If you're looking for something groovy today, you're in for a treat!

Today's premiere is the perfect showcase of how beautiful the art of remixing is. The main protagonists? Notorious Dutch trio Kraak & Smaak and their fellow countryman Moods, who we've been following for some time now.

If you guys have been with us for a while, you must remember my Kraak & Smaak / Parcels feature from last year titled "Stumble". Now it's time to go back to that very same Juicy Fruit album, but up things a notch.

While Moods keeps the "feel good" vibe of "Prescription", as soon as you reach the 30th second of the remix you'll feel a gorgeous bass boost. The kind of boost which will make you dance around and bust insane moves wherever you're currently situated. Absolutely flawless work and +1 reason to keep an eye on the young Dutch producer.

Also, you can get the U R Freak/Prescription EP from Kraak & Smaak's bandcamp here thx to Jalapeno Records. Besides the track, I got a chance to chat with Wim from K&S for a short, but I hope very enjoyable interview. Enjoy!

Hey guys! Stoked to be premiering that awesome Moods take on your groovy tune "Prescription" featuring Eric Biddines. How did you guys link up?

We have been big fans of Moods for a long time already and we were lucky enough to sign him to our label Boogie Angst a while ago. And given his background and fondness of hip hop and disco styled sounds it made sense to ask him for this song.

How would you describe his remix in a sentence? What's the thing you loved the most about his version of your track?

A can’t-keep-my-feet-still fusion of 90's hip hop vibes, up-tempo disco swing and today’s electronic productions. I love the fact that up-tempo productions are not his natural habitat so to speak, and he really outperforms himself here in that regard (and it’s funky as hell).

You're part of Jalapeno Records since your inception and it has been a good 15 years with the label. Many artists change labels throughout their career. What's the main reason to stay loyal to the guys of Jalapeno and your favourite thing about the label?

Haha, OMG, really that long already? Well, I guess we always have felt that we were a good fit sound and A& R-wise, and communication has always been great. Plus, besides singles and EPs there has always been room for releasing albums as well, and for an act such as ours that’s important too. We have taken a couple of outings now and then to a few biggies such as Spinnin’ and Axtone, but in those cases it really made sense as they were more mainstream, clubby tracks that ought to stand on their own.

Speaking of labels, how do you think label responsibilities have changed over the past 10 years. I feel nowadays things go way beyond simply distribution and touring.

That’s a difficult one. In general I think that at the one hand many relationships have become more fluid and less intensive, with acts hopping from one label to another with every single track or EP; at the other hand, paradoxically, it has become more important to be with a proper label for the right musical outlook and image.

In the case of the latter it then also makes sense to see whether labels can do more than only releasing records but also help the band move forward in other ways. Moreover, royalty income has steadily declined over time, so both artists and labels need to be more creative and professional in other ways to make a buck. And for now, that seems to gravitate around performing. Releasing records it seems, has become just one of the many facets in building a career in music.

Your Juicy Fruit album just turned 1 year. What's next for Kraak & Smaak? Touring, new record?

At the moment we are performing a lot – we just came back from a US live & DJ tour, with a live show on mother-of-all-festivals Glastonbury for our first major Summer festival show to look out for later on this month. Apart from that busy working on new demo’s, with the focus on individual (club) tracks for now - there is already one planned for release in July, called Hendo; plus there are a couple upcoming Boogie Angst releases (Moods, Snacks, Feiertag, Meeka Kates) that require attention as well.

Cheers guys, thanks for the interview, your time and the great music. It really brightens up the day of many people across the globe. Any last words of wisdom?

You’re welcome and thanks for the support :)

Words of wisdom… uhm… I guess always try and make a difference, whatever you do in life. Apparently we have been able to touch quite a few people with our music through the years and we hope we can continue to do that for as long as possible.

Stay up to date with these guys music respectively on Kraak & Smaak & Moods' artist profiles.

Curious to hear the original "Prescription" (feat. Eric Biddines)  tune? You can do that below!

posted by Ivo
June 2017