Dutch-born musician, producer/composer and remixer Junkie XL (Tom Holkenborg) has finished his fifth studio album, Booming Back At You. A bridge between traditional club music and the fresh electro punk music scene that is emerging in France and England, the record is intermixed with elements of industrial and his previous dance-rock roots. Released March 11, 2008, Booming… serves as the first offering from Artwerk Music—the record label started by Electronic Arts (EA) in conjunction with Nettwerk Music Group.
As a versatile producer and famous club remixer, Junkie XL has retooled the likes of Britney Spears (most recently his remix of “Gimme More” appears on her album Blackout), Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Scissor Sisters, Rammstein, Fear Factory, Bloc Party, Sarah McLachlan and Avril Lavigne. He also keeps extremely busy creating music for video games like The Sims 2: Nightlife, Xbox games Forza Motorsport and Quantum Redshift, as well as EA’s Burnout, SSX Blur and Need For Speed series. I met with Tom at his Venice studio to discuss the new record and his concept for Booming Back At You.
“More” by Junkie XL
“Clash” by Junkie XL
How did your career begin? I’ve been doing this for almost 23 years, but I started to become semi-pro when I was 16 in 1982–83. I was in a band called Weekend at Waikiki that had a record deal in Europe. In 1987 we were one of the first bands to use a new sampler called the Fairlight to record a complete acoustic band. Other people like Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush had used it as a sampler/synthesizer, but I don’t think anyone had ever taken an acoustic band and recorded an entire album into it…we used it as a digital recorder. That process was very influential for me, and from then on I continued to use sequencers and computers to create music…that was it for me…synths/computers and live instruments.
Before we talk about your new record, I want to ask you about Blade, one of my favorite movies. How did your music get selected for Blade? Wesley Snipes was very involved in selecting the music for Blade, and he was the one that picked my music. The soundtrack was very underground, hip-hop driven and my first Junkie XL record was a mix of breakbeats and hip-hop elements. I had collaborated with Rude Boy from Urban Dance Squad; he was considered very cool in the States among hip-hop people. Rude Boy’s friends included Afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy, Cool Keith and others.
Your new record Booming Back at You seems like a reflection of your earlier records, yet very electronic. What was the concept behind it? This is the most electronic record I’ve made. I’ve made a lot of conceptual records in the past that delve into studio production, but I wanted this record to reflect my live gigs which is full-on fun, in-your-face energy. At the same time, this record reflects back on earlier Junkie XL records so it includes punky guitars, screaming vocals, etc. I’ve been playing these tracks to death in front of audiences for the past six months and they’ve been properly tested, so now I can turn around and give them back to people and say, “Here ya go…here’s that club record you’ve always wanted!” And that’s why it’s called Booming Back at You.
Your music doesn’t sound like your typical “progressive house” or “electro” dance music, yet you’re performing alongside DJs that are spinning traditional dance music. How do you pull it off? In the past, I’ve never used typical trance or progressive sounds, but my music appeals to that crowd because it has strong melodies and a club feel…even trance DJs would play my music. Now DJs play my music because they want to play harder, rougher tracks without losing the club sensibility. This record builds a bridge between traditional house, techno, progressive dance music and the fresh French electro-punk scene that’s thriving in France and England. Most DJs won’t play that French electro punk stuff because it’s not club-friendly, but my tracks have that rough punk energy wrapped in a club format. I’ve been touring all over the world these last 12 weeks and I can tell DJs are looking for something new to add to their sets, and the audience is also looking for something new.
Who did you collab with on this record? It started with Lucas Banker, who I’ve been writing with for six years; he’s great with lyrics and melodies. The first track I did was “More” and I came up with the idea, “Rock More, Roll More, Fuck More, Pac Man is loving it.” I sent it to him and he was like, “That’s brilliant!” He wrote the verses in between those choruses. And I thought, “Man, we should find a chick to sing this.” So he sent me a few demos and one of them was Lauren Rocket, and I knew right away she was the one for the track. I also used Lauren on “Cities In Dust,” which is a cover of Siouxsie & the Banshees’ modern rock classic. My publisher introduced me to Nicole Morier from Electrocute, and she sang on “New Toy” and “Not Enough.” Through Nicole I was introduced to Gus and Bram as well from Electrocute. Tommy Sunshine is the main character in my video with the long beard; he’s been very important as well on this record. And, of course, Steve Aoki.
“1967 Poem,” a track co-produced with Steve Aoki, has a bassline and textures that remind me of Skinny Puppy—very industrial influenced. That’s a pretty insane track (laughs)! We wanted to do a track that was really hard, yet really simple. I was part of that industrial scene in 1992 which was really small worldwide. I worked with the guys from Ministry, Revolting Cocks and other bands at that time, and from that scene came Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Rammstein. “1967 Poem” is very two-dimensional and paper-thin in depth and concept…like rice paper…hard and simple.
What would you like people to know about Tom Holkenborg? I’m not a DJ! In the late ’90s I used to perform with tons of gear like the Chemical Brothers and other artists. Now I use two laptops, a mixer, a keyboard and a few EFX boxes, but guess what? Paul van Dyke is using the same gear when he goes on tour, and Sasha does as well, so that’s were the confusion comes in. Someone with that setup could be a DJ or a live artist. What defines me from the DJs is that 100% of the stuff that I play is my own music.
What do you look forward to in 2008? The new record comes out in March. There’s the Winter Music Conference and the Ultra Music Festival to look forward to. I usually get asked to produce music for video games, movies, as well as remixes throughout the year…I look forward to doing all of it and more in 2008.
