Urban Vault caught up with Dutch producer SAYS WHO? to ask him some questions about his music, collaborations and inspirations, prior to the release of his new EP ‘Directions’ out today (11/10/2015)…

Says Who? is a producer from Middelburg, The Netherlands. His passion for music already started as a young child when he was playing drums. He has been making beats and collecting records for more than 12 years. The love for funk and jazz can be heard in his beats, but he also likes to experiment with other genres. In 2010 Says Who? formed a duo with DJ Vindictiv and they released their debut EP ‘Fremdvibes’ with the dutch label Fremdtunes. They are now working on their full length album.

What is your name?
Says Who?

Where are you from?
I’m from Middelburg, a city in the South West of The Netherlands

How long have you been making music?
I’ve been making beats for more than 12 years

How many songs/albums have you released to date?
In 2010 the ‘Fremdvibes EP’ in collaboration with DJ Vindictiv was released on Fremdtunes (label)
Oct 11th my ‘Directions’ EP will be released on Millennium Jazz Music.

Can you tell us about your latest song/album, the background and inspirations behind it?
‘Directions’ EP For this project I tried to translate the feeling of ‘being on the road’ to an instrumental EP, with a foundation of Hip Hop and strong influences of jazz and soul.

How have you ended up in the music industry?
I used to play drums untill the age of 16. I got interested in hip hop when I was 17 years old. I listened to Doggystyle, The Chronic and All Eyez on me, which are classics of course. Then a friend of mine gave me a tape of Redman’s Muddy Waters. That album is so dope! The beats especially caught my attention. I loved the sound of the drums and the samples with the crackles in it. Years later, after buying more albums and being inspired by local hiphop artists I decided to make my own beats. Those beats were really shitty in the beginning. Another friend told me I should buy a turntable to sample records and that helped a lot. Some years later I bought my first MPC.

Who inspires you when you make your music?
Pete Rock, Madlib, J Dilla, Large Pro, Damu the Fudgemunk, Kev Brown, DJ Premier, J-Zone, Buckwild, Lord Finesse, The Roots, Hi-tek, James Brown, Fela Kuti etc.

Who have you collaborated with so far in your Career?
DJ Vindictiv (DJ/Producer, The Netherlands), Vicky Flint (trumpet, UK), Warpath (MC, US), JND (MC, UK)

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Not anyone in particular, but I would like to work more with live musicians. I love the combination of samples and live instruments.

What do you think of the music industry in 2015?
I think a lot of music that’s on the radio right now will be forgotten in ten years. Not all of it, because sometimes I hear a really nice tune. There’s still a lot of good music being made, but you have to seek for it. There’s always a lot of music circulating on social media nowadays which is cool, but that makes it pretty hard to filter out the good stuff. On the other hand, there’s the fact that social media is a nice tool for people like me to share their music with the world.

What have you got planned for 2016?
Me and DJ Vindictiv (Facebook.com/sayswhovindictiv) are working on an album. For this project we are trying to blend sample based hiphop with different kinds of music such as soul, jazz, afrobeat, and bossa nova.

What was the first album you bought?
From what I remember the first album I bought was a live album by Pearl Jam (it might have been a bootleg) in ’93 or ’94.
First Hip Hop CD: Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle
First Vinyl: Grover Washington JR – Soul Box

What’s your favourite song at the moment?
Richard Spaven – Vintage Year

If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw?
CD: Pete Rock – Soul Survivor
Vinyl: Reflection Eternal – Train of Thought

Facebook or Twitter?
facebook is alright with me

In a few words sum up your thoughts about Urban Vault?
A very fresh blog/website where you can find some cool stuff!

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making dope, fresh music….

www,facebook.com/sayswhovindictiv
http://soundcloud.com/says-who
https://twitter.com/SaysWho6
www.facebook.com/MillenniumJazzMusic
https://twitter.com/millenniumjazz