Maduk: Inspired Vision - Drum&BassArena

Fresh from being crowned Best Newcomer Producer at the Drum&BassArena Awards in December, Dutch producer Maduk is feeling inspired and proving he is in top form right now. Kicking 2015 off in style, he, along with label partner Maris Goudzwaard, are bringing the juggernaut that is Liquicity to the UK for the very first time at Village Underground this Friday. What started as a humble YouTube channel has grown into a reputable label and successful club night, which only seems to be growing and gaining a bigger following, and rightfully so.

The event will mark Maduk’s first set in London, and with two of his tracks appearing on the labels sublime Escapism 2 compilation, the talented producer is armed with new material. We caught up to chat about the event and what’s coming up for him in 2015…

Thanks for joining us Mark! Happy New Year! Do you have any New Year resolutions?

Start smoking, drink more alcohol and gain some weight… No, but seriously, my resolution is that I’m (finally) going to see an optician and get some lenses! The amount of time in my life behind computer screens clearly didn’t work out well for my eyes.

You won Best Newcomer Producer in the Drum&BassArena Awards in December – congratulations! You seemed genuinely surprised to win…

Thanks! Yes I really was.. I didn’t come to London with the idea to collect an award, for me it was just a nice opportunity to catch up with everyone in the scene. I hoped for top 5, but that I actually would win.. Amazing!

What was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard your name called?

F*ck I have to get on stage now and say something…

Any top picks for next year?

In my opinion Dimension is one of the most promising artists at the moment. His consistent quality of tracks and DJ sets are ace.

How did you get in to production? Are you self-taught or did you study?

I started producing electronic music about 5 years ago, before that I mainly played the piano and did some acoustic recordings with friends. I taught myself for the most part, but I also studied audio engineering for 2 years at the conservatory.

Liquicity is coming to London for the very first time this month! We can’t wait! What made you want to bring the event to London?

After 2 years of successful events in Amsterdam and Antwerp it felt like the next logical step was to expand to other areas. Liquicity has a lot of followers in the UK, and London in particular!

Tell us more about Liquicity and the idea behind launching the brand – what do you think it is about it that makes it so successful?

Fellow Dutchman and good friend Maris Goudzwaard founded Liquicity in 2008. It started as a YouTube channel and quickly became a very special community of dedicated liquid drum & bass lovers. Maris uploaded my first Maduk track “Avalon” and we started talking more and more about Liquicity. Early 2013 we officially joined forces and we expanded the label as well as doing the Liquicity Events. If I look back on the past 2 years I’m really proud of how much we did! 12 amazing events, 4 physical albums and a bunch of singles. Liquicity is a great family with artists like Rameses B, Feint, Champion, Hugh Hardie, Fliwo, NCT and many more.

You guys are smashing it! This will also be your first time performing in London – what can people expect from your set? Will you have any exclusives ready for the night?

Since it’s a Liquicity night and also my first time in London, I probably will play a lot of my own tracks! Some new ones which will be released on Hospital and Viper at the end of January, some old ones and some works in progress.

In December you unleashed the sublime Liquicity Yearmix 2014, which you were perfecting for weeks. Tell us about the mix and what you hoped to achieve…

My brother came up with the idea to make a mix with the best Liquicity uploads in 2012. I asked my sister to record some vocal banners for it and the rest is history! We got such an overwhelming response that we decided to continue with this tradition, and so this was #3.

What about the incredible video for the mix? Who was behind it?

All credits to Maris for that. He is the creative mastermind behind all the Liquicity video’s and artwork. I think he worked on it for 3 days straight haha!

Another track that appears on the album is an incredible remix of Future Prophecies – September, which you did with Champion. Did you work on this one together in the studio?

I was working on the remix but I felt something was missing, then I sent it to Champion and he did what was necessary to get the job done! It was a really tough job to remix such a classic, especially because Camo & Krooked already nailed a killer remix too. We wanted to come up with a different vibe to those two tracks and in the end I’m very happy with the result.

So are we! Speaking of remixes, Logistics is the first artist to have remixed you, with his re-work of Believe appearing on Escapism 2 as well. Must have been an honour to be remixed by Loggy… You guys have worked together in the past – how did you first decide you would work well in the studio together?

It is! I met Logistics and Nu:Tone in Amsterdam at our second event. A few weeks later I visited London with my girlfriend and asked them on Twitter if I could visit them in the studio. The next day we sat down for 4 hours and made the track “Stutter” which appeared on his Polyphony album. He mentioned back then that he liked my track Believe, and so 1 year later we got him to remix it!

Any plans for more collaborations in the future?

When the nominations for the awards were announced, we decided to combine my trip to London for the awards with another studio session at his place. We worked on a track for 2 days straight basically and I can safely say that we both love it! More info soon hopefully…

Can’t wait! Your name is synonymous with breathtaking production and a signature liquid vibe – where does your inspiration come from?

It may sound weird, but I hardly listen other music. My iTunes only consist of own projects and my iPhone is empty. I have no Spotify and when I’m hanging out with friends, I’m never the guy who puts on the music. I just want to make tracks that makes me happy and can give you the amazing feeling that only some drum & bass can give you. The feeling I fell in love with 4 years ago!

What’s currently cooking in the studio for you?

Focusing on new tracks, writing and composing. Trying not to think it through too much, just go with the flow;) Got myself a Juno 106 synth for Christmas so definitely will cook some warm sounds with that soon!

What was your highlight of 2014?

Ooh tough one! As a DJ I would say my set at Lowlands festival this year. I had to close one of the main stages after Fred V & Grafix, Camo & Krooked and Ed Rush & Optical. I was nervous as hell, but it went down very well 😉 The collaborations with Logistics & Nu:Tone, the Liquicity Yearmix and the Liquicity events we’re highlights for sure as well.

What’s on the cards for 2015? What do you hope to achieve as an artist and what are your plans for Liquicity?

I have a new single out on Viper Recordings, as well as a new collaboration with Nymfo on Hospitallity 2015. I have some cool unreleased tracks laying around so I hope to release those as well this year.

For Liquicity we are working on a special album project (top secret!) and at the end of January we have a wicked single planned by the up and coming talents of T & Sugah. We want to expand the events to an extra city in Europe as well. I think we just have to keep doing what we are doing now.. Maris and I work really well together and we are just getting started!