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 Straight off the success of his brand new compilation 'In Riel Time', we caught up with Sied to see how this year's been and what the future holds for one of Trance music hottest producers...
The Riel Deal: He is being tipped by Tiësto as “the hottest producer around” and by DJ Magazine as “the next big thing to hit trance”. One of Armin van Buuren’s favourite producers of 2008 and according to Ferry Corsten one of THE new Trance Guys. He won the “best new face” Award at the Trance Awards 2008 @ MOS in London and has spun across the globe on events such as Trance Energy, Gatecrasher and Godskitchen. As Part of the Cream line ups @ Amnesia in Ibiza in 2009 and with a packed agenda “The Riel Deal” is taking over 2009. A few years ago he didn’t own a single piece of studio equipment… Now he’s odds-on favourite to become EDM’s next big breakout and the latest graduate to join trance music’s elite ‘Van Clan’. He is Sied van Riel...
The Riel Inspiration: Aged just 10 years old, Sied’s introduction to dance music came via Acid House. Unknowingly piped through the walls by his neighbours, he was instantly hooked on the anomalous sounds & beats he heard...
The Riel-eases: A long-term dance fan he was, but it wasn’t until early 2006 that Sied produced his first track, ‘Fearless’. Released on Sub Traxx. 2008 he unleashed ‘What You Want’, ‘Minimal Symhony’, ‘Contrasts’ and ‘Rush’ to the world ..with the last one beeing dropped on Tiesto’s “In Search of Sunrise 7. In 2009 he dropped “M.M.E.” as part of “Dedication EP” which was playlisted on daytime National Dutch Radio and created chaos on dancefloors world wide. 2008 proved to be his year and 2009 promises a lot more !
The search was on for a spiritual label home for Sied’s music, and it didn’t take too long before Dutch super-label Spinnin’ Records signed him.
The Riel-Mixes: Re-imaginings of other producers tracks promptly followed; Armin van Buuren, Blank & Jones, Offer Nissim, Jose Amnesia being amongst them in 2008. As you can see Sied’s been lending the Riel touch to tracks from the worlds finest labels, Armada, Blackhole, Spinnin’ ,Star 69 & Adjusted among them... His remixes are high up the charts world wide and spun by the biggest dj’s on the globe.
The Rielalistic Radio Show: Following numerous radio appearances Sied launched his own radio show, Rielalistic. Transmitted every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month on http://www.ah.fm. It has immediately drawn a loyal listener-ship.
The Riel Musical Philosophy: Sied describes his brand of music as “deep, driving, warm, melodic-fuelled trance” with each track or remix “directly related to my personality, experiences and state of mind”.
The Riel Pronunciation: That’s ‘Seed’ van ‘Real’ trance-spotters and accuracy fans!
i:Vibes: Sied, thanks for taking some time to talk to i:Vibes. How has your summer been going? What has been the catchiest phrase that you have heard this summer from someone referring to your music that stuck in your mind.
Sied: Thanks for having me !! The summer has been crazy, a lot of gigs all over the globe so couldn’t have been any better for me ! The catchiest phrase..hmm good one. They all start with F****** and then crazy, love it, mental, insane, great are followed after the first word.
i:Vibes: In the last 12 months, you have been on fire releasing floor burners like “Rush”, “Closer to you”, “MME” and “Contrasts”. Where can you and want to go from here as a producer?
Sied: Where I want to go, I don’t know yet,... I just do whatever I feel like doing and take it from there. Where I can go... well I think that is not up to me alone to decide.. we shall what the end of 09 and 2010 has in store ..First up now is completing my first artist album. It will take me another 5 months at least, but I am really excited about it already. Can’t wait to push that out next year.
i:Vibes: You have a new nickname the riel deal. In only three years, you have become one of the hottest trance producers at the moment. How do you describe your quick flight to the top?
Sied: Insane haha.. I mean I would have never thought I would ever fly around the world doing crazy gigs all over the place. You dream about it, you wish you get in to a position like that...I’m honest about that. I think I am one lucky S.O.B. when it comes to that. When I think back 1 year and what I did at that point and compare it to now... What a big difference that is !!
i:Vibes: Is Sied Van Riel your real name or your artist name. How did you come up with this name?
Sied: It is my real name, now I have to thank my mother and father for that because If my name would have been Sied Jansen (which is a typical Dutch last name) I would have been forced to make up a DJ name and believe me that’s something I have never thought about.. I use my real name because it is me who’s playing out there ... know what I mean. My second name is Franciscus... Not a name you want to use as a stage name either I think.
i:Vibes: Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?
Sied: I was born in Rotterdam in Holland, but moved to a smaller city just below Rotterdam. Moved to my grandmother’s house when I was 7 who raised me from that point on, parents divorced.. I would almost say.. you know your everyday thing now a days. I studied cooking and wines and all that sort of stuff, but I already knew that that wasn’t the thing I wanted to do the rest of my life. Music was already my life at that time in my life. I took cooking classes because surprisingly it didn’t had French classes in it and I was so bad at French so I had to find something without it. Got my degrees, did all sorts of jobs until about 1,5 years ago when I got the chance to go for a full time career in music....and was I happy that chance came along !!!!
i:Vibes: How did you get interested in dance music?
Sied: My next door neighbours 2 brothers called Fred and Rob Janssen where playing acid house a lot and I cleaned the apartment staircases to make some extra cash. So I heard that music whilst cleaning and I became addicted to it. I used to eat at their place every Sunday and then sat down in the corner of the living room with a headphone on and listening to their tapes and CD’s.
i:Vibes: What was your first record that you bought?
Sied: Phantasia – Phantasia
i:Vibes: You found a quick passion for Acid music. Why did this music genre catch your attention?
Sied: Well at that time there weren’t a lot of genre’s... it was all house or as the media called it acid house. So that’s why I used that term. It was cool because it had something different. Cool sounds, depth, simple melodies but at that time groundbreaking.
i:Vibes: Who were your early musical inspiration from the acid scene?
Sied: That’s a good one.. Stuff from Joey Beltram, KLF, D-Shake, Fire on High, Fierce Ruling Diva, Westbam, LFO,Cybersonik,Bizarre Inc,Dr Motte, Carl Cox. Etc etc.
i:Vibes: Lets talk about your first ever mix compilation “In Riel Time”. The title is very catching. Why did you choose this title?
Sied: Because I believe that if you want something and you focus yourself on it... it will come in time. In my case.. In Riel Time.
i:Vibes: You said the putting together of this mix CD was like for a kid going into a candy store for the first time. How difficult was it really putting this compilation together? Did you still lie awake at night thinking why you didn’t add certain tracks?
Sied: haha, No Once I had completed it I knew it was me and I was satisfied. I don’t believe in looking back at things and regret stuff... At that point in time you made a decision and you have to stick to it. I could have used many other tracks, but I have compiled this CD to show a certain vibe I like and all the tracks contributed to creating the vibe I had in mind for this CD. Tracks I didn’t use, but do play out live just didn’t fit my idea for the CD.
i:Vibes: It seems the new trend since about 2-3 years is making compilations with less big name DJs. There are some well known artists featured, but in 27 tracks only one very big DJ with Ferry Corsten. How important is it for the trance scene to forget the van burrens, Tiesto´s and Van Dky´s on compilations?
Sied: Well, I couldn’t use any new Tiesto tracks as his album wasn’t released / in promo at the time I was compiling. I wanted to use a Van Buuren track, but I didn’t use it eventually. And as I said I do what I want to do because it’s my compilation and not that of others. If a track didn’t fit I didn’t use it no matter how exclusive it was or how popular it was / is. It’s not that I forget about bigger artists who support us. I mean I would be the first to say we need their support if you want to grow as an artist, but again I really did the CD my way without doing anybody or anyone a favour just for the hell of it.
i:Vibes: You like so many different sounds and styles, but if you had to describe the sound of “In Riel Time” how would you describe it in words?
Sied: Normally I would describe my style as deep driving warm percussive melodically fuelled tech progressive trance. I think you can find anyone of the before mentioned sounds on the CD.
i:Vibes: You stated that “Chinook” from Dakota is one of the best songs that you have heard in years. What makes this song so unique for you?
Sied: I don’t know what it is.. it just has that certain something to it. When I first heared it which was right before I went on at the ASOT400 event in Rotterdam I was blown away by the build up and the overall vibe. I dropped it right there and then for the first time. It is pure quality.
i:Vibes: You started CD 1 very trancy, brought in some more progressive songs, then went trancy again shortly before bringing the progressive and tech sound back. How much fun could you have with CD 1 putting together this musical journey for the listeners?
Sied: Believe me I had a lot of fun. You can basically do what you want to do if you ask me. I like to build up, go back a bit, build up more playing different stuff in between and then take it back a bit playing some other vibes and then take it up again.
i:Vibes: How impressed were you with Ron van den Beukens new twist on his classic “Timeless” 2009 mix? It is very progressive and the memorable melody isn´t noticeable until near the end.
Sied: It’s driving and has tension. Just the way I like those sort of tracks. I still love the original and that one shall never be beaten in my honest opinion, but this remake does the job for me for sure.
i:Vibes: “Moongoosed” is a progressive “Sied van Riel classic. What was your inspiration behind this track?
Sied: Basically the first half of this year. I sat down in the studio and just went with the flow and Mongoosed popped out. Now I’m working on something totally different again as I’ve done more gigs and had different experiences than the first half of 09.
i:Vibes: CD 2 starts very trancy and uplifting with the Claes Rosen, Masoud and Whelan & Di Scala tracks. The flow is really very nice here. What is more difficult finding the perfect flow with uplifting or more progressive and techy tracks?
Sied: I think it’s more difficult to find tracks to start off with as they will set the mood. In my opinion it’s hard to find that low bpm track with the right mood and vibe and sounds and or vocal. Not everybody produces this stuff so it’s harder to obtain those.
i:Vibes: I love “Love will find a new day” from Atlantic Drift which has a beautiful atmosphere, nice melody, but adds techy sounds. Is that what also grabs your attention to tracks like these where an artist tries to incorporate as many different sounds as possible?
Sied: It has that emotional touch to it and flows along and then the break kicks in which provides release. I heard the tune and I wanted it right away. It has everything a track like that needs and craves for. The contrasts grabbed my attention from the start and I was listening to it constantly on airplanes and in my hotel rooms.
i:Vibes: You included “Air Guitar” from Breakfast. Two years ago, he made his break through. How have you seen his development as an artist? He seems to have found new sounds in the last year.
Sied: I’ve told him and ferry this.. I think this guy is brilliant at making music. I don’t know how he does it every time, but he is a genius if you ask me. His tracks are produced really well and the emotion you hear in ‘em....... Superb !
i:Vibes: “MME” was so huge and is still loved around the trance globe. That break is really breathtaking. How difficult was it producing this track? What was the most important thing you had to do to get this track perfect?
Sied: Thanks !! I did really well yeah.. to my surprise haha. The most important thing I did I think was finding the right sounds for the build up which wouldn’t give the melody line away but would fit the track. After that It took me quite a few hours to create the sounds for the break and hook line. My Virus TI and other stuff where making overtime I’ll tell you that !
i:Vibes: You finished CD2 with four driving trance tracks and ending it with “We belong” from Ferry Corsten. The Tritonal remix fits your all around In Riel Time sound. What do you hope the listener will always remember about this mix CD?
Sied: I hope it will bring people the mood they desire at any given moment when they feel like listening to music and put this here CD on.
i:Vibes: As a DJ, you have been a globe trotter in 2009. You recently played at Amnesia in Ibiza. What makes Amnesia such an incredible experience for a DJ?
Sied: Well anybody who has been there will understand when I say that those nights are just insane. A packed club, a crowd that goes nuts on an island that itself is as no other. What else can you wish for ? I’ve played there 4 times this summer and believe me it was nuts !!
i:Vibes: In April 2009, you played 7 major international gigs in 9 days. If you had to estimate how many hours you slept in those 9 days how much did you sleep?
Sied: haha.. Let me think. I will describe to you how it went down as short as possible.
Friday – gig in Northern Cyprus. Arrived at 11pm, played at 01.30 pm was on the plane at 7AM back to Amsterdam.
Saturday – GIG in Tall trees UK.
Sunday home to pack slept good.
Monday to Australia for Trance Energy 28 hours travel arrived in Sydney on Tuesday evening 9pm. Went to a bar with Schossow and Bolier until 2AM. Woke up at 7AM. Met up with Durand, Tyas and Patterson and we all went to a Zoo.
At night a bar, didn’t sleep much because of the jetlag so I went out of bed at 3AM to buy some pizza in China Town ( figure that one out ! ) then finally slept until 9am.
Next day my manager flew in, we had meetings and had the first party. Played until 12 stayed around a bit then slept until 06.00 as I flew to Melbourne at 9AM. Arrived in Melbourne partied until the end, went to a friends house until 4.30AM and flew to Brisbane the next day at 3PM. Partied in Brisbane didn’t sleep had to fly to Perth at 7AM. Arrived in Perth partied till the end went to an after party until 2AM then had some sleep until 9.30am.. plane ride back to Europe was at 3PM. Arrived home on Wednesday 11AM. Started listening promo’s and burned new music. Went to bed. Woke up the next day at 6am (jetlag) prepared etc.. went to Germany. Arrived there, had dinner with the rest of the guys went to the event at 10.30PM to see it all.. but I didn’t had to play until 5AM!
Midnight I collapsed and decided to get 3,5 hours of sleep. Got back in at 4.30am did my set went back to the hotel. Slept until 11am and flew to Birmingham. Dinner with the crew, went to the club at 10pm. Did my set.. stayed all night to see the rest of the guys play. Flew to Holland 12 the next day. Went home quick to get new clothes etc.. Burned new music which I could listen to at the venue in Rotterdam.. and off we where.
Arrived home at 6am.and slept for 2 days I think after that I slept for another week I suppose.. ha. Now you can calculate how much sleep there was.
i:Vibes: What was your most memorable gig in 2009?
Sied: A few, ASOT 400 , Trance Energy in Australia, Argentina events where massive and Cream at Amnesia.
i:Vibes: What surprises can we await from you in the next months?
Sied: You want me to send you surprises ? Like a box of chocolates ? JK, New tracks and remixes.. !!!!!!!
i:Vibes: The DJ Mag 2009 results are coming up. Will Armin Van Buuren win a third time, or will Paul Van Dyk or Tiesto regain the crown or will Above & beyond be crowned #1 DJ on the planet?
Sied: Difficult one.. Nobody mentions David Guetta... watch out for him is all I say... Everybody I have spoken to mentions him.. that has to be for a reason ? It’s not my thing but man this guy in popular. Same goes for Schulz. He will rise !! And I hope Van Doorn will get in to that top 10 as well. Totally deserved.
i:Vibes: When will you visit the famous Technoclub in Frankfurt, Germany of German Techno pope Talla 2XLC? I am sure you have heard of it.
Sied: I’ve been there actually .. not to play but I went there after I had an interview on SSL with Tillmann Uhrmacher. It’s a very cool club. Think JOC was playing there that night. If it is up to me I would be playing there tomorrow.... but it’s not up to me haha.
i:Vibes: Thanks Sied for the chat! Good luck with the CD!
Sied: Thanks for the interview folks !! Really enjoyed doing this one.
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