This week i interviewed Supersized, winner of the “Ghost House Beats” remix competition hosted last month on the Metalectro blog and his remix will be released on the forthcoming EP on ThAF Records. Supersized, who is based in Belgium, was also recently featured in the “Guild Of The Crux” compilation, released by CRUX Records.
01. Hi GJ! Would you mind introducing yourself?
Ok, Let’s see. My name is Gert-Jan hence the nickname GJ, I’m 21 years old and I live in Dendermonde. A wonderful place in Belgium where everyone worships a horse (no shittin here, look it up). I’m now in my last year of school studying for applied Informatics.
A fair warning, if you’re going to keep reading this interview, my friends have described me as “genially retarded” or “retardedly genius”. And yes, I seriously doubt that that’s even a real word.
02. How long are you doing Supersized and how would you describe your music?
Flashback to a very very…very long time ago… It was at least March 2010! All my friends were getting a girlfriend and I was getting a computer. Needless to say I had a lot of free time, which I filled by learning how to make music. After a few months of dicking around I was creating some very basic electro house tracks, back then I was still just using my own name ‘GJ’ because I didn’t really think I would get noticed in the first few months. But then I entered my first remix contest just for fun, which surprisingly I actually won and got me a release on CRUX records. (Asian Trash boy – Whisper GJ remix). Since then I started to take producing a bit more seriously and I began thinking about an artist name which I could use. Then around the beginning of 2011 I started using the name Supersized. It doesn’t really mean anything, and just to set the record straight for all Belgian people out there: It has nothing to do with the Milk Inc tour. God No.
I would describe my music as a combination of elements from different electronic genres. It’s mainly a mix between trashy electro and techno, with a lot of acid influences. Lots of bleeps, scratches and hard bass sounds. It’s not the best music to dance to but I like to experiment with sounds and it sounds epic when you’re drunk. (This is a tip I got from Gtronic actually… so yeah, make sure drunk people love your tracks!)
03. You recently won the remix competition for The Hats “Ghost House Beats”. Was this the first Metalectro track you ever did and how did you come up with the idea for the remix?
Well the ghost house beats remix did turn out to be a lot more trashy than I originally thought it would, but that’s sort of how I work. I just download the stems, play with them, see what comes out.
I never really start out with a big picture of how I want a track to sound. I just have a set of effects, settings and techniques which I try out on various stems of the track, and sooner or later I find something cool I can use… Sometimes I add my own synths, sometimes it’s just purely the samples of the original, but often I change them so much they’re unrecognizable.
04. You have been doing quite a few remixes, do you prefer writing original tracks or remixing?
Tough question, I think making remixes is a lot faster and easier, and when you’re just starting out as a producer, it allows you to make better sounding tracks. But opposed to that, an original track is always more special. I spend waaay more time on an original track. A remix is mostly done in a few hours, while an original can take up days or even weeks before its perfect. An original track is something you have fully created on your own, every sound is something you have chosen, and that’s a feeling you don’t fully enjoy with creating remixes.
So I’d have to say that in a way I prefer writing originals because of the feeling of accomplishment you get when it’s finished. But remixing can be equally fun with less effort.
05. What would you say is your biggest music achievement/highlight so far?
Well I’m just starting out as a producer so I’m still thinking small. Every single release is an achievement in my book. So winning remix contests like this and having this interview definitely counts as a highlight!
06. Except from working on a Tommie Keeston remix for the “Through Glitches” competition are you working on any new Supersized material? Do you want to tell us about it?
Well I have some originals lying around with some of them being scheduled for a release. It’s not always easy to decide which tracks I should try to get released and which should be put away for now, as I’d like to have some consistency in the style of tracks that I release under the Supersized name. And some of them fall out that range.
As for remixes, at the moment I have to lurk the internet for remix contests, one of them being the Against Time “Revenge” remix contest. I’m finishing up with that remix at the moment, it will probably be online by the time this interview is posted. I’m hoping that after some exposure I’ll get to do some official remixes as well. So if anyone is reading this, I’m open for requests!
07. What are your influences/music background? Have you ever played in a metal/rock band?
I actually have no musical background whatsoever. I’ve just always had an interest in electronic music, ever since I started going out to clubs. At first I listened to a lot of hard-dance, hard-style and French tek. I grew up with tracks from Da Boy Tommy (damn this is still good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs5dDfJCE8I ) and DJ Coone but then I realized most of hard-dance tracks were just cheap rip-offs from classic electro/techno tracks. So I went to the originals and listened to that.
As for influences, I’ve always looked up to the really big names like Daft Punk, Vitalic, Boys Noize, Tiga, Zombie Nation… In a way they got me started but after a while you stop wanting to copy them and you just try to make your own style by combining the stuff you’ve heard and learned.
08. Do you prefer working only with computers/sequencers or do you get your hands dirty playing and recording instruments? Do you use samples and what’s your opinion on sampling and copyright?
Right now I’m using only software to create my tracks. At this stage I don’t think any hardware is necessary. It’s amazing what sounds you can get out of vst’s. Perhaps someday I’ll get some hardware because it just seems cooler to twisting and turning buttons rather than dragging automations with a computer mouse. For now I’ll just make do with what I have, a crappy computer and Fruity Loops… Yes, I said Fruity Loops! I thought of moving on to Ableton or Cubase but I still haven’t found a good reason why… FL does everything I need it to do.
About sampling, it has always been a big part of dance music. I think a lot depends on the tracks you sample and how you use them. Daft Punk was all about sampling but they used tracks that most people didn’t really know. Same thing with Duck Sauce, how many people are singing that Barbara Streisand song without even knowing it’s actually Boney M “Gotta Go Home”? I guess I’ll just go with the quote: “good artists copy, great artists steal”. Whenever I use samples, I make sure they’re quite different from the original though.
09. Do you ever run out of creative ideas in the studio?
Yeah sure, sometimes I have periods that I’m totally stuck and can’t create anything new. Then I just take some time off, you can’t force yourself to create a good track… In those “dry” periods I try to read some theory about music on forums, doing some experimenting with new techniques, new vst’s, etc… Often that ends up with some cool new sounds that I can use for tracks.
10. So, what is music for you and what do you think about the way the music industry is changing?
Wow, philosophical question time. Music is something emotional that sets the mood for everything. People always listen to music, whether you’re on a wedding or a funeral; a party or alone in your room. Music has always been a part of life.
It’s hard to talk about “the music industry” as a whole because there are so many different aspects of it, different artists with different goals. You can’t compare a Britney Spears song to an Evanessence song or a Boys Noize track. Some artists just seem to make music for profit, while others are trying to bring quality with every release, no matter the genre of music.
And no matter how the music industry evolves, there will always be good music out there. Even if you’ll have to look a little harder to find it.
11. What do you think about today’s mainstream music?
Like most people I guess, some I love – some I hate. Mainstream pop music is taking more and more stuff from the electro/dubstep scene. I absolutely hate it when they just take an electro track and let some rapper shout about curvy overweight ebony females. I’m looking at you Lil’Jon!
Stuff like Lady Gaga I can appreciate, it’s very commercial yes but the tracks themselves sound pretty good and the lyrics actually contain a message other than “yeaaaaaaah, biatches and hooooooo’s, jump jump jump”.
And she’s dressed in meat. I love meat.
PS: I guess here’s the question to which I have to admit that I like watching glee? There I did it, sue me.
12. Do you believe that an electronic music artist can earn his/her living from music nowadays?
It’s possible but very hard I guess. 95% of all producers will probably end up with nothing. You just have to hope that you’re in the 5% that does make it to the top and stay there long enough to build a fanbase. You just need a combination of talent, social contacts and a bit of luck. Wait, make that a ton of luck!
13. Are you signed with any record label? Any future plans? (live shows, releases, remixes, etc)
Nothing signed yet but an EP on CRUX Records is being planned.
As for now, I’m just producing but as this is turning out to be quite successful for me, I guess DJ-sets or live shows is the logical next step. I guess I’ll just have to see how far this Supersized thing takes me. Winning remix contests and being featured on a blog is already something far beyond what I thought was gonna happen when I started this.
14. What are you listening to lately? Any tracks/artists you recommend?
My Chemical Romance and Placebo are always on my mp3 player, I’m quite into emo-rock. As for electronic music, I really like Clouds, the track “Numbers” is definitely one of my favorites at the moment. The Subs, Gtronic and The Oddword are also some of my favorite producers as well.
I feel like I’m the only one who also likes the new Boys Noize tracks from the last few months.
When I go to festivals I also try to spend a little time listening to some hard-dance or hard techno artists. I can enjoy an hour or so of listening to a DJ Rush or Frank Kvitta performance…
Omg, I almost forgot to mention Paul Chambers, YEAH TECHNO! <3
15. What do you like doing when not in the studio?
The studio…. Oh you mean my bedroom…
I do what most 21 year old like doing I guess. Going out with friends, having a drink, watching a movie… having another drink… nothing special really… And I’ve beaten my WoW addiction, Huzzah!
16. What do you think about the Metalectro blog and the music featured on it?
Some really great stuff here and an ideal place for less popular producers to get some of the recognition they deserve.
17. Anything else you’d like to mention and we forgot to ask?
Become a Facebook fan, apparently I’m giving out blowjobs to the first 50 people that join once I’ve reached 1000.
http://www.facebook.com/Supersizedmusic
http://soundcloud.com/supersized
Btw, You might have noticed the lack of photo’s and logo’s, I’m gonna make some when I have some free time this summer!