With March 31st just a little over a month away, Nils Rondhuis and Jim Taihuttu, AKA Nizzle and Jim Aasgier of Yellow Claw are hard at work in Los Angeles, California as they get ready for the release of their highly anticipated Sophomore album, Los Amsterdam.
“We’ve been in LA for the last 2 months and we’re so happy we can finally share it with everyone. We’ve worked on it (Los Amsterdam) for like a year, so at the end of the process, you really want to show it to people.”
“Good Day,” their collaboration with DJ Snake and Elliphant has hit over a million streams on Spotify alone and has received positive reviews in the short while it’s been out and they’re not done with DJ Snake as Nils hints at their future with the French superstar.
“If we had any worries, they would be gone already with the positive feed back we’ve gotten from “Good Day.” It’s overwhelming… working with Snake, it’s a bit of a tradition. We’ve been friends for a long time, WAY before any of us got the fame. It’s a true friendship. We work very well in the studio and we can be very honest. It’s not going to be the last collaboration. We’re already talking about new projects.”
Having bounced between Los Angeles and Amsterdam as they worked on this album, bonds were formed and Los Angeles naturally became a second home to the duo. Spending several sleepless nights hard at work, the name naturally came together.
“When we started this album, we booked a couple of studios for 2 months in LA and we made a lot of music and then we brought it back to Amsterdam to work on it some more. Between that and doing shows back home and in LA, we made friends. This last year and a half has been splitting between here and Amsterdam. It brings a lot of sleepless nights. It was born between Amsterdam and Los Angeles and we fell in love with the combination of those names.”
“It’s easy to feel at home here in LA. I(Nizzle) love it here. We can easily be in LA a couple months and feel like home.“
Taking a different approach to Los Amsterdam, they still delivered the hard-hitting, Amsterdam trap we know and love, but were able to branch out and experiment. Things felt like they flowed better, and rather than trying to force something to work, it came naturally.
“When we did Blood for Mercy, we were trying to combine Pop elements with the tougher sounds. For this album, we just made better pop songs and pushed the boundaries of what we can do, making stuff people can dance to in the clubs, while still making a good song people can hear on the radio.”
Although Los Amsterdam has some pretty big shoes to fill as it follows up one of the most highly anticipated albums in Dance music, the guys were able to have more fun with this and truly let their creative souls flow. They were able to put everything that they’ve done and wanted to do into this album.
“…We just think this album is better and bigger. We’re really happy with the balance of club songs, pop songs, and whatever songs. Everything we like to make and have been making these last few years is in there. We’re really happy with how it turned out. Compared to Blood For Mercy, we’re really going on a journey and telling a story between Amsterdam and Los Angeles.”
Excited to take us on this musical journey, it’s hard to believe that with such an intense touring schedule, Nizzle and Jim found the time to create Los Amsterdam.
“I would say it’s been a crazy year. We said that last year and the year before. Every time we think things aren’t going to get crazier, they get crazier. We bundled our shows around the place we’re going to live in. After this LA period, we’re going on an Asia tour. We rented a place in Bali. Socially, we just love to be home, but it was a tough year because we toured heavily. We toured for 15/16 months straight with no holiday. In the end we needed to change the way we live in order to do this properly and get the rest we need.”
March 31st can’t get here any faster and we still have so much more to expect from the guys. Having mentioned a 6 week tour in Asia and festival season just beginning, the guys also hinted at a highly sought after EP.
“ …We’re going to do a ton of festivals in North America in the summer, really playing quality festivals between here and Europe. We’re going to release a string of videos for the album and getting started on Amsterdam Trap Music Volume 3.”
As always, the love that the fans have for Jim and Nizzle is returned 10 fold. Yellow Claw Soldiers always come out in full force and rest assured that they take notice.
“We’re looking forward to sharing the album, and going to do a lot of Instagram Live stuff and schedule some Facebook Q/A. We really want to connect with people. Definitely let us know what you think of the album and new releases, keep sending us your pictures with our Merch! We love sharing those online.”
