars to play soccer. We came back from tour and played it; so we were fans and we really liked it and we got an email from Monstercat telling us about an opportunity to add to the videogame soundtrack. It’s great to have your song in a game you actually really like.”
Your mashup of Zhu’s hit ‘Faded’ and your own hit ‘United We Dance’ really packs a punch. What inspired the pairing?
“We have a lot of acapellas of songs we really like, and if you sort them out by key you can match them up. So if it’s in the same key then it might fit into the instrumental you have, or if it’s a fifth off, you can transpose the key. We found ‘Faded’ and we know it’s a great song and when we fit them in, it just worked. Sometimes you get lucky and this is one of those things.”
You document your creative process on Instagram and other social media. What goes into creating a Vicetone hit?
“When we go into the studio, sometimes we have an idea. ‘I’m gonna write a song that’s really happy, or really angry’ and then you sometimes shelve an idea and two years later, discover it again and with ‘United We Dance’ we forgot about it and then came back to it when we needed something upbeat. We have a big pool of ideas and every once in a while, we pick one and work it into a track.”
For electronic dance music, electronic is a key word. What technology is indispensable for writing music?
“For a music maker, you need a good soundcard. There’s a German company that makes the best soundcards. Theirs is not necessarily underrated, but lots of people follow marketing instead of getting the best. If you have a good soundcard, you can work much faster. I think what’s really interesting is people like Victor, or Avicii and Deadmau5, is they write the music, and it’s amazing. For me, a midi keyboard is extremely important.”
What’s next for Vicetone; is there another EP or album in store for fans?
“We can’t announce anything for sure yet, but we do want to do something like that again. It won’t be this year, but it will be next year. We want to do an EP again and hopefully an album in the future. It’s hard to get there because you need a couple of lead singles and a couple of new songs that don’t really fit as a single. Last year with the Aurora EP that really worked. We have another we think will be a new single probably this year.”