Interview: rogyr (+ mini mix)

rogyr is definitely not your typical teenager, despite his claim further down this interview. The 17 years old Dutch beatmaker is crafting some of the smoothest beats out there and his 2016 Esquimaux EP was one of my soulful go-to places last year.

In addition, Rogier is from Groningen where I met many of the friends who I started Stereofox with. That's a bonus point right there! Besides the interview, he was nice enough to craft our 47th mini mix which I bet you'll love (tracklist at the bottom of the post).

Hey Rogier! Before we begin - tell us the most random fact about yourself you can think of.

Random fact? I’m practically addicted to reddit.

How would you describe your mix in a sentence and where did you find inspiration for it?

I think I’d describe it as a mixture of groove and creativity. The inspiration came from my favourite artists and the genres I listen to currently. Flamingosis & Yung Bae are basically my favourite artists at the moment and that’s where I drew most of the inspiration from.

You're living in Groningen - the place where I actually started planning Stereofox. What's the beat scene there nowadays? It used to be pretty big on drum & bass few years back…

Oh yeah that’s cool, we talked a bit about this. It’s a great city in my opinion, sometimes just a little quiet (also considering I moved to a little village near Groningen a few years back). The beat scene is, sadly, almost non-existent. Very few of my friends make music and none of them makes beats/electronic music.

How does your average day look like?

Pretty boring actually. I get up pretty early (6:30-7am) since I’m not really a morning person and take a lot of time starting up. During my breakfast I answer my emails and usually browse reddit and then I’m off to school. Usually around 4pm school ends and I return home. After school I often play some piano to relax and start making homework and other school-stuff. If I finished that I find myself making beats/music and browsing reddit until I go to sleep. Not very exciting, is it?

Do you play any music instrument and do you think it's a plus for a producer in the age of software advancement.

Oh this is an interesting one. I played classical music since I think I was around 9. I quit classes a few years ago but I still find myself playing piano a lot. I also play the drum since I was 12. Personally, I think playing an instrument is definitely an advantage for a producer, knowing scales and chords is extremely helpful in making music and I can definitely recommend everyone to take a few lessons, just to get the basic knowledge.

I really loved your Esquimaux EP. Super groovy and funky - is that the music you love the most?

Thanks man, that means a lot. It definitely is the genre I (currently) love the most. I played around in quite a few genres but I keep finding myself coming back to beats, in particular funky. I’m currently in the process of making such a beat and I think it will be the best one I ever made.

You're quite young (despite being so talented beatmaker). Do you ever think how your sound would evolve in... 5 years time lets say.

Haha again, thanks that means a ton. I’m also curious in how it would evolve. I’m ‘only’ making music for just over a year now so it’s hard to tell where it’s going. I know I will still make music in five years, that’s for sure.

Who are your favourite producers?

I have a ton of producers I adore so I’ll try and make a selection of my current favourites. Flamingosis, I love his vibe in general and his way of sampling is very unique. Tennyson, it’s a duo formed by the siblings Luke and Tess and they have a unique sound with jazz-influences, you should definitely check it out. And the last one would be whereisalex, a very creative artist with also a style of his own, also the cover art he uses is amazing.

A lot of SoundCloud producer befriend other artists just via the Internet and I've often seen great friendships and collaborations blossom from this. Who's the best person / fellow artist you've connected the most over the Internet?

These are all great question, props. I’ve met a ton of great people over the years which I’m more than thankful for. I think Peter Kuli and Simon Eng are the two that stand out the most. Peter and I were in a collective a long time ago when we both were really small artists. It’s incredible to have seen each other grow as an artist and a person in general. And Simon Eng is a great guy as well. I met him more recently. He is part of the collective wearealaya, which has brought me into their artist roster. Something I’m very grateful for.

What does 2017 have in place for rogyr - any plans for touring and more music releases?

2016 was already a great year for me as an artist, I surpassed 1 million plays on SoundCloud and I developed as an artist. 2017 will be very busy since I’ll have my exams in a few months. I will nonetheless make a lot of music and will release a lot.

I have a lot of tunes coming up, and I’m also collaborating a lot of people, such as Flamingosis, which will be amazing.

Thanks for the interview and the mini mix! Any last words of wisdom?

Thanks for having me! Great questions and it was a pleasure to answer them. I’m not really a wise guy of any sort but I think staying true to yourself is very important, I guess. Peace!

Listen to more tracks created by Rogier tracks and read our features, check out rogyr's artist profile. If you (and I bet you did) want to download the mix for free - click here.

Now, time for the tracklist!