Name: Stan van Dijk
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation: Producer, multi-instrumentalist
Recent release: Stan van Dijk's "Dimitive" is out now.
Recommendations: A flight to Brazil by Madlib, which is a mixtape of the best Brazilian music out there. And a short move called Untill the quiet comes by Flying Lotus, one of my favorite short movies.

If you enjoyed this interview with Stan van Dijk and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram.  

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When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started out in middle school.

In the beginning I was making mostly trap and lofi hiphop. I was listening to a lot of Dutch hiphop at the time, so my first beats were nothing more then me emulating what I heard on the tunes I listened to. The first producers I looked up to were trap producers. This was around the time that trap beats were getting really orchestral, and I still really like that sound.

The fun thing about music was the fact that you could take what you like and put a spin on it. This way, the music I listened to and made became even more close to me. And it immediately also gave me a feeling of community, because some homies of mine were also starting out. Soundcloud was were every kid with a laptop would upload their tunes, so getting into it was really easy.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

I always get this feeling in my skull, which is a mix between tingling and relaxation. But for me its more of a mental thing.

Whenever I listen to a song I am digging at the moment, it gives me a feeling as if what is being said musically at that moment should be said and alleviates or amplifies whatever is going on.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

Making something which is inspired by other artists and other music can be a struggle, because you don’t want to just copy what is there. You want to take what is there, make it your own and then put something new out which is different but similar.

But to counter this I try working as fast as possible, so that I don’t get a lot of time to think about this kind of stuff.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

Musical identity is a difficult subject to me, because my music isn’t a direct reflection of me in the way that a pop song could be a direct reflection of somebody’s personal life.

Whenever I am making music, I follow my sense of what I like at that specific moment, so it gets personal in that way. But despite that, I don’t feel like my music has a lot to do with me as a person.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

It's all about the sound. A backstory or an idea behind a piece of music could help it stand out, but at the end of the day, if it doesn’t sound good, I won't be listening. So that is also how I try to approach my own music.

But don’t get me wrong, I do really like music with some thought or story behind it. But the idea or story is always secondary to me, the actual music comes first.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

Everything comes from somewhere, everyone starts emulating somebody else. But when it comes to originality, I do feel like there are people who are single handedly responsible for pushing the edge and stuffing 10 years of innovation into one album.

In my own music I am not actively trying to make something new or unheard of. But I could see how somebody might view my music that way. Making something intentionally futuristic always seems very forced to me.

Also, you can only really tell if something was futuristic or boundary pushing 15 years after it was released, because it takes a while for it to make an impact and influence new music.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

My laptop has always been the center of my workflow, but I have been starting to incorporate more and more traditional instruments over the years. I started playing piano 2 and a half years ago, and it really helps me to work out ideas.

My arsenal of sound and knowledge has grown since I started, so whenever I'm back behind my laptop, I have alot more ideas to choose from.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I start off with a breakfast, then go exercise. After that a shower and then I start working on whatever needs to be done at that moment (Gigs, studies etc). I work until the evening, and then I start working on music in the evenings.

I have experimented with reversing it and making music in the morning, but that never really stuck with me.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

My process changes with each tune I make. This is how I keep it fresh and fun for myself.

But seeing it as a jam session with myself would be the best way to look at it. I throw ideas around until something sticks, and then I build something out of it.

But the first 10 minutes are mostly just my trying as many things as possible until I find something.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

I like collaborating, but most of what I have put out so far is solitary. Collaborating with someone looking for the same sound can get boring really fast, because you are bringing the same thing to the table.

But working with people from different creative fields always sparks something. I especially like working with instrumentalists because they approach the music in a completely different way.

You can get stuck in your computer once in a while, and then it is nice to bounce some ideas around with somebody who is completely new to the project and idea. How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

For me music is an extremely personal thing.

Of course there is and has been amazing music in the past which has brought about societal change, but that is not really a part of the sound I am working with. I try to express my view on music as best as possible, so what you are getting is a perspective on music, not necessarily a perspective on society

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

In my personal experience, music always gives context to a certain situation. At times I might already be in a certain mood or state of mind, and then I always find myself seeking out music which fits with whatever im thinking at that moment.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

For me personally there isn’t a very big correlation. Both music and science at the end of the day come down to math, but I dont actively see or look for these correlations.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Making music and cooking a meal feel very similar to me. Both cooking and making music allow you to completely personalize whatever you are working on, which is something I really like. But the process of doing it also feels similar to me.

At the end of the day it all comes from the same place.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your  perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

This again is a very personal thing to me. Everyone feels and sees something different in the same piece of music or art.

A lot of people seem to look for music which gives context to whatever they are going through at that moment, good or bad.

So I think most of the meaning we derive from music takes place in the listener’s mind.