ADE 2020 hosts panel talk with Timbaland, David Guetta and Martin Garrix

October means one thing in the realm of electronic music: Amsterdam Dance Event. Although the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to get together in real life, the organizers decided to kick off the long-awaited conference and festival online. There is always a lot to talk about the industry, so it was the perfect idea to invite three of the most prominent producers, Timbaland, Martin Garrix, and David Guetta, for the ADE 2020 panel talk ‘The Evolution of Our Sounds‘ moderated by none other than BBC Radio1 DJ, Danny Howard.

David Guetta and Timbaland listed their influences as Kraftwerk, the German group, which had a huge impact on hip-hop. Starting his career as a hip-hop DJ, David Guetta recalls his memories digging information in record shops and combining the two styles, electronic dance music and hip-hop, in which Timbaland was a pioneer already.  Even though simplicity covers a lot underneath, they agreed not to overthink while working on a new song. The differences between music production in the past and the present became obvious when Timbaland mentioned beginning with tape machines, moving on to computers. The shift from analog to digital, what he called “the evolution of music,” made creators challenge themselves. Timbaland emphasized the role computers play in today’s music production, and Martin made a quick tour to his home studio, showing us his setup, telling about using FL Studio and ProTools. Garrix and David Guetta were amazed by Timbaland’s beatboxing skills incorporated into his music, making it feel like it’s human, which inspired Martin’s forthcoming, extraterrestrial album with his side project AREA21. 

Being stuck at home isn’t as bad as it seems for producers, as David Guetta noted, because he can spend more time in the studio to create music for fun without stressing about the expectations after making a hit song. One of the essential advice they gave to the new generation was to simply enjoy making music, even if you don’t come up with a hit song right away, and being unique and spontaneous. Last but not least, Martin shared why he started his own imprint STMPD RCRDS, saying that:

“There are so many producers that inspire me […] that in my eyes don’t get the attention that I think they deserve.”

Helping them as a team grow and create is his label’s main goal and the idea behind Timbaland’s project, Beatclub. Coming from an era of working in the studio with the artists and not simply sending out packs, he wanted to “put value on the producers” by creating a hub for individuals artists to educate them on how to sell their beats, “so you can do all the business right there and create and network.” During these challenging times, launching this project next year is truly going to be an anchor for new talents. 

For the full conversation, check out the YouTube video below!

Image Credit: Louis van Baar