Full Crate and Mar are the Dutch duo treading the road to musical acclaim the good old fashioned way. Instead of those rather overpowering and almost desperate promotional pushes that force you to take notice of said artists every minute of the damn day, Full Crate and Mar have treaded the beautiful road of organic promotion.
They first came to my attention some three years back with their brilliant track I Said taken from their ep Conversations With Her. The ep was a serious body of work that gave a tantalising indication to what they could achieve as earthy soulful coolness punctuated each and every electronica infused track-it was magnificent.
It was a magnificence that was honed through their formative years as teenagers forging a musical alliance and understanding (but ultimately) a real bonafide friendship-it’s very entertaining as they both take turns to be the butt of each other’s jokes. Of course it’s clear that while their musical alliance occurred at high school it was their individual pursuits which sowed the seeds for their talents collectively and individually.
“Mar and I met at high school” Full Crate states, “and we started to do everything that you can do with music. While I was dj’ing Mar and I were always doing things with music and creating music. People just kept loving what we were doing-so our music just came about organically.”
Individually Full Crate can count studying at a pre piano conservatoire as the foundation to his brilliant beat making.
“I started playing the classical piano when I was young-I went to the pre-conservatoire school and music was around me because of my parents-I think my parents kind of forced me into the piano really. From there I had a huge jump at thirteen or fourteen when I discovered dj’ing and it went on for me dj’ing for years and years.”
Mar in comparison seemed reluctant in his formative years to embrace his musicality and took steps to take a path that avoided music.
“I was raised in a musical family. My father is a musician so there were always instruments in the house” he adds. “For me it was logical to pursue a career in music but also a fear because I saw my father (to be honest) make some bad financial moves so in my mind I wanted to pursue music but I decided not to follow the path. I tried studying for a while but it just did not work and it was obvious-I needed to pursue music. I think I was put on this earth to do music really.”
Pursue they must and this year the duo got the just reward for their organic ascendancy signing a record deal with Island and a publishing deal with Sony. Thankfully it’s clear from the off that there is no chance of them being over-awed by the prospect of being with two huge music labels. Indeed the duo are resolute in maintaining their original musical objectives of bringing quality music they believe in.
“Our objectives are the same as before” Mar confirms, “to make music we believe in and love. Of course to get a publishing deal and to have more people in your team is a big deal because it gives you more opportunities to work with different artists. Right now, Crate and I are working with different artists that we might not have worked with before and that is an amazing thing.”
Full Crate emphatically adds, “When we signed not one single person from the labels said we need to change anything. They signed us for what we are and the fact that we are making certain songs. So far everything is great and we are in control. Don’t get me wrong we listen to what they say and if they have good ideas about releasing songs we go for it but this journey is ultimately about bringing OUR music to a wider audience.”
Their first release with Sony and Island is the magnetic Man and Woman complete with a stirring bit of celluloid magic and great song writing by Mar: “I actually wrote the lyrics to a different track and so the Man and Woman that you hear is an edit of a first draft for a track. I had the lyrics down on a deep house joint and then I gave it to Crate and we made it way more sexy and with a slight pop edge.” Full Crate adds, “The thing is there are so many ways we work together that there is no fixed way. Sometimes we work from melodies with a full produced track and then Mar adds melodies and vocals but sometimes Mar sends me a vocal and then I will arrange something around it and then we keep sending things back.”
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Full Crate adds “Creativity is sparked by anyone of us setting off an idea-sometimes I will have a beat and I will not even know what to do with it and then Mar will come into the studio and literally sings a line and it makes sense and the track starts to come alive.”
There’s no doubt that getting signed is a big deal but with affirmations from Full Crate that ‘the real work now starts’ there is no doubting they have all the credentials for bigger and further success-with Man and Woman as their debut single of sorts, they set the foundations right. Further singles and evidently an album will follow and in my estimations prove that Full Crate and Mar are ready for the big time all done organically of course!
P.S Check this AMAZING mix from Full Crate and Mar check the HUGE 90’s RnB banger from Aaliyah.