Leon Bolier “ PHANTASMA” VMM Album Interview
The Dutch dj Producer Leon Bolier is one of the Netherlands most creative studio minds at work today. Bolier has long since taken the music out of the studio and to the people and on the dance floors playing at hundreds of nights, in front of hundreds of thousands of clubbers each month, which brought Leon Bolier to a debuting position of No.95 at the DJ Mag Top 100 chart in the autumn of 2008.
The VMM speaks to Leon Bolier this time to find out more about what went into making his new artist album “Phantasma”, available on Spinnin Records from the 31st August 2010.
Q: Leon Bolier your “Phantasma” album is now compose and mixed and ready to go so can you tell the VMM what it was like making this album with your continuous busy dj & production schedule these days?
A: Well, first of all, producing the music I love ain’t a pain in the ass so Im very happy to be able to spend my time on music anytime. Sometimes it’s tough yep, especially when I’m dealing with jetlags etc., but in the end all is well worth it. Some of the tracks on Phantasma were written while having the worst jetlags ever, tho they turned out to be great (at least in my opinion) – so in the end it’s about what you love to do, which means it’s not a tough decision to take time to produce new music.
Q: The VMM would like to know what influences from your music and life would you say have shaped your NEW “Phantasma” album?
A: My music and musical taste always has been influenced by classical music from when I was a young kid – Chopin, Beethoven, Henry Purcell for instance. Then I discovered dance music back in 1992 and the love for dance music never has gone away. On top of that I get the feeling that I have been influenced by computer games soundtracks as well, the kinda nervous Nintendo soundtracks of some games for instance. This all combined still shines through in everything I produce I think. For the album I had some different influences – apart from just being inspired to write new music. Books I read, every day situtations etc. have been translated into some tracks – for instance the track ‘Shimamoto’, which name is the name of the main character in Haruki Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun. Then ‘That Morning’, which was inspired by me reading the first few pages of Nicolo Ammaniti’s I’m not Afraid, while waiting for my flight home in Tunis, Tunisia – I wanted to write a track that just kinda describes the whole day of a little kid, living in the country side, on a summer day.
Q: The VMM would like to know why you decided to call the album “Phantasma” what’s behind this unusual name Leon?
A: Phantasma : one of the short definitions of the word is ‘something existing in perception only’ – phantasma should be a bridge between what’s real and what’s not – hence all track titles refer to something real or unreal, and still they refer to elements in the artwork. Maybe a bit of a vague description but I want the listener to have some sort of a trip through imagination when they listen to it.
Q: Leon how do you begin to compose a track? Do you have a set formula or does a bass riff or sample kick things off? How do you create your hits and what advice can you give to the budding producers out there?
A: I don’t have a certain way to start things off, sometimes I make a chord progression first, sometimes some beats, sometimes I just have a cool idea for a groove or a gimmick, its different every time I start a new track.. so the advice out of that would be, never try to force yourself into a formulaic way of producing music, but go with the flow, and see what happens – it gives the best results!
Q: The VMM would like to ask Leon do you have any favorite tracks from the “Phantasma” album and why?
A: hehe, I knew that question was coming, and to be honest, that’s a hard question to answer. There’s different flavors on the album and hence it’s kinda hard to compare some tracks to each other. For example, I Close My Eyes is a track that reflects my oldschool sound, the sound people started to know me for. It’s kinda in the same league as Back in the Days and Poseidon. Then a track like Creek more has a vintage/analog yet still modern produced feel to it – a bit of a Detroit influence, warm techno stabs added to a warm lower layer. The track I did with Fisher – By Your Side – is a vocal track, a bit more laidback yet very trancy. Hard to compare – and there’s 24 tracks on the album, so I could go on and on about this – in the end I like each track on the album in it’s own way, and I didn’t put any track on there that was meant to fill gaps or make sure the album could be a 2CD in the end.
Q: We see that on the double CD you have worked with a great selection of know dj producers including Roger Shah, Marcus Schossow, Sied Van Riel, W&W and Joop so what did you most enjoy about these collaborations?
A: The fun fooling around in the studio and being inspired by the ideas they put into the music – one can always learn from someone else, and that’s a great thing to know – and of course it’s just fun to work together, just because you joke around and act silly from time to time, that’s a bit different when you are in the studio on your own.
Q: The VMM would like to know will you be touring the Phantasma album and if so when and where ?
A: We are currently working on a tour for the album – at the moment I don’t know where and when but in the coming months I will visit Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Indonesia, Bali, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, Czech Republic, the Netherlands of course and more to be announced later!
Q: Where can readers find you on the net and find out more about the “Phantasma” album?
A: Of course they can follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/leonbolier ), check me out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/leonbolierofficial ) and to be updated by videos they can subscribe to my youtube channel which is www.youtube.com/leonbolierofficial !
The VMM wishes all the best to Leon Bolier and the success of the new Phantasma album out on Spinnin Records.
-> thanks a lot!
Leon Bolier PHANTASMA VMM Competion
Tracklisting:
CD1
1 That Morning (album mix)
2 Dark Star (vs. Sied van Riel)
3 By Your Side (I Will Be There) (ft. Fisher)
4 Don’t Be Afraid
5 Highland Walk
6 War of the Worlds
7 2099 (vs. Marcus Schössow)
8 Off road (vs. Joint Operations Centre)
9 Substitute (ft. Marieke de Kruijff)
10 Avalanche
11 Eden (vs. Roger Shah)
12 Butterfly
CD2
1 The Attic
2 Shimamoto
3 Saturn (vs. W&W)
4 Sweetest Lie (ft. Alana Aldea)
5 I Close My Eyes
6 Creek
7 Assembly Line
8 Irresistible (ft. Marieke de Kruijff)
9 Fly Back To Her (vs. JOOP)
10 The Knights Approach
11 Icarus
12 A New Dawn
23 Aug 2010, 2:25 am
Enjoyed reading an interview:)
23 Aug 2010, 5:02 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by pacha, Leon Bolier. Leon Bolier said: Interview about #phantasma here with the VMM here: http://bit.ly/b8oqlL #trancefamily [...]
11 Sep 2010, 7:49 am
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14 Sep 2010, 5:14 am
What a comment!! Very informative also easy to understand. Looking for more such writeups!! Do you have a twitter?
I recommended it on digg. The only thing that it’s missing is a bit of new design. However thank you for this blog.
16 Sep 2010, 3:50 pm
Glad you like the interview guys!!
Of course, we are on twitter – you can follow us at http://www.twitter.com/vmmuk
Areen
VMM