Stan van Dijk is a producer who makes a mix of electronic music, jazz and hip-hop. His eclectic style stems from experimentation and the mixing of influences. There is no good genre name, but large playlists such as “‘Jazztronica” & “Nu Jazz” come close. ”Naive computer” is a title that is also used and most often comes with the music. The music shoots in all directions, from influence to influence, from experiment to experiment, creating its own unique character. Stan captures that difficult-to-design style as best as possible in his music, in which he lets go of genre conventions and constantly innovates.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Stan van Dijk about the latest music, adapting during lock downs, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
I’m from a small town near Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I would describe my style as electronic jazz, but there are also a lot of Hip Hop, ambient and Brazilian influences.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
I started out making music in high school, Trap was really big around that time (2015-2017), so I started of making trap beats. From there I got more into different kinds of Hip Hop, I started listening to people like J Dilla and De La Soul. Sampling was very new to me and I really wanted to understand it better, so I started of sampling myself. When I went looking for samples I came across a lot of stuff that was very foreign to me, like free jazz and psychedelica. After a while i began to enjoy the music for what it was, instead of listening to it with sampling in mind. From there on forward it has been a busy couple of years, I put out 3 EPs under an alter ego, and I’m now releasing my first record.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
My new album is a big step in a new direction when it comes to style. I have been working with real instrumentalists for the first time which is quite the experience. The album came together over a period of one and a half years, I didn’t really start out with a vision in mind, I was experimenting a lot and this album is a product of all that experimentation. I have been thinking in retrospect about if there may be a leading theme in the album, but so for I haven’t found any. But that may be for the best, this way the listeners can give their own meaning to the music.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
During the entire process of creating the album, I was struggling with being able to create music I actually enjoy. For a while I was making very weird left field stuff which I thought was really smart and unique, but I never really enjoyed listening to it. I found it very hard to find the balance between making something catchy and listenable, but still incorporating the wacky sounds and structures I like. I think I found a happy medium between the 2 on this project
What was the last song you listened to?
Danca do Paje by Hermeto Pascoal. It is a very wavy tune, and the band he is playing with is amazing. I don’t know if you are familiar with Hermeto but he is definitely worth checking out, his live performances from the 70’s are wild. I have been listening to a lot of Brazilian music lately, especially from the 60-80s, some of the time signatures the use are so funky and offbeat, it’s really cool stuff.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
Streaming is amazing. Of course there are a lot of arguments that could be made about sound quality and so forth, but the internet is really a gold mine for finding new music, especially YouTube. But I also dig records from time to time, it’s a completely different way of finding music. When digging records I always look for cover artworks I like and artists I may now, but when I’m on the internet I’m listening to everything I can get my hands on.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
You can follow me on Instagram: @stnvndijk, and of course all of my music is available on all major streaming platforms!
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
No nothing really besides thank you:)
