DMb | Dance Music blog & Podcast

Dutch producer Sander Kleinenberg officially steps into the artist seat with 5K, his debut studio album out June 14, 2011 on his own label This Is Recordings (via INgrooves), formerly known as Little Mountain Recordings. In support of his collection of elegantly entrancing electro that slides from energetic dance floor beats into airy sonic dreamscapes, he’ll return to North America this June for a 13-date run of live dates.

Co-produced with Josh Gabriel and mixed by Kleinenberg and Steve ‘Dub’ Jones [Chemical Brothers, UNKLE, Audio Bullys], ’5K’ is quite the ride. With its opening track, ‘T.I.O.N’. (This Is Our Night) rolling into ‘Chemically’ featuring Ryan Starr, Kleinenberg’s propulsive production morphs into an anthemic refrain that’s bound to get bodies moving. Another song built for the clubs is his “attempt at being French,” the 80’s-inspired vocodered ‘R.Y.A.N.L.’ (Rock You All Night Long). Then, Kleinenberg takes the listener to outer space on the warm rapture of ‘Closer’ where Neil Ormandy’s vocals reach beyond the sky. British jazz singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum, who guests on the bass-y and bouncy first single ‘Remember When’ adds a soulful swagger to the track which sees Kleinenberg expanding even further and embracing a new vibe. The song can be experienced through its video at: YouTube

There are also collaborations with fellow Dutchmen Kraak & Smaak on ‘The Journey’ featuring spoken word legend Ursula Rucker. The dance floor explodes again with ‘M.A.N.I.A.C.’, which was built especially for the clubs Sander came up in, and then into ‘Disko Riot’ featuring Jon Fugler, which is, in Sander’s own words, “…a techno protest song written strongly to stand up against what the world of money has done to us all–how bankers obsessed with wealth have fucked us all over… and still do”. ‘This Love’ draws from De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, and A Tribe Called Quest with Ace Reign firing off incendiary verse. All of these textures, sounds, and swells converge on a gorgeous collaboration with Miss Montreal titled ‘Wish I Said’, and the song says it all. ’5K’ is the next level for electronic music.

Sander van Doorn has been a hot commodity this year doing some high-profile remixes from artists such as Depeche Mode and Killers amongst many others and in 2009 he broke into the elusive Top 10 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 List. We recently did an interview with him and he gave us this mix of his for the DMb faithful. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast and check out Sander’s Podcast as well.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:03 — 82.5MB)

Mix Info & Tracklisting (more…)

With the success of his State of Trance Podcast and the chart-topping productions he cranked out this year it’s no surprise that Armin took the coveted #1 DJ in World spot yet again. If you’re in LA be sure to catch him this weekend at Monster Massive.

Here is the complete list for 2009:

1. Armin van Buuren (non-mover)
2. Tiesto (non-mover)
3. David Guetta (up 2)
4. Above & Beyond (non-mover)
5. Paul van Dyk (down 2)
6. Deadmau5 (up 5)
7. Ferry Corsten (down 1)
8. Markus Schulz (non-mover)
9. Gareth Emery (up 14)
10. Sander van Doorn (up 3)
(more…)

Sander van Doorn has been on a tear lately remixing some of the biggest artists out there and playing every massive around the world. He recently took some time to do a quick interview with DanceMusicblog and here it is.

So you’ve been getting a lot of great press lately and you’ve been doing some high-profile remix work for Depeche Mode and The Killers to name a few. How did you feel and what kind of approach do you take when doing a remix for such an influential band as Depeche Mode?

It was an honour to be asked to remix the Depeche Mode track. I’ve been a fan for years and feel privileged to have my name attached to their music. I guess I approach it the same as any other remix but make sure it really works and does the original song justice.

The Killers are one of the biggest bands on the planet with some great melodies. That can make remixing a track easy when you have great parts to work with, especially when it’s a strong vocal.

Did you get to speak with any if the band members of DM, The Killers, or other artists before you started work on a remix?

No I didn’t speak to them. It’s extremely rare to do so when you’re doing a remix.

They must, obviously, like your work to choose you to reinterpret their music. Did they give you any specific instructions or ideas they had for a remix or did you have complete control over it?

No they left me to do as I thought best. I guess I was chosen because they like my style and they thought it would work well with the parts of the tracks. Obviously you work very hard on a remix when it’s for artists like the Killers or Depeche Mode.

Your second remix of the Killers’ track Spaceman has been my favorite track the past month or so. The lead synth string sound has a haunting kinda feel to it. What can you tell us about that sound and how you work in the studio?

That sound is a sample from the Killers track that I treated with some overdrive and other effects. The best way to see how I work in the studio is to watch the Studio Sessions videos on my website which show how I create my projects, some of the equipment I use and some tips and tricks.
(more…)