Interview with Mason

(HC) How do you develop yourself after a smash hit like Exceeder which has become your trademark?

(Mason) Being a DJ is all about developing your own artistic style and with the freedom of having our own label we don’t have to do what is always expected of us. It’s about always doing something different and trying to think out of the box. We have our group of followers which is always great and. It’s important to be creative with your music and our followers understand this creativity we express in our music.

What is the typical Animal language style?

Well we have our own typical style but you could say that there’s a mix of genres; funk, house, pop, disco and techno house. We don’t necessarily follow the commercial path and you can’t really compare us to any commercial DJs out there.

How did you come up with the name Animal language?

We did a lot of brain storming, and this name pictures the idea of no boundaries. Doing what we want. With our own label we really have the freedom do whatever we like, this really allows us to be creative. It also comes from a Lou Reed song that I really like!

I’ve heard that on top of this boom of what we now call Dutch House music, there’s also an up and coming sound called future disco. Would this explain your track Runaway?

Well there are lots of fantastic sounds and genres that come from Holland, not only Dutch House. There’s some really good stuff out there, especially from Holland where music creativity can be expressed in every way and form. I don’t consider myself to fit into this category really of Dutch House, and don’t compare myself to any Dutch House DJs. There’s a lot of good Dutch DJs out there and not only one style which is good. The music scene in Holland is very diverse. I don’t think there is however a trend of future disco. I like to be very diverse in our music and use our creative insight just do what we feel like doing, which would explain the track Runaway.

The Refurb track of 'Runaway' is totally different with a reggae influence, how did this happen?

The idea of the 'Refurbs' is that every Animal Language release comes with a non-dance makeover version, called the 'Refurb', which can be any type of genre, from jazz to trash metal to klezmer. Each time we like to do something different, and this time we went for reggae / dub with Runaway, but next time it will be something else again. They are lots of fun to make!

Do you and Coen ever disagree when producing together?

Yes, sometimes, but it’s more about expressing an opinion rather than a disagreement and this is what makes good music in general. We’ve known each other for 10 years so in general we get on really well because we know each other so well.  We have a rule book for when it gets out of control! (laughs)

You used to be a violinist, how did your family react about you dropping out of classical music to become a DJ?

Well I have a very creative family, we’re all artists. My dad is a sculptor and my mom a Dutch actress. I’ve been DJ-ing for a long time now so it came as no surprise. Music is about expressing yourself and being artistic whatever music it maybe.  Classical music isn’t better than being a DJ, at the end of the day it’s all a form of art and expressing yourself, and my family encourages that.

Tiesto was the first to introduce you to this music scene, are you still in contact with him now that he lives in the US?

Yes, I sometimes bump into him when he comes to Amsterdam. I think he’s an amazing pioneer in the music industry and a great artist.

Do you think you and him will ever collaborate again in the future?

Well he’s doing some house things too, really pushing his creative style and stepping out of his stereotype trance image, so who knows!

Your Dad is Greek, do you speak Greek?

Well it’s funny you mention that. I’m actually on a course at the moment learning Greek!

When you were a child you sang in a choir and you appeared in solo on a popular Dutch TV show “Kinderen voor Kindeen” a Kids music show. Although you used to use your violin in tracks you’ve never actually sung though? So what happened? Do you now keep your singing for in the shower?

(Laughs) Well you know, as I grew older my voice changed and I do now keep my singing for in the shower! Coen is the one who tends to use his vocals now for tracks rather than myself. He sings better than me!

There are other children of the same name who appeared in this popular show, are you related to any of them?

Yes my two sisters appeared in the show. Both went on to become actresses. My sister was even in a very popular Dutch soap. We’re all artists in our family. It feels natural to us to express ourselves in a form of art.

Other than art, you also ran the London marathon this year, how was that?

It’s a great way to see a city and I actually did marathons in different other cities too like New York. I’ll probably do some marathons again next year.

DJs tend to get a lot of love interest, does this happen to you simply because you’re a DJ?

Yes of course we get this a lot. But it’s very superficial and I don’t really understand this attention because at the end of the day we’re just DJs, and we’re here to entertain people with our music. I’m actually seeing someone special so I’m not interested anyway!

I was actually going to ask you that question; are you seeing anyone special and the answer is... yes!

(laughs) Yes!

We bought you down to London for our annual gig but unfortunately this was also the time of the famous ash cloud, and we had to bring all the artists from Holland to London by mini bus on a ferry, how was this experience and did you find out any gossip?

It was great; we had a fantastic time together in the coach! Usually you only get to see the other artists in between sets but on this road trip we spent 48 hours together. Yes, we talked a lot and found out about the latest gossip going on! It was a fun experience.

Will you be going to the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE 20-23 Oct)?

Yes, I’ll definitely be there! ADE is a great event where you get to meet everyone from the music industry and meet the people you have been producing with during the year. There’s always a good line up of DJs during the festival. And sometimes you get to meet face to face people you’ve only been talking to which is always nice. I actually live in that area and I always find it funny to see everyone walking around with the yellow bags you get given during the conference.  The area becomes populated with people carrying yellow bags on their shoulders!

Which club would you recommend in Amsterdam?

Well Amsterdam isn’t like the UK where a certain club has a certain reputation. In Amsterdam it’s all about the promoter who is organising the club night. So you need to look at the event party and the promoter rather than heading for a specific club because of its reputation like MOS for instance. I’m actually a resident DJ for a party called Electronation (electronation.nl). So I’d definitely recommend one of their nights!

What’s your funniest experience as a DJ?

Well there are 3 actually! The first was in Finland where I accidently got arrested and spent the night in jail. I didn’t do anything wrong though! The police invaded the whole club I was playing in and they even arrested the bar tenders! The second one was in China, I was playing in a small province and they got really offended with the lyrics not being in Chinese! And the last one is when I was going to play at an event and I took the wrong exit. I ended up in this restaurant full of elderly people thinking to myself this is a bit odd? I played anyway though, but during the set I couldn’t help think how odd this was when looking at all these curious elderly people listening to my music. I stopped and called my tour manager and he said, you’ve taken the wrong exit,  it was the next one! Indeed I went back to my car and saw in the distance the festival flags! I did manage to play a little bit of my set at the festival luckily enough!

That last one is really funny!

Yeah, I know!

And what is your favourite Dutch Festival?

Well last year I did Dance Valley on the main stage, which is pretty amazing and was a personal achievement in my career for me. Lowlands is a big one too, probably comparable to Glastonbury where there’s a whole lot of different genres and stages.

What have you got planned for the next coming months and 2011?

Our album is finished and will be coming out in the next coming months, so we’re looking forward to that. We worked on this album with Roisin Murphy, Sam Sparro, DMC from Run DMC, Sway, Aqualung & Kurtis Blow.

We’re also preparing a live show tour with Coen which we’re really excited about. It’s all about just doing our own thing and again expressing our artistic creativity with no boundaries. Of course the first show will be in Amsterdam.

(Interview EB/Holland Clubbing)

For more info on Mason and Animal Language:

www.djmason.com  

www.myspace.com/musicofmason

www.myspace.com/animallanguagerecords