Name: Makèz
Members: Willem Mulder and Kees van 't Klooster
Nationality: Dutch
Current release: Makèz's Midnight Time EP is out via Heist.
Recommendations: "The Creative Act: A Way of Being," written by Rick Rubin. This book gives you insights into the creative process, and has definitely helped us grow. Big tip, also for people outside the music industry!
"Dilla Time," a book written by Dan Charnas. About the life (and afterlife) of producer J-Dilla, the man who reinvented rhythm.

If you enjoyed this Makèz interview and would like to keep up to date with the duo and their music, visit them on Instagram, Facebook, bandcamp, and Soundcloud.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

How we perceive music depends on our mood.

We like to wander off in the tunes we hear, listen to the ideas of the artists we hear, think about the context they made the production with, and consider musical influences.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

Our fascination for making music started with sampling techniques. We grew up with old soul, disco, jazz records, and we particularly noticed in hip-hop that a lot of sampling was done using those same old records. That's where our fascination began.

Listening to music can take you to another place. This is not necessarily a form of escapism, but more a mood enhancer (or changer).

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

In our teenage years, we started editing, bootlegging, and remixing records we loved.

In a way, we still use these sample-techniques. However, now we have gained more skills, knowledge and experience to express our own musical identities.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

At that time, we started listening to soulful sounds and artists from Chicago, Detroit and New York. We both fell in love with different music than most of our friends did. That’s how we connected.

We started making music together and never stopped doing so.  

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument, tools or equipment?

(Willem) My instrument feels like an extension of myself. Without using words, I can express emotions, tell stories and reflect on my personal life.

Music is therapy.  

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

(Kees) I think Rick Rubin phrased it beautifully. He talks about "source," which is roughly the same as inspiration.

Countless factors together feed the source. It's up to you to tap into the source at the right moment of the day and do something with it.  

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music?

In everyday life, our minds often wander off, but when we work with music, we are in the present moment and able to express our personalities on a deeper level.

Furthermore, there’s a lot of beauty in non-verbal communication, both in the studio and on the dance floor. DJs, dancers and listeners can connect and inspire each other without using words.  

If music is a language, what can we communicate with it? How do you deal with misunderstandings?

Following up on the previous question, music is open to interpretation, and at the same time, we sometimes feel that you can tell your story even better through a song, on an even deeper level, than you could with words.

This question also reminds us of a track we produced for our album on Heist called ‘Sonder', which refers to the realisation that each individual has their own thoughts, beliefs, emotions and experiences.



Misunderstandings will always be there, and there’s a lot of beauty in coincidences. They make us human.

Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness and how do you still draw surprises from tools, approaches and musical forms you may be very familiar with?

For us it’s about constantly getting out of our comfort zone. It’s fun to challenge ourselves, and it stimulates growth.

For instance, through collaborating with other creators from different genres or disciplines or using different gear or techniques. The output will surprise you.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Some of the most significant memories we have of sound-related situations are the ones of harmonious silence.

When it's truly quiet somewhere, perhaps all you hear is the noises of nature. Those moments stand out because it's so rare to truly experience silence.

Stillness creates space for new ideas to be born.

There seems to be an increasing trend to capture music in algorithms, and data. But already at the time of Plato, arithmetic, geometry, and music were considered closely connected. How do you see that connection yourself? What aspects of music do you feel can be captured through numbers, and which can not?

We believe that, ultimately, everything is connected.

The only thing humans and good musicians can really add, beyond algorithms and data, is feeling and factors of coincidence. Which can elevate productions to a higher level and resonate with listeners.  

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

Making music reminds us to keep an open mind in life.

In the studio, we like to give each other space to explore and surprise each other with musical ideas without any form of judgement.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

We listen to a lot of music but understand the importance of silence. We consciously apply this principle in our productions as well.

We pay attention not only to the rhythms and the notes but especially to the space between rhythmic elements and notes. The silence between these elements is just as important, just like rests between events in life.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Best case scenario you’re mindful about everything you do in life, even making your morning coffee.

Truth is that we're most mindful while creating music. We can pour our whole heart out without speaking and lose track of time. It makes our lives literally more wholesome.  

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

We would love to see the audience engage more with each other while clubbing instead of collectively facing a DJ and making synchronous dance moves.

We notice that in some club scenes, people look very much alike, which might discourage true identities from shining through.