We caught up with the Dutch trio and mostly talked about "Sex," baby.
2016 was a tough year for sure, and not many songs managed to reach the escapism heights of Kris Kross Amsterdam’s “Sex.” The pop house track took the 90s-loving trio around the world and the world returned the favor. We for one traveled all the way to Amsterdam to chat with the party-making, sex-educating trio. Here's 10 fun facts we learned.
They Came From The Party World
It’s hard to stand out during a monstrous event such as Amsterdam Dance Event (or simply ADE), which occurs every October and gathers pretty much everyone working in the electronic music industry. Tons of parties are thrown, thousands of business cards are exchanged and gallons of alcohol are consumed.
How does one attract enough attention to his event? By going big and staying home at the same time, just like Kris Kross Amsterdam did. Their party night involved three locations (a warehouse, a boat and a club) and traveling from one to another was just as much fun as dancing to the mid-00s “club staples.” Boomboxes in the air and legs working the peddles, the crowd led by the trio of ever-enthusiastic promoters-turned-producers was blissfully roaming through the city center. In the final destination none other than Hardwell joined the party-makers behind the decks for an impromptu set.
There’s Three of Them
Kris Kross Amsterdam consists of three friends: two brothers, Jordy and Sander Huisman, and Yuki Kempees. While the trio has always wanted to make their own music and eventually signed a deal with the mighty Dutch dance label Spinnin’ Records in 2015, they made a smart move of organizing a little party prior to that. The idea was simple: play the songs everyone loves to get drunk to and see your audience grow each night. By the time the party celebrated its fifth anniversary in December 2016, the event was bigger than ever.
When we meet up in the PR company’s lounge, only 2/3 of the team is present: Jordy, the one with that luscious mane of blonde hair, stayed home to fight the cold before the upcoming shows.
They Saw The Right Moment To Step In
“The music we make and the music we play is relatively new for Amsterdam. Five years ago it was all about house and techno at Amsterdam Dance Event,” Yuki Kempees recalls. “And then suddenly this whole shift happened: pop got acceptable. That’s when we rolled in as DJs and eventually as producers.”