Heijmat discusses main inspirations, upcoming ‘Echoes of Solace’ EP and more: Interview

Blessing fans alike with each of his endeavours, Heijmat is more than set on leaving his own mark within the dance scene, and we of course, are all for it. A genius musical mind to say the least, this latest interview is one that you do not want to miss out on.

Constantly on the rise, Heijmat (real name Huub Reijnders) is the true embodiment of an act that has dedicated his life into mastering his craft to the utmost of perfection. Opting for the most unique of musical approaches, this Dutch alternative-electronic solo artist has set his sights on nothing less than global dominance, and if each of his endeavours are anything to go by, it comes to no surprise that he is leaving a distinct mark within our community. Pushing the boundaries between ambient, techno and downtempo music, Heijmat’s distinct sound sets him aside from all the rest, whilst his attention to detail, further illustrates the genius mind behind this artist to watch. With this said, we could not be any happier to be joined by the man of the moment, as he discusses main inspirations and influences, the origin of his style of play, maintaining a versatile nature, the release of his upcoming ‘Echoes of Solace’ EP, collaborating with various acts, future plans and so much more.

Hello and thank you for joining us! Could you provide us with an insight on the main inspirations/influences that led to your chosen career pathway in music?

“I’ve been into electronic music since the 90’s; growing up in the hardcore/gabber scene we had in Holland, with jungle and Drum and bass emerging in the mid 90’s, I spent my weekends clubbing and my weekdays making techno. In my 20’s and 30’s I worked as a music producer and mixer of mainly indie-bands and pop music, so I listened to a lot of guitar stuff; but since the last 5-7 years I got back into electronic music, through Weval, Jon Hopkins and Rival Consoles. I like the cinematic stuff, and it’s really inspiring to me how they blend organic textures with synths and electronic beats. Also, their music is very emotional, which is something I look for in my own music.”

Pushing boundaries between ambient, techno and downtempo music, we would like to know the origin of your style of play and how it has evolved over time?

“Most of my songs start with me just jamming on the piano, until I find a chord structure or a theme that evokes some kind of emotion -usually something melancholic- with me. From the piano, it evolves to whatever style I end up with. With my latest EP, I chose a different path on a few occasions; I started ‘Don’t Run Away’ with a synth loop that I made earlier, that sparked my imagination and led me to write chords over it. Basically the other way around from my usual routine.”

Interchanging between multiple genres with each of your endeavours, could you talk us through the significance of maintaining a versatile nature and the impact it has had on your career thus far?

“I feel like I’m still in a place where I have unlimited creative freedom, since I haven’t released a full album yet. I feel like I can move between genres without being pinned down, and that’s an absolute joy. I love making a techno track as much as a cinematic ambient track and I feel that all those different genres are just different ways of expressing the same underlying emotion. Max Cooper and Jon Hopkins are huge inspirations in this respect.”

Captivating audiences with your live performances, we would like to know the preparation process for each show, and the key elements that have developed over time?

“For my live shows, I want people to be able to dance to the music, which means that I have to re-imagine some songs completely for them to work in the live setting. I think that’s a tremendous bonus of playing live, remixing your own work and finding new ways to express the same emotion through different genres. For my latest EP, I made a 122bpm version of ‘Horizon’ -which is 92 bpm originally. It took me quite a while and I had to add a few new things to the arrangement but now it’s really something I’m proud about, and I can’t wait to play it to people.”

Set to release your ‘Echoes of Solace’ EP, could you talk us through the main thought process behind each featured track, as well as the overall message that this body of work has set out to convey?

“2024 was quite a turbulent year on a personal level, mostly because I lost my father. So I guess the emotions that came with that found their way into the music. ‘Horizon’ for instance is very hopeful to me; it describes the process of going through heavy emotions and then having hope glaring when you work yourself through all that. Both ‘Resonance’ and ‘Severance’ were written a week after my father passed, and I think they both reflect different aspects of the troubled relationship we had – and that I’m okay now. ‘Don’t Run Away’ was me trying to work in a new musical direction, without losing my sound. I really like to push my own boundaries and reflect on what is ‘Heijmat.’ I’ve been a fan of Koen-Willem’s vocal, and I felt that his timbre would fit very well with what I feel is ‘Heijmat.’”

Collaborating with the likes of Koen-Willem Toering (Weval), Ludowic and Naber on ‘Echoes of Solace,’ we would like to know the overall feel of working alongside these acts, and how significant has their role been in the completion of the EP?

“For this EP, I wanted to find out if I can work with people from other genres and still keep the music close to my heart. I’ve known Ludowic for quite some time, and we’ve worked together in other capacities, but I feel his contributions are both very much Ludowic and Heijmat at the same time. I think we connect very well musically, almost effortlessly. Koen Willem and I talked quite a lot before we started working, because we’re in a similar phase of our lives, and when we started writing together, things fell into place immediately. Weval has been such in influence to me, it’s amazing to have their singer on my music. Naber and I met through a mutual friend and had a session that was fun, but what came out was neither Naber or Heijmat. But I felt we had a connection, so we did a second session and Severance was 80% finished at the end of that day. I love how you can connect so deeply and so quickly with someone you meet through your music.”

With 2025 now in full flow, could you talk us through what the future holds for Heijmat, always in terms of new music, upcoming collaborations and live performances?

“2025 started of really nice with the release of ‘Horizon’ and with the EP coming up, I’m releasing a remix soon, there’s a remix on the way that I did for dutch indie-artist Charlot, and there’s a really nice track in the works with Erik Buschmann from Klangstof! Also, lots of live shows and festivals are coming up so the future is looking bright!”

Remarkable in every sense of the word, we will most certainly be keeping a close eye on Heijmat and all his future endeavours within the dance scene, but for the time being, you can stay fully up to date by following him on Facebook, Instagram and SoundCloud!