How to describe Dutch Criminal Record… well.

In effect they consist of one mad drummer who’s beats are funkier than James Brown and so syncopated they end up on the beat again. This man is simply known as Whibs-the great!

Then there is the tall dark and annoyingly handsome Rio, whose bass is almost as powerful as his pull on every girls heart… ever.

Then there is our chief weirdo Sam (or Shmee) who’s guitar produces sparkling sweet lead tones and gravely hair raising vocals.

And then, we have Joe, the all round legend and musical genius.

In this interview, we speak with Sam to discuss the band’s influences, their newest project, and more.

Full Q&A, links, and streams below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

We started Dutch Criminal Record four years ago at school because we were friends and wanted to form a band. There wasn’t any agenda apart from playing music together! However as we have got older our style and genre has changed sometimes consciously sometimes just naturally. The genre of indie music is pretty wide, we write songs with memorable melodies. Sometimes they are short and poppy sometimes they are long and instrumental. They usually sound upbeat though because we like uplifting music.

What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?

Being in the same music class in school was the actual catalyst for us forming a band. However we find being with each other has been constant source of inspiration. When we write songs that we are proud of we feel like we have to show it to people because it would be unwise to make something that’s good but not show anybody.

Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?

Lots of bands have influenced us over time. There’s bands like The Beatles which we have always loved and keep coming back to. Then there are bands like The Libertines or Coldplay which influenced individual band members to want to make music. As a band the surf/chill style of Real Estate or the brilliance of Kings of Leon have made us want to make music. I think the only thing that changes is that we find new music we love- like Dave Brubeck.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

The band is the only real music project we’ve done where we have released music. However each E.P. we view as a different project, we want to keep the essence of our sound but improve where we can!

What was the last song you listened to?

Alvvays-Atop a Cake. Great song, cool band.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

All of them have their place. MP3’s are super convenient and you can email them to people etc but you can’t love an MP3 or take pride in a digital file.

CD’s are the most durable and you can listen to them in the car and stuff but Vinyl is definitely the most beautiful format to own. You can actually really appreciate the artwork on a Record sleeve as well, where as you have to squint to see an MP3 thumbnail.

We also really like cassettes to record demos on because they are wonderfully warm to listen to.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

Well Spotify is where everyone seems to listen to us on, its where most of our plays are generated which is cool! I think Bandcamp is probably the best for bands as they make sure you get well remunerated so probably Bandcamp.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?

I think the difficult thing is getting people to come out to gigs. It’s nearly impossible to draw a crowd on a regular basis. There’s definitely an apathy with most people surrounding the idea of going out to see unsigned bands.

What’s even more challenging is that most venues expect bands to bring the whole crowd and then fail to cover bands expenses!

I think its quite a difficult climate at the minute. Having said that we played a venue called The Troubadour, in London, on Friday. It was a fantastic gig packed to the rafters with a combination of fans and people who just come to the venue because they like it. A really great gig.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?

Spotify has all our songs on so it’s a good place to listen to our discography. Our instagram has some nice pictures so have a look on there! If you want to message us/ask a question try our Facebook or tweet us.

Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?

We’re going into the studio to record new music this week! Keep your eyes peeled for some new releases soon!

Cheers,
Sam // Dutch Criminal Record