“My goal is to broaden my artistic profile by releasing more listening-oriented music”
His House music draws heavily from Soul, Disco, and Jazz, genres he has been deeply immersed in since childhood. This influence extends to his trip-hop and downtempo music,
“These styles serve as continuous inspiration for all my creations. Similarly, the sampling approach in my trip hop/downtempo music mirrors this ethos. I delve into the same record crates to find samples that enrich both genres. Additionally, I play guitar and piano my- self, noticing how well these instruments complement these musical styles”.
D Stone believes these music styles complement each other and can coexist under one unified name. As an artist, he navigates two paths: his autonomous side in Trip-Hop, where he experiments freely with Jazz, Soul, and Funk, and his serving side in House music, where he adapts to the audience. These dual aspects of his ar- tistry provide ultimate aesthetic satisfaction, embod- ying connection, self-awareness, and shared beautiful moments.
“For me as an artist, these two aspects are inseparable and complement each other, resulting in ultimate aes- thetic satisfaction”.
CREATIVE PROCESS AND INSPIRATIONS
D Stone’s studio in the Tuinen van Bret, a creative hub with various studios, is where he brings his music to life. Sharing this space with his friend and fellow DJ, Benjamin Berg, they have built it from scratch into a fully functioning production and recording studio.
This place is special to me because we built everything from scratch, allowing us to customize the space enti- rely to our needs. With the gear we now have, such as the MPC 1000, M1, MicroKorg, and various drum ma- chines and grooveboxes, we’ve essentially created a live performance setup. I no longer need to rely on plu- gins in Ableton since we can source every element of a production from our hardware. This setup provides me with much more creative freedom compared to diving into Ableton each time to search for sounds.
Sampling plays a crucial role in D Stone’s production process, heavily influenced by J Dilla’s approach. He is constantly listening to individual elements within tracks, viewing them as building blocks for new pro- ductions.
I also find that the sound of a ‘70s record has so much character and color. When you incorporate small one- shots or short loops from those tracks into your pro- duction, it automatically gains that same character and warmth. With an endless amount of music relea- sed and countless ways to flip a sample into something new, sampling is a huge part of my production process. It often forms the foundation of all my productions.
The character and warmth of ‘70s records inspire him, and incorporating small samples from these tracks adds depth to his music. Sampling often forms the foundation of his productions.
D Stone’s biggest inspirations in terms of production and artistic concept are Nightmare on Wax and St Germain. Both artists blend House and Trip-Hop mu- sic with highly dynamic and organic sounds, which is something he strives to achieve in his own productions.
WHAT IS TO COME
Currently, I’m involved in several projects. Alongside all the bookings this summer at venues like Thuishaven, Shelter, and festivals such as Strafwerk, Lofi, Bret, Ra- dio Radio, The Loft - and debuts in Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Spain and Duikboot, there’s also an EP co- ming out in collaboration with Benjamin Berg on Luuk van Dijk’s label, Dark Side Of The Sun. Additionally, a single will be released in September on SG Lewis’s label, featuring a different style with more melodic influen- ces. They also host label parties, and I’ll be DJing at one of their events in September at The Cause in London. I’m also working on an upcoming project that I’m really excited about, but I can’t share any details just yet.
Furthermore, my current focus is also on my album. To- gether with various session musicians and a singer, I’m currently working on developing a Trip-Hop / Neo Soul album. From this album, I’m also creating a live set to perform at events. I’m really looking forward to this and can’t wait to share it with the world.
Text by: Sergio Niño
40
mixmagde.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
