One half of the dynamic duo behind the music project Ramsesboomboom, Wannes Salome joins me to discuss how he and Erik Buschmanna came together for this project and about their unique musical background.
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Mason Paine and Wannes Salome: Transcription
0:00 – Announcer: Mason Vera Paine.
0:01 – Mason Paine: Wannes Salomé and Erik Buschmann formed the group Ramsesboomboom. Wannes joins me to speak about how the group was formed and what are some things we can expect from them. Thanks for joining me, Wannes.
0:14 – Wannes Salome: Hey, Mason. Really happy to be here, and, thanks for having me on.
0:17 – Mason Paine: So, Wannes, tell me, how did you guys form Ramsesboomboom?
0:21 – Wannes Salome: Yes. So Ramsesboomboom is a duo project of me and Erik. Erik and I have known each other, like, for all of our professional music career. We went to school together. He studied drums, and I studied music production. And we basically clicked right away at school. So we played in bands together. And after our studies, We actually played in a band called Clangstaff, which is a indie rock band.
0:48 – Wannes Salome: And we toured all over America and Europe and played a lot of festivals. And during that time, when we got tired of doing indie music, we got together and started to write some electronic music Because we were both really into electronic music as well, like John Hopkins, James Blake, like a lot of alternative electronic music. So we just started to write electronic track. After a while, we had a collection of them and we thought we should release this, do something with it.
1:16 – Mason Paine: You know, inquiring minds have to know, Ramsesboomboom. Now that’s a pretty unique name. Can you give me the background on what it means?
1:25 – Wannes Salome: Definitely, it’s an interesting name. Ramses was actually the name of our very first demo. Like, the very first electronic track we we created was initially called Ramses. Then we decided to call our project Ramses, and we called that track I feel nothing, which is the 1st, track we released with this project. So actually, the 1st track we ever wrote is also the 1st track, we released, which is very funny. But then after a while, we decided to add the Boom, Boom to it because it just It’s a little bit of playfulness, and it’s also gives the whole name a little bit more of a unique vibe, a more of a interesting vibe, which is why We went with Ramsesboomboom.
2:04 – Mason Paine: You know, prior to forming Ramsesboomboom, did either of you have any other musical background?
2:10 – Wannes Salome: Yeah. So we we studied together on the Conservatoire of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and we both studied at the pop academy. Yeah. I think We’re both just really we have really broad interests. So we’ve done a lot of music. We’ve done a pop and jazz and tried out some classical music influences. Yeah. And as, as producers, we work with different artists with different backgrounds as well.
2:37 – Wannes Salome: So I don’t know. We’re we’re just very much in love with music and creating and experimenting, actually. I think experimenting is a big theme for us in our music, musical career and in this project as well.
2:50 – Mason Paine: So you guys have known each other for a pretty long time, but how long have you and Erik been performing together?
2:56 – Wannes Salome: Yeah. Erik and I have been performing together for years now. I think at least 10 years, which is basically my, my whole professional life. Yeah. I don’t think there’s anyone that I’ve worked with as much as with Erik. And, yeah, we were just very used to playing together and writing together and philosophizing of about music and a lot of other stuff as well. This is my partner in crime.
3:21 – Mason Paine: You know, sometimes I see some musicians struggle being part of a duo. And I’m a little curious, how do you two maintain a creative balance?
3:29 – Wannes Salome: Creating music together can be like a challenge sometimes. I collaborate with lots of different artists. And sometimes it’s just, yeah, you just have to find this balance. You have to find a a way to, like, hear each other and and be heard. But with Erik, it actually it was always very natural. Yeah. As as I mentioned, we We’re both really into just experimenting and and, playing around. So what happens most of the time is we just get in studio, the both of us.
4:00 – Wannes Salome: Like, sometimes when you start playing around on a a synthesizer or just with samples or whatever and just create some idea’s, and then When the 1 person gets a little bit overwhelmed or tired or just doesn’t see it anymore, we just switch around, and the other person just works on it a bit. And there’s a lot of trust there, so we can just let the other person work in it a bit. And I like most of the tracks just have just as much of Erik as me in it Even when sometimes, like, maybe the original idea might have come from Erik or might have come from me. But in the end, it’s always it always becomes something that We wouldn’t have been able to create on our own. So, yeah, it’s just a it’s a very natural process for us.
4:40 – Mason Paine: So tell me about your latest EP, Sam.
4:43 – Wannes Salome: Yeah. So this EP was just a lot of fun to make. It’s I I think it’s all about showing our playfulness and pushing our boundaries a bit. Yeah. So Erik and I, we write a lot of music. We always have, like, a big list of demos or tracks that are kinda ready. This time, we we just sent over list to Reflektor Records, which is a Amsterdam based label. And, yeah, they got very excited right away.
5:08 – Wannes Salome: And, actually, they picked, Like, the tracks that we thought were too experimental or too weird to release, but, yeah, they actually loved it, and I’m really happy that they did that And that we get to share that now with the world. Yeah. So this EP just shows, like, our development as, as producers and, like, finding our sound and Just our unique style in electronic music. So, this just shows where we’re at, at the moment. Yeah. So I’m really happy. Really happy with Sam EP, and I really hope it resonates with people.
5:38 – Mason Paine: So how long did it take you guys to work on this one EP?
5:42 – Wannes Salome: It really depends on the on the track on of the EP. Like, some tracks are fairly new, but some, Like, for example, Husky Time. I think that one dates from 2020. So it’s, like, yeah, 4 years old. Like, it’s been 4 years since We’ve started working on that track. Yeah. It was actually called Magic Daddy before. It was the first name, and it contains a lot of samples from Peppa Pig, Like a children’s TV series.
6:06 – Wannes Salome: In the end, we just deleted it all and made the track a lot better and took some time before it was ready to be released. But, yeah, for example, Without You is a newer newer track. And it’s just a collection of things we’ve been working on for from the past years.
6:20 – Mason Paine: I’m just a little curious. Do you have a favorite track of yours?
6:23 – Wannes Salome: Oh, I think my personal favorite track is Polly. This is the 1st track of the EP. I just really like The vibe of it. I really love, yeah, the playfulness and the synth sounds, and it just it maybe represents the direction I really want to going after this EP as well. Yeah. And it was also really fun collaboration between Erik and I. So I have good memories creating that track as well. So, yeah, Pauley.
12:56 – Mason Paine: Now your music is a blend of Dutch indie rock and EDM. How do you guys blend those 2 drastically different genres together?
13:04 – Wannes Salome: Yeah. I don’t know. It’s just the way we work, I think. We’re really used to work in the indie sounds because we’ve been playing in indie bands for years And working on music, writing indie tracks, producing indie tracks. The biggest difference is that indie productions Are, like, really detailed. And the people who, who listen to and create indie music are the textures and sounds are just really important to them and really part of the of the songwriting. So in a way, this translates really well to electronic music as well. It’s just really nice to add those textures to music that you that you can also dance to and music that that is just sounding more electronic.
13:45 – Wannes Salome: So, yeah, I think this is, Like, our process transitioning into electronic music.
13:51 – Mason Paine: Are there any things you guys are working on for this upcoming year?
13:54 – Wannes Salome: Yeah. So we have a lot of plans for, for this year. We’re writing a lot of music. Every week, we’re sitting together and creating new track or a new demo. So definitely new releases are to be expected, maybe even pretty soon. We’re doing remixes. We’re doing DJ sets. And in the meantime, we’re slowly developing a live set as well, but that might take a little bit more time.
14:18 – Wannes Salome: Hopefully, after through this year. We’ll be able to do live sets, but for now, just expect a lot of new music and come see us when we do a show.
14:26 – Mason Paine: Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate you being here. And for those listening, where can they find more information about you both?
14:34 – Wannes Salome: Yeah. Thank you as well. This was fun. And if you want to follow us, you can find us on Instagram. It’s our handle is Ramsesboomboom. No spaces, no Symbols. We also have a really fun website. It’s Ramsesboomboom.com
14:48 – Wannes Salome: And you can just enter commands, and We actually created a secret command for for you. It’s if you type in Mason, you get, like, the first 4 bars of a new demo. So, yeah, try it out and hopefully speak soon. See you soon, and Thanks again.
15:07 – Announcer: This has been the Mason Vera Paine show. Thanks for listening.
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