Magnificence Sheds "Light" on Creative Process and Upcoming Performances [Exclusive Interview]

Magnificence Sheds "Light" on Creative Process and Upcoming Performances

4/15/2019

Let's start off by getting to know you guys a bit better on a personal level. What's the dynamic like between you two in the studio, on stage, and on the road?
Maurice: Let's begin with the fact that we have been friends for eight years, and one of the biggest influences for our friendship is that we love music and like to share this passion together. Robin and I always have fun on the road like you could find us making stupid videos or playing FIFA. On the music side, Robin is a producer who developed his craft by simply giving 200% all the time. We both often talk about how much we respect the other persons work, but at the same time we also remain critical of each other.

It's recently been announced that you all will be playing at the legendary Creamfields Festival in the United Kingdom this summer. How will you guys prepare for your set?

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Join the #closer challenge now, more info link in bio!

A post shared by Magnificence (@magnificencenl) on Sep 12, 2018 at 8:17am PDT

Maurice: We constantly update our sets with new unreleased Magnificence projects, which is perfect to test new sounds on the road. We'll usually create mashups with these projects when playing them out live. We also create our own edits on existing tracks and use tracks from artists who we love to support. Our edits really define who we are as artists and think they give a cohesive feeling to our sets. Besides our music, we create and implement custom visuals for our songs. Visuals we produce ourselves, as well as videos we get from our followers and fanbase, like the video challenge we did for our "Closer" release last year. For 2019, a big part of preparing for the major festivals is investing in the production value with our visuals.

Robin: Creamfields in the UK is going to be a very special gig for us. We are so excited to finally be a part of the line-up this year and there will be lots of preparations going into this one. Our upcoming releases will be complemented by new visuals that we will use as content for our shows and our socials. A sneak peak of this can currently already be seen on the Magnificence and Axtone channels for "Lights."

In a past interview, you mentioned that you got your start playing birthday parties and such on equipment that would fail halfway through the set. Do you have any specific horror stories from this time in your life or other times when you've fallen victim to your setup?
Maurice: I guess that we have plenty of stories! (laughs) This one time, many years ago, we got booked by a high school to perform for their annual school party. We had Denon decks back then and we used this gear for all our parties. For some reason, these decks stopped working at some point and the music cut out. We tried everything we could to fix our setup, but weren't making any progress. Suddenly, I remembered that I had made my own, two-hour mixtape that would be perfect for the event! So, I grabbed my phone and started put on that mixtape. This solved the problem for a while, but then someone called me - the music stopped, and everyone heard my ringtone. That was certainly embarrassing... Let's just say, we've come a long way since then.

Aside from major festivals, the Asian markets seem to be a particularly engaging market for high energy house music. What can you tell us about your experiences playing there and how do you perceive their role in the growth of the industry?
Robin: The Asian music industry is something really unique. The way they look at the scene is something that we really love. I guess what's most interesting about the Asian industry is that house music, as well as clubbing and everything else that comes with it, is something relatively new for the people there. This might be why the crowds have so much energy and really want to party. The people there will continue to learn about the scene and grow it in Asia, which is why we believe the region is going to play a huge role in the future of the electronic music industry.

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China was amazing! Where would you like us to play next?! â–¡â–¡

A post shared by Magnificence (@magnificencenl) on Aug 18, 2018 at 10:27am PDT

From our past interview with Seth Hills, he mentioned a particular show in China where you, Maddix, and him all got onstage for the finale with a B2B2B set! What can you tell us about that moment and which other moments stand out from your past shows?
Maurice: This was one of the most special and memorable moments during that tour. The people were reacting so well to our set, as well as to the sets of Maddix and Seth Hills. It was the fourth of the five gig tour we did with Revealed, so at the end of the night we decided to do a B2B2B set with all of us. People were going nuts and we were having the best time ever. It was only love that night. These guys are such nice and fun people and so we just had a great time during the entire tour.

Let's switch over to talking about your music now. Tell us about what it's like when you guys get into the studio and how you go about making a track from start to finish.

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Studio time. Cc: @axwell @axtone

A post shared by Magnificence (@magnificencenl) on Sep 18, 2018 at 5:03am PDT

Robin: It all starts with an inspiration. Since we get to see a lot of different places and often experience the "musical tastes" of different countries, travelling and playing for so many different and unique crowds is definitely a big inspiration.

The creative process, however, is always different. There is no specific formula for it. It can start with a simple percussion loop or a cool melody. Sometimes we just go full-on nerd mode with a crazy synth. Since producers are reading this, my advice is don't make a song that fits for a certain label. It's already there. Try to bring something new to the table. Don't be just good, try to challenge yourself to become the best. Accept the process and make sure you'll win.

You've just released "Lights" with Goja on Axtone Records. Tell us about the making of this track and what we can expect from you guys moving forward!
Maurice: After being locked away in the studio for several months, we;re super excited that people can finally listen to the first new release, "Lights." I think with "Lights," you can definitely hear that we try to bring something new to the table. It's a 115 BPM vocal bass house track filled with electro influences. We always want to continue growing as artists and so we will always keep trying to innovate our sound.

We are currently starting to tease more new music, and perhaps you also have noticed that the number "II" has popped up on our socials lately. A lot of people are asking us about the Magnificence ID that Axwell premiered in his Creamfields 2018 after-movie. I can reassure you guys that you'll hear this track sooner than you might think!

Robin: We just can't wait to reveal more new music, we're extremely proud of our next releases, as they are quite personal. Next to new music, we will also play some great festivals this summer. We've talked about Creamfields, but there will be more big festivals coming up. We will announce more big news in the upcoming weeks. So everyone interested in seeing us live should be sure to stay tuned!

Thanks so much to Robin & Maurice for taking the time to answer our questions! Thanks also to Epic247 and EDM Reviewer for making this interview possible. Be sure to follow Magnificence using the links below!