Radial is the main pseudonym of a Dutch pioneer of electronic music named Jeroen Liebregts whose beginnings date back to the 90s. In a joint venture with Bas Mooy he started a label called Audio Assaultwhich has over 40 releases up to date. He was always fascinated with music that made him dig deep beneath the surface and discover something new, which resulted in a 4-year study of Sonology at the Conservatory in The Hague where he got his fair share of expertise in composition of electronic music, computer programming, analogue synthesis of sound and design of electronic instruments. Constant curiosity about new technologies helped shape the sound he proudly presents.
We talked to Radial about his beginnings, what he considers a good DJ possesses and what is underground for him. His next show will be held at the Tunnel club in the Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad on February the 26th.
Hello Jeroen. Can you tell me something about your beginnings , how was it when you started back in 1998?
I had just moved from a small town where I grew up to Rotterdam to study economics and it was there where I first came in contact with techno/house and other underground electronic music genres. It blew me away and I was hooked. My room mate in Rotterdam had a set of turntables and a really nice record collection containing many classics, so I was constantly using his stuff to practice dj’ing. Quite soon after I met Bas Mooy and we were connecting really well musically, that’s when we decided to start our label Audio Assault.
Why did you start yourt studies of Sonology at the Conservatory in The Hague?
It was at a time when I had been learning the basics of music production and really wanted to dive deeper. I was still doing my economics study at that time (but thinking about music constantly) so I decided to quit it after 3 years and start something that I actually liked. The Sonology program had a huge attraction on me when I found out about it; computer programming, analog synthesis, instrument design, electronics, etc etc. I finally found out about the joy of learning there!
How does your perfect instrument look like? What does it posses?
A modular synthesizer comes pretty close. It should be a flexible instrument which can adapt to your ideas of any particular moment. Of course a modular synth also has disadvantages, for example the inability to save your work like you can on a computer.
How would you describe your music without using genres or sub-genres?
Abstract, synthesis based, dry, rough but funky, sometimes funny 🙂
What do you consider to be a good track? What are the qualities of a good track in your opinion?
So hard to say, it is a gut feeling.. A good track can be produced horribly for example, although it rarely is. It’s all about atmosphere and originality for me, some special combination of sounds that I haven’t heard before.
What do you consider to be „underground“?
I guess something that is not on the surface, so one has to make an effort to get to. The kind of thing you don’t necessarily love the first time you hear it, but when you’re interested enough to make the effort to find out about it some more, you start loving.
If you compare the state of global techno scene when you were starting and today, what would you say progressed and what digressed?
I think when I started out it was more about ‘one’ thing and now there are loads of things.. Techno has really developed in many directions, which really is what makes it so special. The fact that it’s possible to make so many variations of this one source which can become genres of their own. Can’t really think of any downsides at the moment, well for some years techno was very hip and boring to me, developing in just one or two directions, but we’re over that now.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Standard, „don’t know“ question. I only know that in the studio it’s like a flow. I start out with a small idea, or just fiddling with one machine. When that gives me some result that I like, that will give me the idea for the next step and so on. I always try to go with the flow of the music, not against it, to let the sounds tell me which direction to head into. Some sounds just want to be a really slow house or ambient track and others a really aggressive hard techno one. I don’t know if that’s inspiration, maybe just a method.
Some people call DJs shamans who open up minds, others entertainers to make people dance, some call them part of the crowd. What is your opinion on what a DJ is an what he should be while controling the music?
For me personally the challenge is always to be as much a part of the crowd as possible. To try and grab their vibe and add to that with the tunes that I play.
