A Conversation With Siege

Hey Siege, welcome to Dance Rebels, how are you? Also, please introduce yourself; where are you from, and how long have you been a dJ/producer for? Thanks for having me! I’m very well – thanks. My name is Siege. I’m a producer and DJ from Belgium. I’ve been DJ’ing for over 15 years now I think, and I put out my first remix in 2009 – so let’s say I’m producing on a ‘professional’ level for about 10 years.

Being from Belgium, who did you look up to musically, who inspired you? What is the clubbing scene like in Belgium too? Any famous clubs people should check out? From what I remember as a kid I used to listen to everything from classical music to rock and heavy metal. At a certain age I got in touch with electronic music: eurodance, trance and hardstyle. For some reason that kinda stuck more than all the other stuff. I remember going to the library to get Thunderdome CD’s and copying them on tape so I could keep listening to them. Also Belgian bands 2 Fabiola and Milc Inc where hot at the time – and I used to listen to them quite a lot as a kid. A bit later when I started to DJ I developed a love for classic disco records as well. Fast forward to 2018 the electronic bit definitely stuck – I still love everything from House to Techno and everything in between. The clubbing scene seems to be having quite a rough time at the moment in Belgium. Fuse in Brussels is one that’s worth checking out though. They’ve been around for ages and keep booking quality acts and the crowd is amazing. I’ve had the pleasure of playing there twice and it’s just an amazing vibe. Hope I’ll be able to return there soon! I like Club Vaag in Antwerp as well. It’s a basement club with a real cozy atmosphere and a superb sound system. In Hasselt (where I’m living) there’s Labyrinth Club – they’re doing a great job booking class acts and the vibe there is also very nice.

On your journey to stardom, what sacrifices have you had to make, to enable you to pursue your career in the music industry? As a DJ/producer, what do you miss most about not having a ‘normal’ work pattern i.e. 9-5 shifts weekdays only? Haha I don’t really see myself as a star :) Trying to make a living in the music industry isn’t easy though, there’s loads of competition and you have to work hard to reach your goals. I don’t really feel I’ve had to make any sacrifices because for me it’s worth it as I can do something I love every day. I don’t think I would be happy in a ‘normal’ 9 to 5 work pattern. I love the freedom that comes with it and the fact I’m able to choose when I’m working and when not. Also I’m never bored because there’s always work to be done. When the touring get’s really busy you miss out on some friends and family stuff but that’s part of the job.

You’ve released on labels including Spinnin’ Deep, Big Beat, Stricthtly Rhythm, Cr2, and most recently signed to Mark Knight’s Toolroom family, how would you describe your typical ‘sound’, and what’s it like working with the Toolroom team, what have you learnt from them so far?

That’s a hard one for me. Like I said before I grew up with quite a few different musical influences resulting in a broad musical spectrum. I like house, I like techno but I also like the more melodic stuff. I like a good vocal, I like disco but also like a solid groove. So I guess I’ve been trying to blend all these influences into my ‘sound’. You should definitely check out my Undr Siege radio shows to get an idea of the Siege sound ;)  I’m really happy with the support from Mark and the Toolroom family. I feel like my sound really aligns with the sound of Toolroom Trax and if there’s a record with a vocal or more of a hook it can go on the main label. What I’ve learnt from Mark is keep on grafting until the record sounds 200% or he won’t sign it haha.

Your most recent release is a remix of one of this year’s biggest tracks; Weiss’ ‘Feel My Needs’, which dropped on Toolroom Trax on the 21st. What’s your opinion of the original record, and when you done the remix, how did you go about adding the ‘Siege’ touch to the record? I really like the original. I love a good piano hook and the vocal goes along with it perfect. It didn’t feel ‘right’ for my sets tho. I wanted to make it a bit darker and really build it to the breakdown where the piano hook finally comes through. I actually had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do with the record and got the idea down pretty quick. It took a few test plays and a lot of tweaking to get it to the final stage tho. However I’m really proud on the result and with early support from Alan Fitzpatrick, Loco Dice, Fatboy Slim, Yousef and Dosem I don’t think I’ve done a bad job ;)

What are your plans for the rest of 2018? Are you scheduled to perform at ADE or any other exciting shows? How would you describe your typical DJ set too? Do you pre-plan your sets? Read the crowd? Or prefer to create a multi-genre journey?There’s a few more records in the locker that are coming out this year. There’s one on Big Beat and a few on Toolroom. Really looking forward to ADE where I’m playing for Toolroom and Fresh on Friday. There’s also the Toolroom party in Maidstone one week later where I’ll be playing and can’t wait for that one. It really depends on where I’m playing and the hours I’m playing.. I usually make a very broad pre-selection on stuff I think that I’ll be playing and go from there. I think it’s important to find a middle ground in what you plan to play and what the crowd expect you to play – so I try and read the crowd and adapt if needed.

Finally, if you had one piece of advice for any young artist wanting to pursue a career in the industry, what would it be, and why? Ask yourself if you really want to do it and if you’re willing to sacrifice everything for it. If the answer is yes – just go for it and don’t give up :)