The story behind “My Lexicon” with Sander Kleinenberg | Muzikxpress 059

[@donkeydrop]

Brilliant! Thank you TVL and Sander for your time. As always I look forward to watching future videos covering classics from various genres of electronic music!

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you! I always loved "My Lexicon" and it was great to hear Sander talk about this beautiful track and his future plans etc. And... more interviews to come in the next few weeks! ;-)

[@wannabeactuary01]

There are also some excellent ones in the past!

[@MorYohai]

I wish you could asked him about the track “Sacred Sunrise mix” that never got released

[@muzikxpress]

@@MorYohai In my vlogs I focus on famous classics. And tbh, there aren't many producers that feel the need to talk about tracks that never got released ;-)

[@atlantisairwaves2]

@@MorYohai just read the comments here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGnZmn5pa9pnmNE

[@massive323]

Can't underestimate how big this track was at the time. I worked in a record shop in Oxford in the run up to and release of Sasha's GU mix and My Lexicon was THE track that was constantly asked for after the CD dropped. Special Times..

[@muzikxpress]

Such a classic! And that GU Mix is amazing!

[@cam1210]

No doubt, I was a customer in the store when you worked there (I’m assuming Massive Records). Agree…special times!

[@massive323]

@@cam1210 yes mate! Massive records…

[@yeahtbh.161]

What sasha gu are you talking about?

[@massive323]

@@yeahtbh.161 Ibiza..

[@THERARECYCLE]

Why do i feel the Cass & Slide story isn't exactly what he said..lol..that remix was mint.

[@jaconova]

Very weird story indeed.

[@GTF85]

The way Sasha mixes it in on GU Ibiza 013 is prob my favourite of all time 👌🏻

[@muzikxpress]

So good right???

[@baggers16444]

@@muzikxpress yes absolutely but what about the dub mix of Sacred - another stone cold classic ?

[@jonathancurran6851]

Yeah. Totally!

[@bensearle7536]

Have to agree. Into an unreleased mix of That Baseline track. Outstanding mix. I personally don’t feel ‘My Lexicon’ can be mixed into any other track except for that version of The Baseline Track. Just my opinion of course.

[@RavishinRed72]

One of my favourite albums and still play now. I always played this track in my sets it’s just melting..Great interview as always Twan!!!

[@Trisska.ClubNationRenaissance]

The Cass & Slide remix wasn't good enough?! HAHAHA!

[@TheTrancemaster90]

Straight from the golden age of progressive house and trance

[@muzikxpress]

For sure! I'm very happy he wanted to do this interview, one of my favorite tracks from 1999!

[@mikekraemer6758]

Hmm, the Cass & Slide remix was at least good enough for his Essential Mix back in 2001.

[@alansouthall8221]

His essential mix from around that time was gorgeous too. He very quickly went down the frat boy spring break house route though. But those early days he was a boss. He played an amazing set in bugged out in Liverpool as a replacement for Sasha who did one of his infamous no shows

[@GeorgeBeyond]

The buildup of this track is indeed very long, but when the melody finally drops it’s like a warm bath. This track will never get old. Sander seems like a great guy! Thanks again Twan!

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you Dohan! And yes, Sander was super nice, great guy for sure!

[@jaconova]

There was no rush to end the breakdown back in the day: the pills were uber strong and everyone took them long breakdowns as a welcome rest, lol.

[@bazs7669]

One of the most beautiful trance/melodic techno tracks of all time. It takes me right back to listening to it on Sasha’s Global Underground Mix when I was at Newcastle University, UK in 2000. Thank you Sander!

[@doncarloancelotti2256]

Sander straight up looks like a New York tourist 😂😂😂 One of my favorite producers out there, he's still a goddamn legend.

[@jaconova]

I don't get why many of this nubreed/GU era guys refuse to make some new progressive house tracks or talk about that era like it isn't modern electronic and has gone completely out of fashion. It's like being a rock player and being asked to play or create some blues solo: of course you can do it and deep inside I bet they still enjoy y it! Well, at least some others kept doing it like Howells, Burridge, Nick Warren, etc. Finally, what baffles me about the Cass/Slide remix is that not only Sander put the track down in this interview, but Cass also commented here on youtube that he also though he "dropped the ball" with this remix, and didn't capture the esence of the original, and he thought it was bad, yada, yada. Never seen something similar, and it looks like they have coordinated that negative response towards the famous remix. Absurd and fishy, specially when they both spun the shit out of the remix back in the day.

Thank you Twan for these videos! Keep them coming! Absolutely love My Lexicon and it's awesome watching Sander rambling about it on video, he looks like a stand up guy

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you very much Gustavo!

[@hecku]

The Gatecrasher National Anthems 2000 CD introduced me to this masterpiece.

[@abijahmaniaco]

The guy is all over the place. But My Lexicon is a gentle, timeless beauty. Thank you, Sander.

[@realfan91]

It really sounds like he was God's scribe for that track. He just got some divine inspiration.

[@alderaanic1042]

The Original is certainly a classic. But Cass & Slide's Our Lexicon Remix out does even the Original. Shame Sander didn't like it or perhaps it would have been given a full release. I luckily own the very rare and sought after Acetate/Test Pressing.

[@muzikxpress]

Ohhh lucky you! How did you manage to get that one? So cool!

[@alderaanic1042]

@@muzikxpress kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5_ceYtueNNsZqs

[@THTSound]

Nobody is talking about how much, Tiesto has inspired from this song Bassline and percussion for Traffic 😬

[@Sheckles028]

The Cass and Slide mix is brilliant. I prefer it over the original.

[@jamienoble631]

Classic track! Its a shame he only made a few trance tracks such as this. Venus & Mars is my favorite, such a well produced track.

[@MrGazzy]

Venus & Mars is massively underrated 💯

[@AirwaveMusic]

💪💪💪

[@muzikxpress]

Something for you to remix haha ;-)

[@AirwaveMusic]

Naaaaah, some things can’t be touched

[@muzikxpress]

@@AirwaveMusic Fair enough! :)

[@willy3toes]

When anyone used to ask what I meant by progressive trance I would show them this as the example.

[@RS-jb1lf]

Amazing! What an insight. Liked and subscribed 😎

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you! And thanks for subscribing!

[@edwardmowton9825]

Please convince him to release the Cass and Slide remix. That was the fucking best remix besides the original.

[@OutOfMySystem]

Another cracking interview about a timeless track.

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you very much Mark!!

[@edwardmowton9825]

"We decided to not release the Cass and slide remix because it wasn't good enough" is the biggest fucking lie ever. It was good enough for his Essential Mix and Hernans South America, though... something else happened. He probably knew it was going to be bigger than the original.

[@JayKaufman]

It's been years since I last ran into Sander... At least ten? I don't ever recall his Dutch accent being so light when speaking English. Not that his English was bad, but you could tell he was Dutch. Now it's very slight!

[@MichaelBoogerd]

Jay Kaufman he has an American accent. Probably lives there.

[@phillong5808]

This use to get played in the temple theatre in Dublin pitched down during warm up, I was 17 and use to go in early to hear the warm up. Took me years to find the name but remember it very fondly hearing it everytime.

[@futurecafe]

DJ BoBo - Love Is All Around acapella is perfect for this track! Try it! :)

[@electronomist]

Love that tune. Love his passion and commitment for evolving and making new stuff and enjoying making tunes we'll dance our arses off to!

[@muzikxpress]

Exactly! This is still my favorite made by him though, such beautiful sounds!

[@PATRICKAIKEN]

Legend!

[@Emsiukas69]

Let's be clear. The Cass & Slide's remix is a better track, it surpassed the original, think this is the main reason it wasn't officialy released.

[@roballenby]

Classic

[@pavelabadjiev8220]

Make vlog with Tiesto or Armin please

[@muzikxpress]

The chances of getting an interview with Tiesto are as big as the chance he's getting back to trance; There will always be a chance, but ... don't count on it! :P Already requested Armin the other day, so fingers crossed for that ;-) BTW I made a Tiesto vlog already with the most important landmarks / Tiesto history in Breda.

[@JDCooper95]

Great as always! Love your work man it deservs much appreciations!

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you very much Artem!

[@אלישמלה]

Master Dj Sander k Thank you for your brillant Music ❤

[@atroutflycrazy8057]

Really liked Sanders early stuff My lexicon is a wonderful track and one that would have easily fitted into Sasha's set as theres Alot of his sound in it

[@yeahtbh.161]

He sold out so hard with the EDM garbage he does now

[@megabass]

Amazing and interesting as usual! Keep it up

[@muzikxpress]

Thanks man!!

[@doncarloancelotti2256]

I just realized this track is older than myself by a couple months lmao

[@Deepakufo]

Yeah😂 I was 8-9 back then

[@baggers16444]

@cyanghost109 i was 32

[@trancemb]

Very nice interview Twan!!

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you very much!

[@mylexicon75]

This track was exactly the Lexicon of my feelings and thoughts in that time . I was lucky because right after Sander made the nubreed with GU he came and played an Saturday Easter to Athens +Soda club . He was amazing , after that I and my friends never missed a gig in Greece from him . I remember in one party at the end he came with Simone to the exit door and handshake everybody !!! Thanks mate :):)

[@muzikxpress]

Glad you enjoyed it! And Sander is great, such a nice humble guy! :)

[@kimm3757]

Amazing interview as always :)

[@muzikxpress]

Thanks a lot Kim!!

[@owenkitto27]

Think he means the an1x

[@Deepakufo]

Wow ..great track,I think "my lexicon"was on a Trance Compilation CD called "Trance Trip 1/2" back in 1999-2000😁👌💕💞🆒🆒🆒 Thank you Muzikxpress & Sander kleinenberg sir🙌😊💞🆒🆒🆒love it🙌🙌🙌

[@muzikxpress]

Glad you enjoyed teh interview, thank you!!

[@Deepakufo]

@@muzikxpress I love to watch muzikxpress interviews😁👍so thank you😊👏👏👏

[@emphatic001]

Excellent interview. My favourite track by him is Slipper Sleaze, also on Combined Forces.

[@muzikxpress]

Thanks a lot!!

[@000karl000cdv]

100% Trance and Progressive DJ

[@marcmcleanphoto]

Nice work Twan good to hear the story behind My Lexicon I bought it when it came out loved and played it all the time still have it lying around somewhere :)

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you Marc!

[@wannabeactuary01]

Another class interview, I think he was the first Dutch DJ I ever heard of.

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you so much! :)

[@MaksKrivesko]

Awesome interview! It's almost as long as the track itself ;)

[@muzikxpress]

Maks Krivesko Thank you Maks!!

[@ZachGWatterson]

Kind of a shame the track never charted in the UK, even though the CD was under 20 minutes.

[@low3freq]

Probably a rule that it couldn't have 4 tracks of the same exact piece, 3 were edits of the full length version on track the fourth track.

[@anttim3391]

I have huge doubts about the truthness behind Sander Kleinenberg as a producer. I’ll straight up think he has always used ghost producers and he was just the promotional vehicle aka DJ. Just some evidence: the name of the track comes from the Lexicon effect unit that was used on the track not some hokey story about his love of vocals. He certainly sold out after the prog hayday as well. Whoever made the Kleinenberg tracks back then is a genius. But yeah Sander is a decent DJ who just sells any music that is cool at the moment from some ghost producers.

[@muzikxpress]

Sorry but you're wrong. The studio where "My Lexicon" was made was at the Combined Forces office, but these days he has his own studio at home. In the beginning of the vlog you see a black-white picture of his studio, which is in his home, same place where this interview was recorded. Just because he changed his style doesn't mean he used / uses ghost producers. He clearly knows what he's talking about when I did ask him about the equipment etc. After the interview he showed me new tracks he was working on, there's no way he's using ghostproducers. Why would you have a studio at home if you're not using it? ;-)

[@anttim3391]

@@muzikxpress Mat Zo actually outed Kleinenberg as having used a ghost producer called Thomas Helsloot aka Tommy Rocks. Now, I am not saying Kleinenberg has no skills whatsoever, or that he did not have any say in what has been made. I was maybe overly harsh there and made it sound like the only way is to produce everything yourself. Not that many DJs who tour and gig extensively have the time to make music by themselves. Case in point, Tiesto. Some don't have the chops to do it. Many DJs have superb taste in music, but they can't make it. So they use the help of a few engineers and producers. But when it comes to Kleinenberg.. Come on.. All the crap about reinventing himself or getting bored of a sound. This guy just loves to play pop music and make money. He basically admits that the stuff they made back then (My Lexicon era) was made because it was THE sound then. After he made money and got name he just following what was popular. Hence, he's a generic EDM guy now. It was so cringeworthy to hear him say that he could have made like 400 My Lexicons. Just look at people like Sasha who have integrity. They made it, but never sold out. Also.. how many people have studio at home and they never use it? Yeah, plenty.

[@muzikxpress]

@@anttim3391 Thomas Helsloot indeed did (and still does!) work with Sander on several of his tracks such as "Wicked Things", "Make It Rain", "We Rock It", "Comedown" etc. In April of this year they released a new Black Neon track ("Symphony"). On all those releases Thomas gets credited, which would not happen if he would be the ghostproducer. I'm pretty sure Mat Zo knows the difference between someone who's a someone's ghostproducer or some people that just work together and get credited for their work. You can find all of this online btw, if Sander really was ghostproduced he wouldn't name his ghostproducer in the credits, don't you think so? ;-)

[@anttim3391]

@@muzikxpress When a DJ works with a "co"-producer who only gets a credit in the small print it almost always means that he's the actual producer. He's the person who made the track. The guy who got the name on the cover is the one who either ordered the track or sat next to the actual producer and told him if something sounded nice or not. This is true with Sasha as well (at least in the past when he worked with Spooky (Forbes/May). There are so many hints in this interview that tell you the truth about Kleinenberg as a "producer". The guy has no signature sound and changes style magically in a short period of time and couple of times (nearly impossible by yourself as your own touch is evident anywhere and you just can't erase it if you're making music that you love). He also talks complete baloney when asked how long it took to finish the track. First it's two weeks (or something vague) then it's couple of years because it incorporates everything he's made so far.. Come on.. Also, the sound of Kleinenberg back then, during that VERY short period of time was so distinct, and then suddenly *poof* it's gone and you get this other sound and then another after that.. and Before the prog Kleinenberg there was this other style.. Believe me, it was never Kleinenberg by himself. Call them ghost producers or "co"-producers, but it was always some people helping him propel his DJ career. And this is completely fine.. Like I stated before.. Tiesto for example can't make music. It's always been someone else. But the guys that made the music.. They deserve the spotlight when it comes to discussing the actual PRODUCING of the track. Let's talk crowd control and music tastes with the DJ, but leave the producing to the actual artists.

[@muzikxpress]

@@anttim3391 I work in the music scene for almost 16 years and the first 2 sentences of your comment are absolutely not true. Yes, of course it happens sometimes, but it is definitely not always the case. The example you give with Sasha is true though, he didn't do anything regarding "Xpander", that was Charlie May indeed. Sasha was the DJ and he had several people doing his productions. Same with Tiësto, he's the DJ and other people made / make his music. This was not the case with Sander Kleinenberg; he always has been both a DJ and a producer. And Thomas Helsloot is not mentioned as co-producer as you wrote in your commment. He's in the credits as producer together with Sander. That's what happens when people collab and make tracks together. And why can't you change your sound as a producer? Look at Ferry Corsten for example, he made trance, ambient, drum 'n bass, hardcore, techno, EDM, house and whatever. Just because you change your style or do something different doesn't mean you have a ghost producer all of a sudden. For the interview I've been to Sander's house and studio, he showed new music he was working on and I have absolutely no reason at all to believe he is being ghostproduced. It doesn't take a lot of effort to find videos where Sander is working in his studio and there's even a complete course online (FaderPro) where Sander shows what he's doing in the studio, he tells more about his workflow and shows how a certain track is being produced. Plenty of proof he does produce himself instead of your "proof" he is being ghostproduced. Enjoy the rest of your day ;-)

[@OffTheShelfDJ]

Thanks for the video! My Lexicon was so good I bought the 4 Seasons E.P. Twice! I always thought of My Lexicon as “everything’s going to be OK” prog trance

[@muzikxpress]

Thank you too!

[@edgarkleijne9155]

Awsome interview!

[@muzikxpress]

Thanks Edgar!

[@rudibakker2102]

Heel tof dat je dit doet! Heb je ontdekt in de comments bij Giel’s podcast

[@muzikxpress]

Rudi Bakker Ah heel mooi haha! Dit weekend komt vlog 100 online, een extra lang interview met Robin Albers over “Jaydee - Plastic Dreams” 🙂

[@rudibakker2102]

muzikxpress tof man! Echte klassieker ‘Plastic Dreams’.

[@dazdavison1]

What a tune . Sander kleinwnberg the man , no disrespect were is he now days?

[@muzikxpress]

Check the interview and you find out what he's up to these days! He's still very active in the music industry!

[@dazdavison1]

Surely sashas got to do a mix