Steelyard is the uncompromising sound from Dutch artists and producers Frank Leemhuis and Wouter van der Veen. It’s a sound without boundaries, using inuences from all kinds of musical genres like, art-rock, progressive rock, electro and even pop, but is best described as alternative. We are really proud to have them here now, Here they are, here they come: Steelyard. Thanks for your time!
Who inspired you to make music?
(Frank) I lived across a professional piano teacher, so I was raised with music and I could play the piano at a very young age. I always knew I wanted to make music. I think it was music itself that inspired me. At a later age I became more focussed on electronic music, think synths and 808’s. I was inspired by Underworld, Daft Punk, Radiohead, Muse and Massive Attack. But the list is probably endless.
(Wouter) When I started playing guitar, I was most inspired by heavy rock music. That was the reason I wanted to play guitar and later on write my own music. Artists like Rainbow, Deep Purple, Dream Theater and Yngwie Malmsteen are some of my favorites. Later I also started playing jazz, where Kurt Rosenwinkel and Bireli Lagrene are great sources of inspiration for me. Nowadays I listen to all kinds of music, ranging from rock, soul, pop, jazz. They all inspire me in different ways.
What is your creative process like?
(Frank) It starts with a melody on a piano, followed by some rough vocals. When we think it has a catchy hook, we bring it in our studio and start to process it in a digital way. From that point on it’s a experimenting game with different sounds, hooks and grooves.
(Wouter) For me it starts when I’m just playing around on the guitar and I stumble across a cool riff or a nice chord progression. I then record it and when I feel inspired I will continue to work on it. When we work on a song for Steelyard, we expand an idea or base for a song in our studio into a full song.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
(Frank) For me it would probably be Thom Yorke from Radiohead. I love his experimental approach and the combination of natural and digital sounds blend together. It’s always creative, innovative and full of technical quirks.
What is the most useless talent you have?
(Frank) I can think of a song for every situation. I can’t stop it, it’s completely useless and not even fun for most people;)
(Wouter) I can make a crazy whistle sound with my nose/mouth.
What is the most useful talent you have?
(Frank) I think I’m a very good songwriter.
(Wouter) Eyebrow dancing.
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
(Frank) I think I don’t change anything. I believe in the evolution of life. Things come and go, everything has it’s purpose.
(Wouter) Where do I start? Haha, just kidding. I guess what Frank says makes sense. Ofcourse there are some things I would do different in the past if I knew then what I know now, but that’s life I think.
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
Social media platforms are a great way to be able to share your music and communicate directly with your fans. It’s more personal in a way. But in the same way it forces artists to focus more on marketing and less on music. That’s something we should be careful about.
What’s next for you?
We want to bring our music to the world. The biggest challenge we have is to get our music to be heard. That’s our mission, and we’re working hard to create new songs we love and want to share. Besides that, let’s hope we can perform live again, after this pandemic.
What do you know about Austria?
(Frank) A very good friend of mine lives in Austria, in Hopfgarten, near Kitsbuhl. I love Austria and visit your country often. I personally like it more in the summer. I love the mountains and the food. It’s a great place to stay!
(Wouter) I know that Austria is located in the Alps and has an area of 83,871 km², of which only 32% is below 500 meters. I also know that the capital is Vienna and I think the main language is German.
What is the message you want to give to your listeners?
Thanks for listening, stay tuned there’s a lot more to come. We’re just starting! And if you can, stay connected. We love to get feedback in any way. Thanks for supporting us!
