THE TAKE 5 SERIES
Bingo Players
We sat down to chat with Bingo Players about the latest projects, memorable movie soundtracks, festivals, and much more.
Freshly home from a US tour, Bingo Players is a Dutch dance and electro house project fronted by DJ and record producer Maarten Hoogstraten. Originally a duo, Hoogstraten survives Paul Bäumer and his memory. Bäumer lost his battle to cancer in 2013. It was his wish that Hoogstraten continues under the Bingo Players’ name. That same year, Bingo Players ranked number 52 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list.
The project is best known for hit singles “Cry (Just a Little)” and “Rattle.” “Rattle” boasts over 100,000,000 streams on Spotify. The year it was released, 2011, the song charted in the top 40 in the Netherlands, France, Sweden, and Denmark. Similarly, “Cry (Just a Little)” also gained traction across Europe, becoming a top-40 hit in the Netherlands, Belgium, and United Kingdom.
Their latest release is the single “Holiday,” featuring Séb Mont. The single was released earlier this month with Spinnin’ Records.
To learn more about Bingo Players, including how Maarten believes the world will look in 300 years, check out our interview with the artist below:
Q: Before we dig in, what's next for you?
Well, I just came back from a US tour. It was my first tour since the pandemic hit the world and it was great playing shows again after a year and a half of not being able to do it. The benefit of having time off from touring was that I had plenty of time to work on new music which is coming through the end of next year. There is a lot of new music. “Holiday” my track with Oomloud & Seb drops on Oct 8.
Q: Why did you choose to make dance music?
When I was 10 years old, in 1991, a friend from school had this CD/cassette compilation series called “Turn Up The Bass” which had the latest house and rave songs on it. I absolutely fell in love with this new style of music, which I had never heard before. From that moment I knew I wanted to make music like that as well.
Q: Let's create a new festival; What would you name it, Where would it be located, and Who would be the top 3 headliners?
I would call it “Vive Le French House!”, it would be situated somewhere around Paris and have only French house artists from the ’90s playing it with Daft Punk, Etienne De Crecy, and Cassius headlining (if Zdar was still alive). As far as I know, there has never been such a festival and I absolutely love French house music, especially that late 90’s period.
Q: What is music going to sound like 20 years from now?
I remember asking myself this question years ago and it’s very hard to imagine. Looking at this moment for instance, with all of the piano house that is being released, there is still a big 90’s influence embedded in current music, so I guess in 20 years from now we’ll have an evolution of what is being played right now with some new elements.
Q: What movie has a very memorable soundtrack?
I’m a huge Terminator 2 fan; I loved the movie and it made a big impression on me when it came out. I’ve probably seen it over 100 times since then. The soundtrack (and also of Terminator 1) by Brad Fiedel is outstanding. It fits the movie very well with its dark, mechanical, and ominous sounds.
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Q: If you could bring one artist back to life, who would it be?
Bringing back Kurt Cobain would be interesting; I really wonder what his opinion and vision of the world would’ve been over the past few decades and I’d especially want to hear his new music.
Q: What if aliens invade our planet, and they're really hot?
I would not trust it at all… haven’t you seen the movie “Species”?
Q: If you could spend a day talking to an animal, what animal would you choose and what would you want to learn from them?
If I start talking to animals, please check me into a hospital. 😉
Q: What do you think the world will look like in 300 years?
Hopefully, the earth will still be habitable by then. I imagine we will have a space colony on the moon or something as well.
Q: Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman?
Even though Batman has cooler gadgets, I’ll put my bet on Spiderman, because he has more strength and agility, he is faster and has his spider senses of course.
