Paul Bäumer and Maarten Hoogstraten founded Bingo Players back in 2006 and almost immediately after, the DJ duo began carving out a name for themselves in the EDM world with some fairly big remixes. After gaining popularity both in Europe and overseas in North America, the two producers started to put out their own original tracks. In 2011, they released one of their biggest songs to date, “Cry (Just a Little).”
From there, it was hit after hit for the Dutch artists, as they gave us influential and hugely popular songs like “Rattle,” “Out of My Mind,” “Don’t Blame The Party (Mode)” and more. In 2013, tragedy struck when Paul was diagnosed with cancer. Several months later, he tragically passed away and Maarten took some time off to decide what he would do in regards to the continuing the group.
After a much needed break, Maarten broke the silence and let his fans know that he would continue making music under the Bingo Players name and finish what he and Paul started. His first track since his partner’s death, “Knock You Out,” proved to be a massive success, and 2015 shows a lot of promise as well, as Maarten told me that he has tons of new music coming for us in the new year.
Last week during the Bud Light Sensation concert in Toronto, I had the chance to sit down with Maarten for an exclusive interview. We spoke about everything from how hard it’s been to continue on since Paul’s death to what his record label, Hysteria, looks for when signing new artists.
Check out the interview below, and enjoy!
Welcome to Sensation, I can’t wait to see you perform tonight.
Bingo Players: Thank you!
This isn’t your first time playing a Sensation show. Can you tell us what you like about playing this particular event?
Bingo Players: The whole vibe and production is really special. I used to watch the live stream of Sensation when I was younger, so for me it’s really special to play this event. It was always one of my goals. There’s a feeling of unity to Sensation as well, because everyone is dressed the same way.
What do you have planned for us in your set tonight? Anything new?
Bingo Players: Â Yes, I’m always trying out new stuff in my live sets. We’ll see how it goes tonight.
Will the new music be stuff that you’ve been working on solo? Or stuff that you and Paul had been working on?
Bingo Players: Both. I have a few songs that I did with Paul and I have some new tracks that I’ve made myself in the past few months.
You’ve said in the past that no two Bingo Players shows are the same. What do you do in each show to ensure this?
Bingo Players: I’m always trying to read the crowd and adapt while I’m playing. I have some key tracks obviously, but in between I try to mix it up and see what works and what doesn’t. I think that keeps it fresh. I’m also always doing special edits for each show. So every set is different. 30% is probably pre-determined, but the rest I decide as I go.
What do you have coming up in terms of new music?
Bingo Players: It’s been a bit quiet lately because I’ve been working on a lot of new stuff. For 2015 though, I’m hoping to release a new song at least once every two months. Last year was really quiet, so next year there’s definitely going to be a lot more.
