RB Exclusive Interview: Bingo Players Opens Up About His Music Since Paul’s Passing and How Being Different Earns Respect

Arizona saw a storm of water and suds this weekend at Foam Wonderland’s Neon Beach Tour stop at Rawhide. With the foam came superstar DJs like the hard dance fanatic, Kayzo, mystery-man trap lord, UZ, and none other than the life of the party himself, Bingo Players. The crowd was absolutely fantastic this year, embracing the killer music, the blasting foam, and the amazing vibes.

Maarten Hoogstraten, or as he is better known, Bingo Players, put on an amazing show consisting of epileptic lighting, an energy-filled MC Iceman, floor-rattling tunes, and even a couple of encore tracks which included some Darren Styles’ hardcore. The set was filled with surprises, including a lucky fan whose phone graced the stage, leaving with a hilarious video as a result (photos below). Consisting of fan favorites, new tracks, and a spurt of something different here and there, Bingo Players treated the audience to a breathtaking show they won’t soon forget.

Coming off of a flight from Vegas, Bingo Players was ready for more and to bring the party to Chandler. However, before his fantastic performance on Saturday night, I had the opportunity to talk with Maarten about various topics including new music, where he comes up with ideas for remixes, his love for Def Leppard, and his upcoming show at Marquee NYC. I also got a little bit of insight into Maarten’s life since Paul’s passing and how it has effected his creative process. Take a gander at the interview below.

So this isn’t your first time in Phoenix, you’ve been here a few times before.

Yeah, but mostly Scottsdale.

What do you think of it out here in the desert?

I love the setting, man. It’s like when I was a kid I always saw these movies situated in the desert and stuff, so being here and seeing them for real is really cool. It is a different scenery than I grew up in so its really cool to be here.

You guys are quoted having said, “I think we started becoming better producers once we started to DJ.” Can you elaborate on that a little bit, what do you think it is about DJing that makes a better producer?

Well, you know, if you’re producing music, you don’t play it out for people you just make the music and hope somebody or a label picks it up and once you get to DJ you can test your songs and see the reactions from crowds, you can adjust your songs to that, you know? I think once we started to DJ and we could test our new projects, I think it really helped in thinking about the music and being a bit smarter about making the music. Like we should change this, this, and this. This part is too long, let’s make it shorter, because the crowd is maybe a bit too bored. Especially like a couple of years ago, some songs were like seven minutes. You just have more feeling when you play a song out live and see what really happens when you play it.

Since Paul’s passing, how do you think that your approach to production has altered your creative process as a solo artist?

When I was with Paul I had instant feedback, when we were in the studio together we had perfect chemistry. So once he wasn’t there anymore I was alone making music and you don’t have anybody next to you sitting, saying “oh, we should change this, change that.” And he was really good with the direction of a song and the arrangement. And that’s the thing I miss the most, you know? I guess I have my management and other people here, but it takes time to get that feedback. With him it was instantly, it was like sitting in studio and like “no, change it, no, no.” And now I am sitting by myself and doubting if I’m doing the right thing. So that’s the difference.

With your label Hysteria, you got the title from the Def Leppard album of the same name. Would you ever in a dream world, or possibly even reality, collaborate with Def Leppard?

Oh yes, that would be so awesome, yeah! Even if I could do a remix of one of the songs, that would be awesome. Having the guys in the studio on vocal, that would be awesome. But you never know, they are pretty old right now, but I love their music and they inspire us so much. Hysteria is one of our favorite rock albums of all time. Of course it would be great to work with them.

I feel like it is more possible now than ever because there is so much melding of genres going on.

Yeah true, but the old rock guys are still pretty attached to what they did, I don’t think they are really into EDM or whatever you want to call it. I think they’ll want to stick to their own genre and they won’t cross over, but you never know man, it’s always possible, you never know.

So you guys have a lot of reworked tracks, your song “Cry (Just a Little)” samples from the Brenda Russell song, then you did your own rework of “Rattle” with Far East Movement, and more recently the track “Magic”. Do you often times hear a track and rework it in your head, which leads you to creating these reworked tracks?

Oh yeah, the Brenda Russell one was more of a coincidence, I saw the Brenda Russell music video on MTV and I was really into French House at the time and they used to speed up loops, and I thought maybe this one would be cool to speed up and see what happens. You know, it was just pure coincidence and it worked really well. For the Mystery Skulls [“Magic”], the original is a bit slower and I thought it was the perfect one to remix and rework, because it has that French House vibe as well, it’s just a matter of chopping it up and making something different out of it. Yeah, of course I always have that stuff in my head because you think about it and you think, “What can I bring to this track?” And you know, sometimes you get a great song to remix, but I can’t do anything with it because the original is already too good or I don’t have any ideas, and with some songs you have it and it’s easy. It just happens, you know, you just have it in your head and sometimes that fails, but then another cool idea comes up. Like, maybe I want to do this with the track and it doesn’t work, but then by mistake you do something that’s maybe even cooler than the original idea. I think that a lot of producers have that thing, I read that Daft Punk, that all of the stuff they did for Homework was basically just them fooling around with the equipment and they come up with these crazy sounds and they kept it like that.

Do you have any notable upcoming music or upcoming collaborations that we can expect to hear soon?

Well I am working on a collaboration with these guys from Holland called TV Noise, it’s a way different song, it’s not like 128 BPM. It’s a slower song, it’s really cool. I’m really happy with that song. It’s not done yet, we’re still working on it, but it’s going to be really cool. Then at the beginning of this year I was in London and Stockholm to begin writing with other songwriters, like vocalists, and I’m still working on them. So next year I am going to take some time off to finish working on some new songs, because the last two or three years we haven’t released that much, but hopefully next year a lot more songs come out.

That’s very exciting news! And coming up you’ve got your show at Marquee New York City, where you’re doing a giveaway VIP, Meet and Greet, and a $100 bar tab, what can people expect from a Marquee Bingo Players show?

To be honest, I’ve never played Marquee, so this is the first time Marquee in New York. You know, the New York crowd is always great, so I’ve done a lot of shows there but I am really excited to see what Marquee is going to be like and what to expect. New York is like such a great place, you can play whatever you want because the crowd is really educated and they are always up for it. I’ll just let it come over me and see what the night brings. I can’t wait!

And as a closer, do you have any final words for aspiring producers, people who are looking to get into the game?

Yeah, don’t try to copy other people, you know? Just try to be yourself. I know it sounds cliché, but that the only thing, don’t copy other people’s music. It’s cool to look at it and try to learn from that sound, but if you really want to stand out, do something different. Be original. And the thing is that it’s harder because you have all these big record labels that have the hot sound, like the Future House right now, and if you make that kind of music that sounds exactly the same, you’ll just blend into the masses, but if you do something different with it, maybe it takes longer for you to get noticed, but once you get noticed you can be the front-runner of a new genre. People will respect you for doing something different.

If you missed the Bingo Players at Foam Wonderland, catch him next Saturday at Marquee NYC where you have the chance of being the lucky winner of the Marquee VIP experience, A Meet and Greet with Bingo Players, and a $100 bar tab. Enter here: http://bingoplayersmusic.com/bingo-players-marquee-nyc/

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