Interview: VNTM

The world of techno-focused club music has so far been a rewarding one for Amsterdam based talent VNTM, having put out his energetic sound on the likes of Oliver Koletzki’s Stil Vor Talent, Secret Cinema’s Gem Records and Reinier Zonneveld’s Filth On Acid.

Now in 2019, VNTM prepares for another positive year, so we caught up with him to discuss his forthcoming remixes, original music, his Berlin debut and what festivals he’s most looking forward to this summer.

Hey VNTM! How are you? Enjoying 2019 so far?

Hey guys! I’m doing fine, 2019 has already been great so far! Did some very cool shows in venues I never played before!

Your first release of the year came as a remix for Esoteric Circle’s Romance on Infinite Depth, tell us about the remix? How did you approach it?

Well, the original a was quite minimalistic but dark techno record, I felt it could have a bit more of a melodic touch to it.

So I took the main percussion line which is easy to recognise from the original, and I started building a soundscape and melody around that. It’s still quite heavy and the focus is on the drive and energy but it has my melodic touch to it now!

And what other releases are on the schedule for the coming months? Anything you can reveal?

I’ve actually been working on quite some remixes for this year, one for Marc Holstege, another one for Eelke Kleijn’s album and one for Beswerda who will be releasing on Weiter. I released there last year with my ‘Wanderer at Night E.P.’ so good to be back at the label again.

Besides that I have been working on a lot of original work, and especially tracks to use for my liveset. I’m pretty sure 2019 will be another year full of releases but I can’t reveal any details on the originals yet.

Toward the end of 2018 you played Awakenings alongside Sam Paganini and Nina Kraviz, did you plan things any differently to a standard club gig?

Well it was an opening slot for 2 hours on a “Heavy Techno” night as they called it themselves. For this set I checked the rest of the lineup and made sure I wasn’t going to piss off anyone else by going in too dark or too fast, of course without losing my identity sound wise.

The whole atmosphere and sound in the Gashouder is amazing but also a bit confronting. If something doesn’t sound good it’s way worse in there, compared to a small club.

So yes I did quite some testing and preparation for this set and in the end I can say i’m very happy with how everything turned out and I really enjoyed the gig.

And next month you’ll be playing Berlin’s Ritter Butzke for Reinier Zonneveld and Filth On Acid, looking forward to that?

Yes, It’s my Berlin debut so I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve been in Berlin before but never actually played a gig, so it’s new to me but I’m pretty sure it will be amazing.

Heard some great stories about the club and a lot of friends of mine will be joining too since they promised to go with me if I made my debut over there.

How about summer, have any special tour plans? Festivals maybe?

Quite a few festivals in the Netherlands have been confirmed already, and I must say the line-ups are stunning again.

Playing with some of my favourite artists on very big stages this summer. Confirmed festivals are Straf_Werk Festival, Mystic Garden, Verknipt Festival and Amsterdam Open Air.

Thanks for taking some time out to chat mate, before we go, what’s your favourite track at the moment?

Orbital by Fur Coat, Great atmosphere and nice club vibe!