This new EP on Happy Camper Records comes from label owner Duncan Meulema aka unders, who is having nothing short of an amazing year, spreading his sounds and vibrations to all corners of the world. A lot has happened since Syria skyrocketed in 2016. The record has been fueled with love and creativity from some of his Happy Camper family members including piano wizard Ravelli, label partners Britta Arnold and Noraj Cue and serenaded by the wildest man to touch a violin, Mr. Seth Schwarz. You can listen to the full premiere of ‘Collecting Stories’ exclusively on When We Dip. We also had the chance to talk with unders about his label, producing process and more. Full interview below.

WWD : You have a label called “Happy Camper Records” With who do you have this label? Why did you chose that name? 

I have started this label last January with Jaron van de Weg (Noraj Cue) and Britta Arnold. We know and meet so many fantastic artist who create so much cool music that we really wanted to launch a label where we could release what we like. Also to do this on our terms and conditions without concessions needed to be made. We release what we love and that feels awesome. We choose happy campers because we are happy campers 😉 We do love camping and most of the time we are super happy haha it’s a feeling and lifestyle.

WWD : How does your producing/ selecting process work? 

We receive a lot of cool demo’s from artists. Also of course we ask friends and we are producing a lot ourselves as well. We all have a fantastic studio where we try to come together as often as possible.That could be in NL, but also in Berlin where Britta’s studio is based. For the selecting part there is one rule: we all need to like it.

WWD : Do you like to be at home or a studio? Where is your creative space?

My studio is in my house, it’s in my basement. I built it and have upgraded when and where I could. It’s getting super cool. The more I travel these day’s the more I appreciate my house and being at home. The feeling I have at home is special. There I feel the most productive and creative. 

WWD : The 4rd release is coming out soon, this one will be yours, can you tell us a bit about the tracks

OntThe title track ‘Collecting Stories,’ you can hear the nomadic influences that I love so much, but they are now laced with a hazy clubsound that is definitely echoing the many hours I spent in the darker corners of KaterBlau. The record has been fueled with love and creativity from my Happy Camper family members including piano wizard Ravelli, label partners Britta Arnold and Noraj Cue and serenaded by the wildest man to touch a violin, Mr. Seth Schwarz. Where ‘Love Pocket’ – produced with old time friend and Dutch stalwart Ravelli-reminds us of our own power hours on dusky dance floors. Both versions of ‘Brand Message’ are set to stir up crowds with some powerful words about man’s folly. Collecting Stories is a great collection of tracks, made by a great group of kindred spirits as I may say so myself.

WWD : How would you describe your life? Traveling, playing, living in Amsterdam etc… Do you wish any of it to change and what are your dreams?

I’m super excited and super happy how things are going. I’m feeling thankful for all the trust and opportunities I get and I feel really lucky that I can do what I do. I do miss it a bit to be home as I’m traveling a lot but when i’m at crazy special places I also feel the luckiest guy in the world. I still have a lot of dreams producing wise and of course party’s and venues where I would love to play. I always dream big and I feel that my dream is not over yet. Super cool shows, Happy Camper Records and our tourplanning. And I would love to give my mother a private jet experience 😉

WWD : How do you prepare your sets? What sound makes you say “this is the track I’ll play!”

I always prepare a lot in advance but it happens so often that i’m playing totally different tracks then plannend. It depends how the night feels’ and what is going trough my feelings. But I’m always looking for new tracks, for friends, artist I admire and searching for new talents. So that of course I always have with me.

WWD : Beside your label Happy Camper Records, do you also organize events. Tell us more

Yeah we planned a few showcases. Our first one was in Amsterdam last July, super sold out and mega cool. It was more then we where hoping for. So many friends came and it was really an awesome day. Upcoming August 10th our second showcase will be in Bodrum, at Xuma Village where we are looking so much forward to. We have invited Be Svendsen and Svend Dohse for this one. Also super excited that we can do this at Xuma Village, we truly love this place! There some more coming up but more about that later. We will not do too many as it is not our main focus but we like to bring everybody together and spread the Happy Camper feeling all over the world.

Release date : August 10th, 2018. Buy Here

Follow: Unders // Noraj Cue // Britta Arnold // Seth Schwarz // Happy Camper Records