Featuring: Myrkur

Our first feature of 2011 comes courtesy of Dutch don Rik Kooyman, AKA, Myrkur. Possessing an expansive production repertoire, underpinned by a diverse and complex range of influences, Myrkur has consistently delivered quality beats of real originality. We caught up with the man for the low-down on the Dutch scene, his influences and aspirations for the New Year. Myrkur has also put together an exclusive mix representing the full spectrum of his current musical tastes, with an extensive dubplate showcase of his beats as well as exclusives from others. Enjoi:

Hedmuk: For those who don't know, what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?

Myrkur: My real name is Rik Kooyman and I currently live in Santpoort Noord, in Holland. My sound has changed quite a bit throughout the years. My first tunes were very much inspired by Postrock and IDM. Then I became interested in Detroit Techno and that influenced my music a lot. Lately I'm really into the dark half-step vibe that's happening again.

H: How did you get in to producing beats?

M: I was already making music before I started making Dubstep tunes. I recorded songs on my PC with acoustic guitar and piano.

Myrkur - Indigo by Myrkur

H: What, in your opinion, is your best beat to date? Why?

M: In terms of music I intended for listening at home it would definitely be "Why". I find melody and atmosphere very important and I was really pleased how this tune turned out. If I had to pick one of my tunes I really intended to be played in a club I would say "Immortal" or "Metropolis". Both are completely different but I like them both a lot.

H: Who or what influences the music you make?

M: My main influences from outside the Dubstep scene would be Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Mono, Mogwai, Helios and Aphex Twin. From within the Dubstep scene itself I would say definitely Kryptic Minds at the moment, as well as Breakage, 2562, anyone who's really pushing the sound forward actually.

H: We'd be interested to hear your views on the Dutch bass music scene (TMSV was certainly positive about it). Is it a strong scene? What are your favourite nights and places to play?

M: Holland has always been one of the biggest countries in terms of Dubstep. There have been some massive events here and there's still loads of stuff happening each weekend. The scene itself is quite compact, with everyone pretty much knowing each other. There are some excellent producers out there, such as (ofcourse) TMSV, but also Presk, Inofaith, Akkachar and Astroposer just to name a few.

Myrkur & TMSV - Icarus by Myrkur

H: Your mix touches on quite a few different styles. We noticed the same with the tunes you have on your Soundcloud: there's the relaxing feel of tunes like 'Away' and 'Bliss' on the one hand and a deeper, darker vibe on tunes like 'Momentum' and 'Void'. Do you make any attempt to define your music stylistically? Into genres such as dubstep, future garage, Autonomic for instance?

M: I'm quite schizophrenic in that aspect actually (laughs). I just make whatever comes up or whatever I feel like making. It depends completely on my mood and inspiration. The biggest separation I make while starting a tune is if I want to make something to play in a club or something which should be listened to at home.

H: Were you trying to get at anything in particular with this mix with your selection and blends?

M: I built this mix up from 3 parts. The first part is mainly a showcase of some of my tunes, as well as some other tunes I love at the moment. The second part is mostly made out of IDM and D&B. The third part is some IDM stuff. I blended the three parts with some ambient in between them. The whole thing kinda represents my current taste in (electronic) music.

Irrellevant - Grains (Myrkur Rmx) *Freebie* by Myrkur

H: Seeing as its January I wondered if you could share your musical goals for year with us: what do you want to have achieved by January 2012?

M: Well 2011 should be a good year. I'm planning to launch a record label and I hope the events I organize with Radical will continue to thrive. Music-wise I hope I'll be able to create some tunes I'll be happy with. I'm quite fickle with my inspiration so I never know what will happen.

H: Just to finish off, any forthcomings or plans in the pipe-line you would like to share?

M: There are a couple of releases forthcoming. "Metropolis" and "Pulse" will be released on 12" on Deity Records. Also, "Homecoming" together with the Von D remix of that tune is still forthcoming on Subbalicious. I'm also planning to release some of my own music on my own label as soon as it has launched.

Download: Myrkur - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix

Tracklist:

June Miller – Lowlands [Dub]
Myrkur – Why [F.4.T. Music]
Myrkur & m3t4 – Ether [Dub]
Myrkur – Homecoming [Forthcoming Subbalicious]
Myrkur – Metropolis [Forthcoming Deity Records]
Addison Groove – Footcrab [Swamp ’81]
Myrkur – Pulse [Forthcoming Deity Records]
Myrkur – Transmission [Dub]
Myrkur – Void [Dub]
Myrkur – Entanglement [Dub]
DJ Madd – Someone (Breakage Remix) [Blackbox]
Burial – In McDonalds [HyperDub]
Helios – Vargtime [Type]
DoF – June [Drift Recordings]
Instra:mental – Watching You [Nonplus]
Hypno – Digilogue [Dub]
Icicle – Time [Shogun]
June Miller – Half Top Feelings [Horizons]
Helios – First Dream Called Ocean (Stray Remix) [Med School]
Burial – Night Bus [HyperDub]
Múm – Please Sing My Spring Reverb (ISAN Catena Remix) [Morr Music]
The Album Leaf – Red Eye [Subpop Records]
Radiohead – Kid A [Parlophone]
Shigeto – Look At The Smiling Face [Ghostly International]

Myrkur - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

Featuring: TMSV

Dutch producer TMSV has taken the time answer a few of our questions as well as completing an exclusive mix showcasing some of his beats. With his first international release currently available on Box Clever and support recently coming from no less than DJ Youngsta, TMSV is certainly one to watch. Enjoy:

Hedmuk: Just as a neat introduction for anyone who may be unaware of you- what name do you write under, where are you from, and how would you describe your sound?

TMSV: I'm TMSV and I'm from the Netherlands. I mostly produce dubstep with as much sub bass as possible.

H: When did you start to make beats?

T: I first started experimenting around 2004 or 2005 actually, but I'm not sure if what I made back then could actually be considered music, haha. I listened to a lot of drum & bass, so until 2007 that's what I was most interested in making. I started to make music at 140 bpm around the start of 2007 and that's when I began to take music more seriously.

H: What, in your opinion, is your best beat to date? Why?

T: I'm not sure if I could pick one. I'm quite satisfied with 'Memory' and 'Water or Fire' for example, but I might prefer 'Dahaka' or 'All it Takes' tomorrow.

H: Tell us a bit about your production process. How long does it take you to make a tune? Do you Juggle several tunes at once or focus your efforts on one at a time?

T: I recently discovered that my sequencer keeps track of how long I've been working on a tune. If that's anything to go by, I guess I spend between 4 and 10 hours on a tune, 4 hours probably being the quickest I've ever finished one. I often forget about a certain project because I always work on multiple tunes at the same time; if I don't finish a beat in a couple of days, chances are it gets lost among loads of ideas and unfinished tunes on my hard drive, either for a while or forever.

Myrkur & TMSV - Icarus by Myrkur

H: You spoke briefly in your Kmag interview of your love of ‘old school’ minimal Dubstep, citing Digital Mystikz , Skream and Distance as early influences. I wondered if you could enlighten us further. Were there any stand out releases you cherished? Perhaps your first experience of Dubstep in a club affected you?

T: The first dubstep I really couldn't stop listening to were a couple of DMZ releases (like Haunted/Anti War Dub and Left Leg Out/Blue Notez-if anyone has a spare copy of this, let me know!) and Skream's debut album. For some reason I can't really remember the first time I heard it in a club, but I do remember a (Deep Medi?) night at Melkweg in Amsterdam which was pretty amazing.

H: What do you make of the bass music scene at the moment, in particular the dark, brooding end of the scene. Do you think it is well represented and promoted? Perhaps on a more personal level to you, is it well represented in Holland?

T: I think there's an incredible amount of good music being made at the moment. I can't really say anything about how well it's promoted internationally, but I know there's a lot of people in Holland who are very much into the deeper side of bass music. Of course I would like it to be more popular, because it's a type of music I really like, but it's still an underground sound.

TMSV - Inner Space by TMSV

H: Tell us a bit about the scene in the Netherlands. What are your favourite nights/events ?

T: I think Holland was one of the first countries to pick up the sound from the UK, so there's a very dedicated group of people who have been, and still keep pushing and supporting the sound in various ways, be it just listening to it, djing, producing, taking pictures, making artwork, running labels or putting on nights. Being a small country also helps because I think all of those people know eachother or are at most one handshake away.

TMSV - Future History by TMSV

My favourite nights by far are Dub Infusions and Radical. Both nights get really good djs to play at nice, dark venues and aside from that it's always a really good night out regardless of who's playing.

H: Aside from you in the Dutch scene, we are already aware of Myrkur and Bojcot Selectah. Are there any other Dutch producer that you would recommend we check out? What kind of music are they making?

T: Halp, Presk, Astroposer, The Illuminated, Inofaith and Myrkur (again, yes). I'd like to mention June Miller as well, even though they've been pretty well-known in the drum & bass scene for some time. I probably forgot a couple, sorry! Actually most of them are getting quite a bit of well-deserved attention at the moment.

H: Is there pressure on foreign producers to spend a large amount of their time in the U.K? In the past Dubstep producers from outside the U.K, people such as DJ Madd, have made the decision to up sticks and move here. Is this something you have considered? Or is the scene strong enough internationally nowadays to satisfy you.

T: I've never felt pressured to leave the Netherlands to pursue a career in music, at least not yet. Thinking about it, I haven't been to the UK since I started taking producing seriously.

I would really like to come to the UK some time to play out, meet up with people and make a tune or 2 with some of them.

I can't really say anything about whether the scene is strong enough internationally (of course not counting the internet!), because I haven't ever done anything music related abroad, but I do know Holland is a good country for dubstep and music in general.

H: You recently had your first international release on Box Clever. What did this mean to you? People in the far nether regions of the world may have bought that release!

TMSV - Signal by blackbox-boxclever

T: It means a lot, because apparently people like my music enough to consider it worthy of an international release. I'm very happy the music I've put so much time and effort into is being appreciated even by people I don't know, who even spend their money on it!

H: Listening to a recent Youngsta set on Rinse, he opened with ‘Myth’ and later dropped ‘All it Takes'( it got a reload as well). What does it mean to you knowing some of the biggest names in the scene have, listen and like your tunes?

T: It's amazing, like I said i'm really happy my music is being received so well. Hearing tunes I made get played on radio shows, mixes and so forth by influential people I admire as artists is still a bit unreal, but it feels really good!

Tmsv-Hedmuk Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

Download: TMSV - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix

Tracklist:

TMSV - Back Off [Dub]

Seven - Cerebral [Forthcoming Subway]

Mala - Explorer [Monkeytown/Modeselektion]

TMSV - Dem A Talk [Dub]

Mala - Eyez [DMZ]

Geiom' - Remminisin' (Skream Remix) [Freeizm]

TMSV - Cold [Box Clever]

DJ Madd - Good Old Days [Forthcoming Black Box]

Kryptic Minds - Rubberman [Osiris Music]

TMSV - Sentinelese [Dub]

J.King & Benny Ill - Kosmic 78 [Deep Medi]

TMSV - Dahaka [Dub]

TMSV - Forget [Dub]

TMSV - Through The Night [Dub]