Hebbe: My name is Hebbe and I have been making music for over 15 years. My Hebbe project is surpassing about a decade now and I feel my music is getting better in some respects, but I also lost something along the way; that creativity that comes with not really knowing how to do some things. My goal right now is to reconnect with that freedom, have more fun producing and making things that do not really fit into what people would be expecting from me or the genre. Hopefully creating something new. I feel that all this time I have been working towards being able to do this consciously, which gives me control over what direction I am pushing the sound. 

Emi: The visuals were inspired by the Dutch music producer Hebbe. We worked together over the past few months to create the photo series behind his song “KANKA”. When I first heard the song, I got inspired to take the viewer on a journey to an ancient era due to the ethnic motifs. It was these  ethnic motifs that drew me to the warm shades of orange, red and yellow resembling the effect of sepia. My intention is to feel like the pictures were taken a long time ago… and the sepia toning perfectly fits the vibe of Middle Eastern cities.. The presence of natural landscapes in high contrast also contributed to the mysterious atmosphere of the song.

The photographs were taken in the following cities: Pompeii; Rome, Naples (Italy); Petra, Amman (Jordan); Krakow (Poland); Vidin (Bulgaria); Pamukkale, Göbeklitepe (Turkey); Skopje (Macedonia).

Favourite moment connected to your work from the past few months? 

Emi: One of the most fascinating moments of the last few months was creating the “KANKA” series. The synergy between sound and visuals in this project illustrates the essence of something beyond photography or music considered separately. Watching the visual and sound elements of this piece harmonised together is beyond satisfying. The dialogue between them tells an ancient story and encapsulates time. When music and photography merge, they become boundless.

The photographs were already taken which allowed me to dedicate myself in processing the images and give them proper attention and care. Exploring the darker mode is something I usually don’t do, but by collaborating with Hebbe I stepped out of my comfort zone and I did explore this in ways I’ve never thought of before.

Hebbe: I have been able to travel to New Zealand for music this year and experience every facet of the country. It has been so nice to meet great people while travelling in a van with my girlfriend. We also loved nature, the walks, the kind heartedness of the people and the adventure that we felt during these 2 months. For me this would not be feasible without the music I make!

You are running a label, how has this experience been to you?

Hebbe: Well, I wouldn’t even say I run things because Pieter (my partner in this label) does all the running such as finances, planning and contacting distribution. Of course, we discuss most things, but I am the other half of Basskruit, and I do a lot of the scouting, mastering, communications, and creative stuff around the music. We exclusively release Belgian and Dutch artists on the label, this limitation has helped set us apart from other labels and also let us rediscover the local sounds. The label has been a great experience in meeting artists from Belgium and The Netherlands that make great music but weren’t that well known before we started the label. So, I hope that we can say we helped them get a little more attention on the world stage, not to say they wouldn’t be able to without us because their music is so good anyways! We do not make any real profits from this but I made some great friends and connections through this so it’s all worth the effort.

What’s the best way for you to take a break and recharge your creative energy?

Emi: What inspires and recharges me the most is the outside world and nature. Whether I’m going for a walk to a nearby hill or a long trek through the forest, in nature I can find completeness and peace like nowhere else. Most of my new projects come from the diverse landscapes that I capture during my journeys. Apart from nature, I recharge my creative energy on trips abroad. I look for inspiration in exhibitions of other authors. In the summer, I like to visit music festivals, and for several years now I have also had a passion for DJing, which recharges my creative energy like nothing else.

Hebbe: I like reading books, mostly sci-fi at the moment because the weather is not that great in winter. In summer and spring, I love going on walks for about 2 hours and do some exercising in the gym. Visiting family and friends is also something that really helps me energise whether its winter or summer. But if I can a vacation for a few days or weeks with my girlfriend without any real plans, it would be amazing!