Project89 lands on PIV for the release of his latest EP.
Project89 is the alias of Amsterdam based DJ and producer Jeroen Broxterman. It was UK garage that caught his attention at the age of 15, which lead to the discovery of electronic artists including Maya Kane Coles, Dennis Ferrer and The Martinez Brothers that lead him to his true musical identity.
With a string of very nice releases under his belt, he’s graced labels including META, AVOTRE, and Archie Hamilton’s imprint Moscow Records. Not forgetting a special collaboration ‘Telling You The Truth’ with Prunk on Key Records. With singles features on PIV’s 5-year VA and their ADE special, it was only a matter of time before he has his first release with ‘Make It Something’ and this is his follow up for 2021 with the catchy ‘Notice Me’
Hey Jeroen, love the new release on PIV – you’ve had a few on the label in the last couple of years. So how did you become a part of the label family?
Thanks! I met Prunk and Chris Stussy a couple years ago when I went to several PIV parties. I really enjoyed the vibe back then since that sound wasn’t as popular as it is now, and it felt really refreshing hearing something new. From there on I started following them more and more as well as the label. As a producer I knew I wanted to do something different and the records they were playing opened my eyes. So, I went back to the drawing board and started making new demo’s. My manager sent over a few of my demos to Prunk and that’s how the very first song for the ADE PIV sampler in 2018 landed. From there on we stayed in touch and after a few more demos my first EP got signed and they asked me to join the team!
Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration, production and concept for the tracks on this EP? Where do these tracks take you when you listen to them?
I wanted to do something different. A bit more housy, a bit more melodic and try and see if I could create a pack with a warmup record, some peak records and something a bit deeper. I went back and forth with several demos until these four were chosen for the EP.
When I’m not around has been inspired by a banging UK garage record which is one of the very first vinyls I got. Rooftop was made while I was sitting on my balcony in the sun. I wanted to make a tune that has an energetic groove with some nice subtle chords and pads that’ll make you dream away. Next to these two I wanted to make a powerful melodic record with peak time vocals and a solid groove and bass line that would have that signature PIV sound and still be Project89. For the fourth record I made Sudden -my favourite- which is a bit more inspired from playing in venue’s like a warehouse for instance. Serious chords and groove with a capturing break by slowing down the bass a bit and having strong strings and organ stabs that build up till the “drop”.
Being based in Amsterdam must have many benefits. Did you attend ADE this year, if so – how was it? How do you see Amsterdam’s scene now – does it continue to be one of the leaders when it comes to EU clubbing destinations?
I went to ADE to support our PIV team at Shelter and Thuishaven. Was a lot of fun and I was happy that we were able to be in a club again with everyone. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Amsterdam is leading the EU scene. There’s a lot of brilliant music coming from the UK and France for instance too. But you can’t deny that PIV and No Art are really grabbing attention at the moment. It’s just amazing to see how ‘House’ is really taking over again.
We read that you first discovered Garage at the age of 15, what was it about the genre you loved? Do you still listen to Garage now? if so, can you tell us about some artists we should be listening to?
O yeah! Still a big fan. Raw bass line vinyl cracking grooves and the mc’s back then were killing it too. The good old days of listening to pirate radio and recording it on a tape cassette ha-ha. I still listen to everything Prolific Recordings did and can’t forget about those insane Kiss Garage compilations. So especially the older stuff. And my all-time favourite producers when it comes to garage are MJ Cole, Will Phillips and Todd Edwards to name a few.
Can you give us a 5-track playlist of your current must have’s?
- Juliche Hernandez – Paint it blue
- Rich NxT – Other Side (feat. Shyam P) (Rossi. Remix)
- Charlie Banks – Lime Green
- Wareika – The Jaguar Archie Hamilton Remix
- Ray Mono – Old School
Finally, if you weren’t doing music – what do you think you’d be doing for work?
I’m not at that point where I’m doing this full time. So next to music I work as a UX Designer for a major hosting company, which is a lot of fun too since it’s such a creative profession. Hoping someday I’ll be able to make a living out of this whole music thing. But for now, 4 days UX designer and the rest of the week Project89 haha