Three impossible to pronounce names, two DJs and one visual artist. That about sums up the recipe for Nobody Beats the Drum, the Dutch electronic trio that is taking the States by storm on their non-stop spring/summer tour. After already hitting up SXSW, Ultra, Sasquatch, Wakarusa and our own Majestic Theater, the group made a two-day stop at Electric Forest where they treated the chilled out festies and amped up rave kids to both a DJ and live set. We caught up with them after their scorching hot live set to see how they’re managing to go where few DJs are bothering to venture: sets featuring only their own music.
“There’s so many DJs coming out now that play Skrillex and Avicii,” Jori Collignon, one of the group’s two DJs said. “It’s not that we hate it, but we come from a different side of that music. We try to play our own stuff because that’s what we’ve been sweating for in the studio.”
And sweat in the studio they do. The group’s first album came out in 2008, and since then they’ve released several EPs and their most recent album, Currents. Those who caught the live set at Electric Forest heard mostly tracks from the newest album, from the head bob inducing “Poisson Vert” to the all too true “Girls Suck.” But the group doesn’t expect you to recognize either title.
“We haven’t got hits out,” visual artist Rogier van der Zwaag unapologetically admitted. “But if people are going to festivals and checking out what’s playing, for us that’s the best thing.”
For the curious festival-goer that does attend a Nobody Beats the Drum set, they’ll see three heads nodding to the beat onstage, each intent on their task. While Jori and Sjam Sjamsoedin are manning the music, Rogier is controlling the visuals, selecting which of the over 500 graphics and videos he’s created will go best with each song. While the live visuals are an essential and unique part of the Nobody Beats the Drum experience, the group also takes a different approach to their music.
“We try to keep it fresh for ourselves,” Sjam said of their live sets. “Even if we played the exact same songs, you would still hear something different. There are moments in every song where we freak out and improvise.”
“We feel it is our duty to introduce people to new music and not something they’ve heard a million times before,” Jori added. “In Europe, you’re considered cheesy or not an original DJ if you play too much of the hit songs. But in America people tend to like to hear stuff they hear on the radio. It’s a balance I guess.”
This dichotomy between the American and European electronic scene was evident at Electric Forest on Sunday. Yet though the crowd at the trio’s live set was significantly smaller than the one that assembled to hear The M Machine remix Knife Party and Steve Aoki, you couldn’t tell by watching the DJ booth. The Nobody Beats the Drum boys were in their element, tweaking a sound here, bopping to the four-on-the-floor beat there, and generally appearing to be having a fantastic time. During their DJ set on the forest stage the night before, the feeling was the same.
“I had a lot of fun,” Sjam said of playing the forest stage. “It was really magical looking into the forest. You couldn’t really tell how many people were there, but sometimes the strobe went on and it was like, oh, yeah, they’re dancing!”
Talking with Jori, Sjam, and Rogier, you don’t get the feeling they’re dying to be the next big thing. But it’s that attitude that makes you hope the next big thing is what they become. The trio is modest, friendly and original, a combination that is found less and less in an electronic scene where everyone seems to be clawing at fame, fortune, and a residency in Ibiza.
“The biggest part for me of being in a band is coming up with crazy ideas and making them work while being with a bunch of friends,” Jori said. Anyone who watches one of Rogier’s out-there music videos or sees the group’s camaraderie live can see that idea truly represents the ethos of Nobody Beats the Drum.
Madisonians just might get another chance to catch the three Dutchmen this year, as they are being considered to play Freakfest. When we explained that electronic music really hasn’t been represented at Freakfests past, we received a knowing smile from Jori.
“You see that happening a lot and it’s pretty cool,” he said. “EDM is really growing in the U.S., so it seems like a good moment for us to be here. We feel like people are really picking it up and we’re really happy that it’s happening.” If Nobody Beats the Drum is indeed chosen to play the infamous Halloween party, Madison’s music lovers will be happy it’s happening as well.