Hey,
Hi fans, family, and friends!
Who are you? (Tell us more about what you do in life, where you live, your age, your real name, what elements could define you, …)
My name is Roberto, I am 24 years old and from the Netherlands. I have a passion for music and tech. In university, I studied electrical engineering, and besides music, I still like to do little projects like repairing speakers for example. I always liked to play around with tech and music so that is why I love to make music. It is a combination of doing some nerdy tech things and making music. I am a calm but also serious guy that likes to laugh a lot. I always try to find positivity and like to make jokes.
Hi. My name is Tim, 23 years old. I am Dutch too and from the same city as Roberto, Hillegom. You might know it from the tulip fields, and it is close to the ‘Keukenhof’. I love to work on (music) projects and make them succeed. I have worked previously as a supply chain coordinator but wanted to go full-time in music since I love to spend most of my time on it. I love to unite people and make them happy with our music. I stand for positivity and love to help others in achieving their goals and vision.
What’s the meaning behind your artistic names?
The name Voster & Gallardo represents our music which connects and unites people from all over the world. Voster is derived from the Latin word “VASTO” which means “to make empty”. It represents that we all can dance and listen to our music together; making the diversity between people and their cultures irrelevant. Gallardo is the Spanish translation for the virtues ‘strong’ and ‘brave’. It reflects our full-time dedication to music and the desire to create a strong positive movement in the music industry.
When did you start producing music?
We started producing in 2013. At the time it was just playing around. We started more seriously around 2019.
How did it all start for you?
It all started by buying a midi controller and some speakers to be able to play at parties and weddings of friends and family. In the beginning, we also made mashups to put them out online or play them live. After a while, we felt we wanted to make our own music to let people dance to our music and not only to that of others. We started playing in clubs, bars and festivals and now we are here.
Which style(s) of music are you currently producing?
Our main style of music is progressive house/big room and dance pop, but we are also producing future house, slap house, and a mix of trap and future bass.
Why did you choose it/them?
Progressive house is a special genre. The songs are mostly really happy or emotional songs with great lyrics that can give meaning and create memories in your life. We like that it enables you to incorporate euphoric melodies.
Why are you producing music? And more globally, what does “music” mean to you?
We really like to listen to music ourselves, but we also want to unite people with our music. When uniting people by listening and partying to our music, it gives us goosebumps. We really like to combine classical and organic instruments with electronic music to have the best of both worlds.
Where do you get your inspiration?
We get inspiration from producers, by working with singers and songwriters when searching through sample packs, and for example when we walk outside a melody sometimes just pops up. Before corona doing gigs was also a big inspiration. For me (Tim) it also really works to watch live sets of other artists to see how they engage with the crowds, it gives me goosebumps and motivates me to finish our songs.
What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?
Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child
According to you, what is the best way to develop a business in the music industry?
The music industry is all about connections and promotion. An original signature end product is very important but knowing the right people that can push you forward is also super important. It is important to stay happy and deliver that positive vibe.
What has been your favorite gig (show) so far?
Liberation Festival in the Hague – Roberto
Sandro’s Kitchen at Keukenhof – Tim
Do you live from your musical activities? If not, do you plan to make a living from music in the future?
We quit our jobs in 2019 to work full-time on music. The corona situation only makes it harder to make sustainable money out of it. However, we can’t wait until we will be able to perform on stage again.
Do you have stuff in preparation, future collaborations, or personal projects?
We have several collaborations that are ‘finished’ at the moment. We are label shopping them to have them released in the coming months. Also, we are finishing up 2 collaborations which will be ready soon.
And for the producers out there:
In what Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) are you currently working? And why that one?
Currently, we are working with Ableton Live. We also tried FL Studio but we didn’t understand it a lot. We attended some seminars of Ableton at Dancefair and it seemed Ableton would fit our needs. We love the overview and the fast workflow it has.
On average, how much time do you spend in the studio on a typical day or week?
On a regular base, we spend around 6 days a week in the studio, around 7-10 hours a day. The week before a release, we work around 3 days, since we have planning and promotional work to do for every release.
Do you have any technical tips to share with us (composition, sound design, mixing, mastering, or anything else…)?
We always use a Pro-L2 for our master in the aggressive setting, this gives you the pumping and loud feeling you would like to achieve for the festivals.
If you route your master signal through an analog compressor like the SSL and set the compression to 0, it can give you this ‘warm’ analogue feeling you want to have on your final mix.
It is really useful to remove all the unnecessary low rumble in most sounds that don’t have fundamental frequencies under 100hz.
When you have a snare hitting twice, try to pan it. This will result in making your brain think that two different snares hit.
Let’s talk about “Hold on”
What was your inspiration for this track?
We wanted to create a euphoric record with a lot of organic instruments and came across the vocals which we think sound awesome.
How fast did the track come together?
The first steps of our projects tend to go super-fast. We wrote the chords, made a quick arrangement, and chose the sounds we wanted to use for the drop. Finishing up the project always takes us some time. We want to fine-tune every detail of it. Together with Eonity we have sent several versions back and forth before we both agreed that the track is finished.
What is the story behind this track?
The song stresses that you should always be there for your loved ones because it could be the last day that you are able to. Bring those positive vibes.
Finally:
Any important people in your life you wanna mention, thank, or talk about?
We want to thank all our fans, friends, our families, and especially our girlfriends who always support us!
Anything you wanna add to end up this interview?
We hope you all enjoy ‘Hold on’ and we are super glad to be working with Eonity on this one! Can’t wait for everything that’s coming up.
Thank you very much for your time!
Thank you too! It was an honor to be interviewed!
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