Waga Collective. Private image It started with a wager between friends but has since developed into the Waga Collective music group. Their second album, ‘Lessen van de Maanvis’ (Lessons of the Angelfish), launched today.
Resource interviewed three of the collective’s members: Steven Aerts, Douwe Klein Swormink and Mees Kleefmann (the producer), also known by their performers’ aliases Lil Big Steve, Lil Sworm and Kleefmeister M. The men are so well attuned that they continuously finish each other’s sentences.
Who or what is Waga Collective?
‘We are a group of study mates who met through Soil, Water, Atmosphere. We founded Waga Collective about three years ago after our first song sprung from a wager. We made ourselves a rap, which can probably still be found somewhere on the internet. Listening to that first song again shows a clear improvement in quality over time.’
Where did the name Waga Collective originate?
‘At the time, we had a list of rather random names, and at some point, we took a vote. Waga Collective was the most popular. “Collective” describes us aptly. The fixed group behind Waga Collective is made up of three or four individuals, but the collective is made up of ten to as many as fifteen music lovers who get together in various combinations to make new music. Waga obviously refers to Wageningen.’
Producer Kleefmeister M is a member of the collective but is also named separately. Why is that?
‘I produce the tracks. That is very time-consuming; I sometimes take as long as ten hours per track to edit everything. Since I may want to pursue a career in music, I thought it smart to use my own stage name. That way, I have a portfolio.’
What inspires you?
‘The world of Wageningen. Our music is rather student-like. At the start, we made music related to our study programme (Soil, Water and Atmosphere, ed.), like the Soil Drilling Rap and I Feel Sexy in My Waders. These days, we are inspired by what we see around us, the Nederrijn or the lack of a train station in Wageningen.’
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Can you describe your writing process?
‘Our ideas mostly emerge spontaneously. Someone will suggest a topic that they would like to write a song about. If the others agree, we find a previously made beat. Usually, one or two musicians take the lead for a new track. They write a draft which others then complete and fine-tune.’
‘We took a writer’s retreat twice, booking a cabin on the Veluwe and spending a few days writing lyrics and listening to beats. Everyone listens and contributes. Sometimes, we listen to a beat and write a new song in five minutes. Most of the tracks on our new album originated during a writer’s retreat. We wrote about eight songs in two days.’
How did ‘Lessen van de Maanvis’ originate?
‘The Maanvis is Young Kloesoe’s, Klaas Molendijk, masterpiece. When he came up with the idea, we had actually decided we wanted to focus more on pop music songs for a wider audience. But he already had half a page of lyrics about a friendship with an angelfish in the ocean. That more or less thwarted the attempt at making our music more accessible to a broader audience, but it is very funny.’
Do you make any money?
‘Zero point zero, zero three euros per stream, which translates into three euros per one-thousand streams. But we have fun. We are in this because we enjoy what we do. We have performed live three times now. Two weeks ago, at the Pyrus lustrum party, for example. Pyrus is the study association of the programme where it all began. We had a live pianist and guitarist, which was really cool. We invested a lot of time and effort, but it also provided us with new energy. And Lil Big Steve was even recognised last weekend!’
Of what are you most proud?
Kleefmeister M: ‘The fact that we make so many different types of music. Our new album, for example, has rock, reggae, bossa nova. We try a lot of new things. Sometimes, it may be a niche and weird, but it is always diverse, just like the collective.’
Lil Sworm: ‘OF Kleefmeister M. Mees: The proverbial glue that holds our group together. He is the producer that inspires the rest.’
Lil Big Steve: ‘I am proud of our new song Train Station because the lyrics are in English, we can reach a broader audience. Moreover, I really enjoyed the process, including the making of a video clip.’
What are your dreams?
‘A performance on 5 May would be awesome, of course! Until then, we dream of lots of streams of our new album.’
