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An exclusive inteview with Sjef van Leeuwen |
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| roncli: | | First off, who is Sjef van Leeuwen? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Well, I am 36 years of age and of Dutch nationality. I have been in music since I was 12 years old, so that must be around 24 years now. |
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| roncli: | | What do you currently do for a living? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Currently I am holding position as a Software Architect/Developer at the ESA (European Space Agency). |
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| roncli: | | ESA, that sounds fun! How long have you been into software development? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | I have been in software development since I was 8. It started out as a hobby but became my profession in 1995. So I guess I have been in it professionally for some 13 years now. |
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| roncli: | | What first got you started into music? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | The first contact with music must have been at the age of 4 through my sister who was taking piano lessons at that time. I would just play around with it when she was not there. I can't vividly remember how it sounded, but it obviously didn't sound like a piece from Chopin. ;) Then I started tracking some 5 years later on the VIC-20, and later Commodore 64 (SID Chip programming). When it became serious for me, was when I bought my first synthesizer, which was a Roland Juno 2. Along side I did do ProTracker on the Amiga, and did join the good old Music Compo's in the Amiga Elite Scene. When it really became serious however, that was the time when Cubase 1.0 came out on the ATARI 1040ST. It had MIDI, and it would forever change my life. We started writing songs on Cubase, together with a guitar player from a rock band I was in. The interesting thing about the band was that we did 50% covers, and 50% of our own songs. |
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| roncli: | | Do you still use Cubase for your works today, or are you using other tools? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | I pretty much use anything I can get my hands on that produces nice sounds. But mainly I focus on Nuendo. Next to that I sometimes use Buzz Freeware composer. But it might as well, be an empty 1.5 liter Coke bottle blowing on it like a pan flute in front of a microphone. You should try it, it sounds pretty nice :) |
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| roncli: | | I may have to try that later! |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Well it's a substitute for me, I quit smoking about a week ago, hence the bottle, nothing better to do. |
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| roncli: | | Are you still with that band today, and do you still work with the guitarist on any of your works? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | No I have not seen the guitarist for quite some time now. The band broke up, because 2 out of 4 thought it was smarter to focus on school instead of practicing 5 times a week. A democratic stalemate that could only be resolved by dissolving the band. I did meet the guitarist 10 years later, he is still making music like me. The Drummer and the Bassist quit, it is not their hobby anymore. We both went solo after the band quit. The guitar player played in numerous other bands. For me, the first band was the first and last band I'd ever play in. I focused on composing music on the computer afterwards and producing trance music instead of rock music. Actually now you mention it, I might need to give him a call, he has some 50 songs on paper from back then. |
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| roncli: | | Which musicians have influenced your music over the years? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Freddy Mercury, The Doors (mainly Jim Morrison), David Bowie, Dire Straits, Sting, and Pink Floyd. We used to also play tracks from them in the band. I think they mainly influence me because they have such a strong identity, and most of all their own identity. I think that's very important in music. I went to Chicago, USA when I found out The Police got back together again, and it was a really mind blowing concert. Sting hit every note with such purity in his voice. |
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| roncli: | | On to your music, you produce a wide variety of styles, including rock, techno, ambient, and others. Which style do you best prefer, and which song of yours currently best demonstrates that style? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | You know roncli, that is a tough question. I guess it changes with time. Back in the 90's when techno trance was a novelty and made a lot of the home recording studios big for our generation, I was in that scene professionally for some time, both commercial and underground electronic music. The style I prefer at the moment has more to do with finding my own identity rather than the style itself. I felt I missed out on that by just focusing for quite some time only on trance. The best example of the style I prefer is the last track titled Man and Machine, this is where I want to be. But I do not exclude the possibility I will make a trance version out of it as well. |
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| roncli: | | I notice there are already two versions of this track. What made you work on a second one? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | The first version was a try out. I posted it on TiS to get some feedback from you guys and see if you welcomed the track. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that I decided to lay some guitar work over the track and do a reprise in the end. The guitar is played by Frans van Steijn. I've known him for quite some time. He composes music professionally amongst TV commercials and film. |
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| roncli: | | One song of yours in particular that I enjoy is Memories of Hope. Can you explain the inspiration behind this song? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Memories of Hope is a very personal song. Sometimes you will have hope once life will move in a certain direction but it doesn't. It's about the feeling of not being in control and the fear of the unknown future to come. |
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| roncli: | | Where do you see yourself going with your music in, say, five years? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Difficult to say. There will be a release on iTunes, Napster, and Amazon around May 12th. Who knows how it will be picked up. |
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| roncli: | | Where would you like to be? ;) |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | I'd like to be able to make a living again out of studio recording, audio engineering, and most of all composing music. So I can stop punching abstract code. |
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| roncli: | | Do you have any last words of advice for other aspiring musicians? |
| Sjef van Leeuwen: | | Keep at it! Do what you feel and feel what you do! |
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| roncli: | | Nice, simple, and true! Thank you for your time, and good luck with your upcoming release! |
