InTheMix interview with 16 Bit Lolitas

The first thing that strikes me when speaking to Dutch underground house duo 16 Bit Lolitas is their passion and enthusiasm for their music. They answer my questions with the confidence and insight bestowed only to those at the top of their game, and that’s exactly where they are right now.

Since forming in 2003, the pair (made up of Ariaan Olieroock and Peter Kriek), have produced a string of successful releases on labels as diverse as Yoshitoshi, Alternative Route, Plastic Fantastic, Nu Republic, Armada, LMR and most recently Above & Beyond’s progressive house offshoot Anjunadeep. They’ve also launched their own successful imprint Bits and Pieces, on which late last year they delivered their superb Live At Warung album, inspired by one of Brazil’s most famous beach clubs. It comprised of a mix featuring underground sounds handpicked from across the globe, alongside an entire disk of their own unreleased material.

Peter says it was tricky making the album because the 16 Bit Lolita’s sound varies from continent to continent. “Some continents require a more commercial approach and some more minimal, more techy and others more trancy like in Brazil and South America,” he told ITM. “We wanted to make an album that would be appreciated all over the world, but that would represent the sound of Brazil. So it was hard for us to figure out how to that, but we did our best.”

The guys now spend much of their time in South America, where the 16 Bit Lolitas sound is a huge success and Peter says the party vibe is better than Europe. “Different cultures have different degrees of openness,” he says. “Europeans are much more closed, and this also translates into the parties. In South America it’s much more open and happy and friendly and that just creates good parties. They used to do parties over here like that in 2000 and 2001 during in the glory days of progressive, but it’s died out for some reason.”

Both artists have strong musical backgrounds dating back to their childhood, but it wasn’t until they formed 16 Bit Lolitas that they decided to quit their day jobs and devote themselves to music full-time. “We met five or six years ago through mutual friends, and we both had jobs and careers but we also had dreams to make music and step out of the blue collar world and do something we really wanted to do,” explains Peter. “So one day we decided to just drop what we were doing, start making music and see how long we can sustain it. And we’re still here so that’s good,” he laughs.

It seems the secret to their success is working well as a team and knowing their limits, with each artist taking on their respective role as DJ and producer. “The collaboration works really well because Ariaan DJs a lot, and I just sit in the studio making music. He can give feedback on the music we’re making here and when he’s here we work on stuff together. I think it’s impossible these days to be a producer and a DJ and be good at both. You can’t do that anymore. They’re both full time jobs. If you’re out on the road all the time you can’t come back and expect to be in studio mode again. It just doesn’t work like that,” says Peter.

With a constant string of new releases on Bits and Pieces, it’s no wonder he devotes so much attention to studio time. “This year we’ve really stepped it up with the label,” he explains. “We are only focusing on a few collaborations and the 16 Bit Lolita sound itself. We’re releasing one release every month, and the reception is better than it’s ever been. So we’re really trying to make some honest music and see where it goes.”

So where exactly is there sound heading? “The Warung album and was the end of an era for us for that specific music,” explains Ariaan. “We don’t think this is house, tech house or progressive, we just mix it up. A lot of DJs are looking for a more universal sound, where they can play tech, progressive and minimal all at once, and to make it wider, so that’s what were trying right now. We also want 16 Bit Lolitas to be a festival act more than a club act. That’s what we’d like to do but you never know where it’s going to end up in the end!”