Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Where in the world are you at the moment?
Amsterdam! We’re currently working on some new stuff in STMPD studios…
Congratulations on the release of your new EP ‘Sam’. How has the feedback been so far?
Thanks!! We are so happy with the reactions so far. We were especially pleasantly surprised by the feedback from the electronic and DJ scenes. That definitely makes us happy 🙂
Connect with Ramsesboomboom on Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify | Website
Can you tell us how the EP came about and how long it’s been in the making?
Erik: Yes! Some of the tracks, like ‘Poly’ and ‘Without You,’ the first two from the EP, were created quite recently. However, ‘Huskytime’ is an old track. I think I made the basic loop on my Elektron Rytm drum computer back in 2015. It just ended up sitting untouched in our demo folder for a long time.
Last year, we revisited some old demos, and ‘Huskytime’ really stood out as deserving a good polish. By sampling howling huskies and autotuning the hell out of it, the demo finally gained the unique character it needed. After completing a bunch of tracks, we realized they all shared a common element: we had used the computer voice ‘Sam,’ or Software Automatic Mouth, in all of them. Sometimes Sam was a lead sound, and other times just a textural element, like using a ‘Tshhh’ sound as a hi-hat. So, it felt like the so-called lead singer of the group wasn’t a human, but… Sam!
You have an interesting musical background. How did you both get into music and who were the key influences for you growing up?
Erik: My start in music was listening to my mom play the piano and intervening with the most discordant bass notes, slamming my full hands on all keys. But as soon as my brain actually functioned, I started with percussion, eventually moving on to the drums. This became my primary focus for several years. During my drum studies at the conservatory, I met Wannes. We instantly connected over our shared interests in indie alternative/electronic music, admiring artists like Jon Hopkins, Jamie xx, Hudson Mohawke, James Blake, and Radiohead, among others.
Wannes: I started with music because there was a piano in the living room when I was a kid. I remember spending countless hours being obsessed with singing to the sounds of the piano and my obsession only grew when I discovered I could create and record music on the computer. After some drifting, I ended up studying Creative Production at the Conservatory of Rotterdam. I wrote a lot of songs, mainly indie, and recorded and performed those with Erik and a group of talented musicians who became close friends. After finishing my studies I was asked to play in a band called Klangstof.
You were in a band called Klangstof before your electronic music project. Tell us about it.
Wannes: We toured all over North America and Europe and have had a lot of amazing experiences. When after a while the first drummer of the band had to leave, I immediately thought of asking Erik to join. The rest of the band didn’t need a lot of convincing after our first rehearsal together. Needless to say, having Erik join made the entire experience even more enjoyable. We played festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo and toured with The Flaming Lips, Miike Snow and The Pixies.
How did you make the move from indie rock to electronic music production?
Wannes:In Klangstof, Erik and I were deeply involved in the songwriting process. There were times when we were churning out several demos a week. We both have a passion for indie music, but our love for electronic music is just as strong. During periods of intense writing, when we felt saturated with indie music, we often just did an electronic jam. Our first jam session resulted in a track initially called ‘Ramses,’ which was later renamed ‘I Feel Nothing.’ When these jams caught the attention of Kompakt Records we started to take it more seriously and it became one of our main projects.
What are your plans for the Ramsesboomboom project this year? Any more upcoming music we should keep an ear out for?
We’re writing a lot of new music and we’re planning to keep releasing regularly this year. Right now we’re already finishing up a collection of tracks that could become the next EP. This one has more UK and Bass influences but with a salty Ramsesboomboom sauce.
Any final words for our readers?
Go check out our new website ramsesboomboom.com! Wannes created it from scratch (yes he can also do that stuff!!) and we promise that you’ll enjoy it. As a special gift for those hardened souls with a concentration span that outperforms the length of this interview and since we LOVE you maybe try out the hidden code RAMSESTANZTANZ on our website…
Thank you.
