Skip to main content

WAX LYRICAL: BINGO PLAYERS

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Making musical memories and sneaking into raves with Maarten Hoogstraten of the Bingo Players</span></p><div><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span></div>

It isn’t often that a couple of teenage buddies maintain a friendship past young adulthood, let alone a prolific career partnership. However, Maarten Hoogstraten and Paul Baümer were never typical kids. Already an avid collector of vinyl and CDs by the age of 10, Maarten’s future as a producer-DJ was solidified by pubescence, and the day he met Paul, through his younger brother, two hours outside Amsterdam in Enschede, Holland. The two boys were both hooked on sound creation and even used the same ProTracker software to make electronic music. Over the next 15 years Maarten and Paul flourished in the EDM community as the Bingo Players and together they released music on various labels, including their own Hysteria Records. To this day, these tracks are leaving a mark on the sometimes-vapid world of modern electro.

In 2013, after a rigorous battle with cancer, Paul sadly passed away. An outpouring of sympathies flooded in from members of the dance music community, while a shocked Maarten was left at a loss for what do without his comrade. It was Paul’s final wish for his best friend to continue on the musical journey, which they began together so many years ago, keeping the Bingo Players legacy alive. “He always said to me,” Maarten recalls, “‘If you can find solace and continue what we started, please do so. Please continue the music. Carry on the Bingo Players flag.’”

Maarten Hoogstraten is doing exactly that, playing festivals and dropping tunes proudly under the moniker, so that the world will never miss a beat of what the Bingo Players is playing.

First ever rave experience?
That would be a small club close to where in live in The Netherlands. I was 14 and sneaked in. I loved the vibe and looked up to the DJs playing there. It definitely sparked my interest to become a DJ in the future.”

Most crucial dance record of all time?
The Prodigy's ‘Everybody In The Place (The Fairground Remix).’ This was the first song that got us into the electronic music! It blew my mind first hearing this back in 1992. The sounds were so unique and ahead of it’s time.”

 

Three tunes that never leave your bag?
“Actually, I never keep playing the same songs for a long period, except for our own tracks. I think it’s important to keep the set fresh. Classic tunes always come back in a form of a bootleg or mash-up it seems.”

What's your lights-up, end-of-the-night tune?

“Right now that would be Bastille's ‘Pompeii (Audien Remix).’ Since Miami, everyone it seems has played this record out more and more. It’s a perfect anthemic sing along track.”

If you could meet anyone – past or present – who would it be?
“I would love to meet Daft Punk one time. They have been a huge inspiration and it would be awesome to talk about their process of producing.”

Imagine the world is going to end tomorrow. What are you gonna do tonight?
“Stay at home with my family and loves ones and trying to enjoy the last hours on this planet.”

Please give us three words to describe your life.
“Music, family, friends.”