Premiere: Know V.A. – Zembla

Know V.A. stands for Know Various Artists. Are there new musical angles or specific genres other than the ones you’ve explored already you would want to embed in your music in the future?

As much as we think you should strive to ‘know various artists’ and know different angles in music and art, Know V.A. is only a name and not something our whole vision as artists is built on. We aren’t actively advocating this, people should just listen to what they want. The name can also be read as nova, which simply means ‘something new’.

We are, though, constantly adapting to the landscape that is electronic music nowadays. We are trying to mark our own sound within this whole melting pot, new and old, sometimes more influenced by Atlanta’s rap sound, old hardcore tunes, as well as ‘post-internet’ noise or grime stuff. For example, Marijn has made a bunch of auto-tune tracks this year and is now busy with an electronic interpretation of Philip Glass and other minimal music for his theatre shows.

We are constantly adapting to the landscape that is electronic music nowadays.

What makes you as a duo a success combination?

We’re both into different areas. Feico is doing his neuroscience master degree this year and Marijn is busy making performances and acting in theatre. We are keeping each other on our toes. We both produce a lot of material, but some quality filtering is needed. Lots of times it’s the other person that knows which tracks are good and which ones are not that interesting. In this way, we push ourselves to finishing good tracks.

What does the ideal public or performance setting look like for you?

We’d love to do more live-sets in museum-like settings. When there’s less of a pressure to dance, a different mindset occurs and people actually start listening to the music. Our music can be very complex and layered, so a highy focused ear is to be needed. For DJ sets that’s completely different. While live-sets are more about listening and storytelling, DJ’ing is more about energy. Last year we DJ’ed in Leuven for the first time in a Lidl basement underneath a club which was full of Belgian kids who absolutely went nuts. The capacity was not more than 150 people and the sound system was not that good, but it was one of the best gigs in a while. Those little rooms which are easy to access and have a loose vibe to it are the best.

Do you have a favourite country on a musical level?

England has always been smashing it. From the punks, to rave, to Joy Division, to sound system culture. Secondly, American culture is all around us, and its influence is undeniable. Nowadays it probably isn’t that important anymore, where you grew up. Internet is a place on its own, where multiple scenes arise as if these people know each other. In the end everybody is just making tracks in their bedroom.

Our goal is to leave a significant release behind trough which we would be remembered.

Any personal heroes?

Lorn is the ultimate boss. His sounddesign is the most complex shit we’ve ever heard. On a technical level he’s one of the best. But also on an artistic level he’s a rolemodel. He doesn’t try to please anyone. He makes the music that he wants to hear. In the end that’s what matters and people will acknowledge that.

Know V.A. will celebrate the Release of Zenith on Friday, 21 October at our homebase s105 (De School),  Amsterdam. Make sure you’re present, for this ADE event is double billing with cable ally ZES and, of course, the show is free for members.