interviews

Sied van Riel

Hi Sied, how are you today? Where was your last spin and how were the reactions from the crowd?

I'm doing riel fine thanks, very busy but all is cool... hope you are cool 2... Last gigs where In Kiev Ukraine and Izmir in Turkey.. Kiev was Insane !!! and Izmir was very cool aswell... Different crowds but I had a very good time at both gigs.

"Rush" has been featured on 'In Search Of Sunrise 7: Asia'. How expected was this? Or did you exclusively produce it for the album?

Well I did make the track exclusive for ISOS BUT I didn't knew Tiësto had picked it till the day the cd was made. I have good contact with his guys at the office as I have more stuff signed to blackhole recordings so they called me the minute they could... It was unexpected for me because this was the first time I actually took a shot at it ...... right on the spot though =)

Tell us something about your music style.

It's uhm... warm, driving, melodic, it has to hit a certain vibe when I make it or play it.. each track in my sets is a part of whole I think... cause I always want to put something together that builds up and takes people along with me whilst playing. When I produce music.. I put the energy, emotions/state of mind I have at that time straight in to my sequencer .. so basically I'm putting my thoughts in to music.

How did you master the art of DJing and producing?

DJ-ing started realy early .. at age 12/13 .. looking at other dj's , practicing each day for hours and hours at home, doing my own thing .. producing came at a later stage a few years back when I took the step to buy my first studio and go for it. Ever since that moment I spend about 13/14 hours a day in the studio. At first trying to understand how to use my gear, and software.. then I more or less analyzed tracks in my studio how they where mixed, where and what compression was used .. placement of sounds etc.... took me a while to understand and I'm still learning new stuff each day. So how I mastered it... invest time and effort !!

What equipments and software do you think are required today to create a crisp and perfect trance track?

Well it's more depending on your skills and knowledge and your acoustics in your studio along with a decent pair of ears and good equipment. Nowadays with software you can basically do anything you want.. but I still prefer hardware when it comes to synths and compressors. More warmth and depth .... You should really know what you are doing because you can mess up a track very easy.... What I use... focusrite compressors, access virus TI , Roland gear, Lexicon fx, analog mixer etc.. in combination with some good software plugins.

Which artists did you listen to while growing up?

Micheal Jackson, Prince and the Revolution, UB40, Pet Shop Boys, Louis Vega, Bell Biv Devoe, U2, Simple Minds, Simply Red, Kate Bush, OMD, Technotronic, Snap .. you know.. a lot of 80s early 90s stuff... I still listen to it on my ipod when I fly out to gigs and at home in the studio when I need to be in a certain mood to produce music.

How did "Minimal Symphony" with Geert Huinink happen? It has great dark riffs and orchestral feel to it!

My publisher was at my house .. we where discussing business and just meeting up for some coffee and stuff as we do more often... he opted that I should work with Huinink and asked me if I was up for it.. I told him I would like to do that so he called Geert and we had some email contact. After that I made Minimal Symphony in my studio and send it to him for a composition in the break. Later I took the project with me and went to his studio .... He made the composition and we finished the track together... A real collab as we both did a lot of work on the track and finished it together.. just how I like a collab to be. Geert is a massive composer producer and realy open minded. We are now doing more stuff together ... and he's also joining me for some gigs this summer to hang out and party a bit.

How do you decide to remix a particular tune?

Well first of all it has to have elements I can work with. I do not listen to labels which say.. "do it like this and make it sound like that remix or track you did" when they ask that I'll let it go right away. I never want to do a similar track as I did before and I wont copy any stuff !! I do not work on deadlines... so If they say I have to have it in 2 weeks.. then they are RIEL unlucky =) I think you cannot force down inspiration.......... So I have to have time because I am not a machine. Sometimes I do a track in 1 day, sometimes it can take me up to 2 weeks or even a month.. totally depending on my mood and schedule.

We just happened to see your home video with the great Leon Bolier. And it was fun to see both of you pulling each other's legs!

Hahah.. yeah Leon is a cool guy and we always have a lot of fun when we are together... We where making a track and I grabbed my camera and we did a Production Turorial for fun.

Give us a sneak-peek of Sied van Riel's tunes-in-the-making.

Well "Rush" is forthcoming on ISOS and as single on Blackhole Recordings.

I just finished a remix for Armin van Buuren, I am now working on a remix for US based Star 69 records. A new Bolier & Van Riel is finished, New Van Riel & Huinink is done. Sied van Riel – E=MSied Square is coming up, "Riel People Know" is coming up on Fektive Records, and I just finished a remix aswell for Trebbiano on Blackhole Recordings. Other then that I'm working on a vocal tune for myself..... that will be the new SvR single after the summer.

Are you planning to do a vocal tune somewhere in the future?

I think I just answered that question =) so Yeah \o/

What are the few good things you would like to speak about Dutch people?

We are very openminded people. We love it all and live life as we want to live it.

We are proud of our little country here..... little piece of land but we do have a lot of great thing going on here and in the world ! Look at the top of the dj's, and we have good soccor team and darts players aswell haha..

How was the 'In Search Of Sunrise 5' tour with Tiësto? Any special memories?

It was massive !! Special memories was that it happened after I had my first release ever. This was my first RIEL gig in the Trance Genre... I started of with Tiësto.. crazy. We had a lot of fun and the gigs where massive. I'm doing a gig with him this summer again in Cyprus... realy looking forward to that ... !!

What does Sied rieally do when not making music or DJing?

Walking my dogs, watching movies, eating pizza or kebab =) partying or just relaxing !! !! I do not have a lot of free time so the time I have I spend wisely.

Message for your fans.

Well first of all thanks for this interview ofcourse !! and thank you all for the support so far.... I hope to see you soon at one of my gigs and do a little massive partying while we are at it !! keep it riel and enjoy life \o/ \o/ \o/

We rieally thank you for obliging for Trance Hub's artist of the month! Wish you an ever-rising musical career ahead! Keep it bringing.

For more info related to Sied van Riel check out the following links:
www.siedvanriel.com
www.myspace.com/siedvanriel

Written by: Apoorv
Compiled by: Mr. Yank