ANOTR has a fresh and innovative approach of music which makes them unique
The Amsterdam-based duo ANOTR is a true revelation within the scene. From day one Jesse van der Heijden and Oguzhan Guney have been called “a breath of fresh air” and “producers to watch”, due to their fresh and innovative approach of music which makes them unique. Where other young artists often feel the pressure to stick to genres ANOTR doesn’t follow the rules and create their own ingenious sound that transcends all borders.
With plenty of projects and experimental compositions looming on the horizon, the vast expansion of ANOTR’s foothold in electronic music territory had already begun. Where it will take them, nobody knows but one thing’s unmistakably certain. ANOTR is fresh, unconventional and more than sufficiently talented to aim for music world domination.
With their distinctive sound and unmatched, on-stage energy, ANOTR is taking the world by storm.
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Let’s talk
Hey guys, great to meet you!!
Hi Guys, thanks for having us, we really like your work.
How has your day been, what did it involve? Is this an average day for you?
Our day and the last couple of days have been really hectic. The live tour has started again. In the last weeks we’ve done Ecuador, Australia, Bali, Japan, Poland and still have Italy, Ibiza, Croatia and Argentina scheduled for the next 2 weeks. So yeah really hectic, and wouldn’t really call it average, but it certainly is something we’ve worked hard to achieve and knowing that it brings us a lot of fun.
Your No Art label is going along nicely – what’s the plan? Will there be LPs, will you work with artists for a long time or is it more about just putting out hot tracks at the moment?
Right now we’re putting together a nice crew, that will grow with us and will help the label to grow as well. We’ve recently worked with guys like Toman, Rossi, Dimmish, James Dexter and II Faces, who are all working their way up and who have become good friends in that process. Working with them has resulted in cool releases and with our No Art showcases in Amsterdam, we’re trying to book all the artists that release on our label. This way we can really bring our No Art sound to the crowd on the dancefloor.
You are often in the Beatport Charts – do you check these things? Does it matter? Do you judge a tune’s success based on who plays and buys it?
Of course, we check the sales as they help us grow the label and gain popularity all over the world, it’s good to know what works with sales or what not. But in the end it’s all up to the sound we like, we play out the sound that fits the label. We don’t judge the tracks by the sales, we rather judge it by what it does to the scene, what it does to the crowd when we play it out live, and the support it gets by artists that we follow and look up to.
We don’t judge the tracks by the sales, we rather judge it by what it does to the scene, what it does to the crowd when we play it out live, and the support it gets by artists that we follow and look up to.
How have you evolved in the last year, musically, as friends, in terms of your skills – do you feel the longer you do this the better you are?
In the last couple of years of our career, we’ve experienced a huge growth personally as well as in the aspects of being artists. We’ve learned all the ins and outs of being an artist, travelling, developing a sound, running a label, making crucial decisions and most importantly being patient and always enjoy and appreciate the work you put in each and every day.
Next to that, we have been independent for a long time, with a supportive agency, but without management we’ve learned to stand on our own feet, to be accountable for your own work. And because of this we’ve learned many lessons the hard way. For example, we found that it’s really important to be able to deal with the thin line between business and pleasure. What we experienced is that we became better professionally and our friendship got stronger, because we still manage to keep the fun and spirit alive.
We found that it’s really important to be able to deal with the thin line between business and pleasure.
Can you each give us a line or two to describe the other one in your own words?
Oz about Jesse:
Hard working, creative and always thinking ahead.
Jesse about Oz:
Realistic, super social, driven and a crazy mofo.
Tell us about your artwork – who makes it?
That’s actually a funny thing because we don’t have one single artist that does our artworks. We reach out to up and coming artists on Instagram and ask them to design their own style around a release. We send them our music, the titles, the artist names and a theme and let their creativity do the rest of the work. The only thing we want to make sure is that the layout of the cover is recognisable so that people can still see a line in our artworks.
This way we keep it diverse and playful. So far we’ve worked with (IG) @japonoiree, @pia.rqu, @hugoperez, @roosdessing, @lou_line and soon more.
Why is artwork important as part of the whole release package do you think?
Our label is called No Art, but in all our projects we try to incorporate art. Music as art, but also at our showcases we do exhibitions and live acts prior to the party to create something unique. That’s why we think the artworks are important for the online content so that it looks good and stands out in the big lists of releases that come out every day.
Do you have any records in your collection with amazing art, that you maybe only bought for the art?
Not really no, but we would if we found one that looked sick.
How did you get The Mekanism involved for a remix? What do you make of what he did?
We asked the II Faces guys, who they wanted on the remix. When they mentioned they knew him well, we were obviously excited to have him on the remix. We’ve been listening to his work for a long time so it’s good to have him on the label. He’s done an incredible job on the remix and I think it really finishes off the ep.
What are you looking forward to for the rest of the summer?
We’ve got a lot of cool shows and releases coming up this summer. We’ve got a release coming up on Origins which is called “Turn On Me EP” with a Seb Zito Remix on the 28th of June. Next to that we’ve got a single coming up on Solid Grooves which is called “Up To Love” on the 26th of July. Then we’re back on our own label with the “Universal Love EP” and finally, we’ve got a collaboration with our friend Toman on Moan in September, which is a three track EP called “Gamba Roja”.
And a couple of fun questions to finish, if you could each meet anybody dead or alive who would it be, and what would you ask them?
Oz:
Freddie Mercury: What’s the key of creating a cross-over genre and how can I do it like he did?
Jesse:
Kanye West: How is it possible to make sick beats & tunes with such a big ego?
If your personality was a beverage, what would you be?
Oz:
Watermelon: sweet and juicy.
Jesse:
Green iced tea: refreshing and energizing.
Thank you!
