The legends Chocolate Puma made their way to Portland this month, and we were lucky enough to have the chance to sit down and talk with them. Being able to hear from some of the greats about their journey was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. We got to talk about what they have in store for collaborations, what they think of EDM now, and their favorite episodes of Breaking Bad.
Gaston Steenkist and René ter Horst, who make up Chocolate Puma, have been in the industry for 25 years, and are still going strong, playing at festivals, collaborating and producing new music. At Tomorrowland 2015 Chocolate Puma dressed up as Walt and Jesse from Breaking Bad. Being huge fans of the show ourselves, we had to know what their favorite episodes were, and “Fly” and “Say My Name” were on the top of their list.
If you have been following Gaston Steenkist and René ter Horst on their musical journey, you may have noticed a number of different names associated with their brand. At the beginning things were split between producers and DJs (they were doing both), but as the years went on the roles began to fall under the same umbrella. This caused the group to revisit their brand. Wanting to make things easier for fans wanting to know their name, picture and music, in 2001 they decided to focus on one name: Chocolate Puma.
Many things have changed since the early 90s. How people choose to move to the music and how professional the industry is now, are just a few things Chocolate Puma mentioned. Nowadays you have promoters, people that put together festivals, and managers. As the industry grew and years went by, these roles were more established.
“When it all started it was more of an art. It was new. Small group of people who like house music, the rest of the world were going, this is not music this is buttons pressing. It was much more small.”
Chocolate Puma has put out a number of collaborations. The newest was started in 2006 but just recently finished and released. Rising Up is a great track by Bart B More and Chocolate Puma, and we had to know the course of the track over the past 11 years.
In 2006 Gaston Steenkist was given some demos that he had some ideas about, but was never able to finish. He recently went through some old hard drives and thought the demos were still relevant. He decided to contact Bart B More and see if he wanted to finish it together. They went to the studio, “and we updated it a little bit, but it still has those same vibes and feel from the original.” Make sure to check it out.
It was a privilege to be able to talk and hear about EDM from a duo that has been in the industry, making new tracks, selling out venues and showing no sign of stopping. We are excited to see what Chocolate Puma comes out with next!
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