There are some bands you hear for the first time and you just know, somewhere deep down, that they’re going to be big and that they are going to be big because they deserve to be. The first time I heard Beck, for example, was off the back of the single ‘loser’ and you couldn’t escape the feeling that he’d tapped into a vein that was as rich as any gold mine. Creative, intelligent and off the wall, Beck went on to carve out a unique and ambitious path that saw him release a plethora of excellent albums, headline Reading festival, play all over the world and yet retain that vital credibility with the underground community who had so taken to him in the first place.
It is that feeling that washed over me when I first heard De Staat’s excellent and absorbing second album ‘Machinery’. Ambitious, exciting, sexy and dirty I could name a dozen bands that De Staat have taken influences from and not one band that De Staat actually sound like. Literally buzzing with invention, the album collates a huge range of musical styles and throws them into a melting pot before blasting out huge chunks of addictive, twisted pop music. Songs like the current single ‘Sweatshop’ are the sorts of tracks you can imagine filling dance floors and moving festival crowds and yet the overall feeling is that De Staat have succeeded in not only creating a massive, accessible album but that they have done so without one iota of consideration for what might, or might not, make them famous. They just do what they do and to hell with anyone who fails to be moved by it. ‘Machinery’ is going to go huge – wait and see – but if (and when ) it does, you’ll never feel that De Staat haven’t deserved it. The album is a huge and lovable release that demands multiple replays and I look forward to the time when De Staat are staring out from a stage roughly four times the size of my house at an audience that stretches into infinity because it is rare in these troubled times to find an artist, or group of artists, capable of mainstream success who have worked so hard and honestly in pursuit of it. ‘Machinery’ represents nothing less than the crazed sound of the band’s own artistic vision and as such deserves to be played loud from the highest rooftops to the lowest valley. With that in mind meet De Staat in our exclusive interview.
1. First and foremost can you tell us what does De Staat mean and what lies behind the band name?
De Staat literally means the state. I got the name from Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. He wrote a piece called De Staat. His piece is based on Plato’s ‘The Republic’. Plato said that art can be dangerous and overthrow a government. Louis Andriessen wanted to try that, and concluded that it
wasn’t possible nowadays. I like the name primarily because it’s Dutch, and the word can mean a lot at the same time. A state like a country or province, but also a state of which something is in.. An emotional state, a physical state etc.
2. How did the band come together?
About 5 years ago I started working on an album, which eventually became our first record ‘Wait For Evolution’. When the album was done we started forming a band. That’s about three years ago now. Jop and Rocco I’ve played with since high school, the other guys I knew from other local bands.
3. The album mixes a variety of genres yet ultimately sounds very cohesive, was it a challenge to choose the best songs for the record and sequence them accordingly?
It was quite clear from the beginning which songs would make the album. We just picked the songs that are the most outspoken. I like it when people can say, “you know that De Staat song with crazy disco beat?” or that song with insane shouting and synthesizers? If every song has an individual face you won’t forget it. I never worry about making an album that is too varied, most of the records
I love are very varied. I just like the production to be cohesive, and when we play with the five of us you automatically get that ‘De Staat sound’, whether you want it or not.
4. What artists would you consider to be your influences?
I like everything that tickles the balls and the mind. Artists like Tom Waits, Radiohead and Queens Of The Stone Age are the cliché influences to come up with. But they’re the clichés because everyone agrees: they’re very good, and one of a kind. But we get influenced by a lot of things. Great electronic music named Eskmo, more traditional music like Hanggai, the old blues of Howlin’ Wolf, minimal music composers like Steve Reich and Philip Glass. It could be your mother singing happy birthday. Whatever triggers an idea, and tickles my balls.
5. With few exceptions the press often seems to react quite negatively to
bands that hop across genres, did you find that when you were starting out?
We don’t really get that stigma a lot, to be honest. I do think you can hear a wide variety of influences, but ultimately most people hear one sound. Every band that’s starting out will be compared to famous bands. That’s just the way it works. People like to label things, I’d just make sure it’s an ridiculously insane label. Like ‘Muddy Waters meets Kraftwerk, with a sprinkle of Lady Gaga’ or something.
6. You’re playing a few gigs in the UK in April, what can fans expect from the show?
An animal on drums, a wizard on guitar, a clown on synthesizers, guitars, theremin and cowbell, a stroke inducing bass player, and me.
7. Your current single ‘Sweatshop’ is absurdly catchy! Was there a particular mood or inspiration behind the song? Perhaps a jab at some of the commercial songs that have infected MTV?
Lyrically it’s about the link between the old industrial factories where people were making 14 hour shifts of hard physical labour, and the gym we have now in our lovely western world. Look at it, and you’ll see the cunning similarities. In the gym people are doing the hardest labour ever, cycling
and crosstraining on machines in a row. The main difference is that nowadays we’re not even working for that small paycheck, but for vanity mostly. Which is funny, terrible and beautiful at the same time. Musically it’s just a lot of fun to flirt with the trends of today: the hip hop beats and raps, and put it in our own sleazy context.
8. Can you tell us about the singer who joined you on the song and how she
came to be involved in the recording?
Kelly sings in Electro-house-pop duo ‘Routines’. She’s also from our hometown Nijmegen, and just an awesome singer. The song Sweatshop craved for from sexy female vocals, and coincidentally we have one of those living around the corner. We’d just have to shout out of the window.
9. What are your lyrical influences and what inspires you to write?
It’s hard to say, on ‘Machinery’ I wrote about many different things. Being a whistle blower, the positive things about being a serial killer, about people going to the gym, about me being a dirty rat, about slaughtering animals the Halal way, about the clichés of love. I guess about the things that I find interesting. It doesn’t have to be about my life literally. Just thoughts I have, and things I imagine. There’s a lot of fun in making weird images with music, like combining a description of Halal slaughter with militaristic beats. It can be powerful.
10. One of the things that comes across from the record is a real sense of fun and experimentation; was it a fun record to work on and how long did it take?
If it isn’t fun we won’t do it. We took our time in our home studio and rehearsal room, perfecting sounds and beats. Some songs took quite some time to get done. Some riffs just sound really cool but are very illogical to play. Eventually we did a studio recording session, where we recorded 14
songs in 8 days. Which is fast. We made a basic set-up, and pressed record, trying to find that awesome take. After that we did some extras in the home studio.
11. Did you already have finished songs ready to record or did you flesh a
lot of them out in the studio?
All of the songs were done when we went into the studio. There are small things we changed in some songs, but most of them were done in detail.
12. You must be pleased with the reviews that you’re getting in at the
moment? Did you expect the record to be quite so successful?
Well the record isn’t out yet, so let’s not call anything successful yet, haha. Reviews so far are really good though, which is nice. It’s hard to put your finger on the pulse of people. Especially when you’ve been into making the album deeply for 8 months. In the end the only thing you can do,
is make the music you crave to hear, and think that there must be people like you wanting the same delicious thing.
13. Bearing in mind the mixture of styles on the record do you consider yourselves a ‘rock band’?
Sure, I wouldn’t know which other genre to pick. It just gets tricky when some people put you in line with a band like Nickleback, because you’re both in the ‘rock’ genre. That’s why I like it the most when people say things like ‘Psycho discos, sexy machines and loud pigs’. You’d have no clue, but
that’s shit you’d want to see.
14. What can we expect from De Staat in the future?
Psycho Discos, sexy machines and loud pigs.
Find out more about De Staat here.
Featured image and band promo shot (top): Jan Kliphuis
Second imnage: Jelmer De Haas
