Leadsmen

Leadsmen are a Dutch electronic duo who create dark, pulsating soundscapes layered with bubbling synths and pounding percussion. The pair of multi-instrumentalist producers Adrian Vrijhoef and Daniel Sillem, based separately in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, are an unlikely pair who met in a hip-hop forum.

In early 2009, Adrian was working on his rap album under the name YaDamnSkippy!. As an escape from sample-based production he started experimenting with raw electro beats and lush ambient soundscapes, piecing together ideas to create a non-stop electronic mix. The unofficial work eventually made it into the hands of Beats Broke label head, Ryan Goeller, who signed Adrian on the spot for both his hip-hop and promising electronic projects.

As Adrian was finishing YaDamnSkippy!’s debut album, Vital Function, he scoured for outside producers to collaborate on remaining tracks. Enter Daniel Sillem, a young up-and-coming sound designer and award-winning turntablist, by the name Mea Dee, who connected with Adrian online to finish the project. The newfound pair switched focus and began slowly developing Adrian’s electronic demos, evolving the sound into a genre-twisted amalgam. A name was selected, and Leadsmen emerged.

2011 marks their official debut with the first of two EPs, Words Unspoken, leading into their 2012 full-length. The initial release contains one album single, two b-sides, and three title track remixes by Robot Koch (DE), Octopus Project (US), and Beats Broke label-mate Arts The Beatdoctor (NL). The entire project is mastered by Shawn Hatfield at Audible Oddities (Amon Tobin, Eskmo).

When Leadsmen aren’t crafting brooding beats, they’re creating compositions and sound design for their newly formed agency KLOAQ. The pair have finalized projects for TED, Mad Men, and have scored a number of films selected to film festivals in Venice, Dublin, and Rotterdam.