16 Bit Lolitas: Finding cool titles is a sport

From chess grandmasters to religious choir producers, Ariaan Olieroock and Peter Kriek are the infamous 16 Bit Lolitas. Ahead of an upcoming Australia tour, the guys spared some time to discuss everything from sport to eskimo clothing.

It’s been a busy 12 months for Peter and Ariaan, building up a sizeable list of high quality releases in 2006, the beginning of last year also saw the release of the 16BL debut artist album, ‘Bodywarmer’. 2007 has opened with a gig in one of Brazil’s most famous clubs, Warung Beach, and in February and March the guys are visiting Australia to play Melbourne and Sydney. But for these two, it’s just the start. “We never really expect anything to be anything. Gigging is going better than ever and we’re making a lot of new dance tunes”.

Going back a few years the two recount the circumstances under which they met, when 4 years ago Peter and Ariaan found themselves at a crossroads in their lives. “We chose then and there to take the difficult path and try to make music into a career.” Using some clever fast food terminology, they explain how music was already a life long “supersized” hobby, it was this love for music which sparked the formation of the 16 Bit Lolitas. Moving onto possibly the most obvious question one can ask the Lolita’s, is there a story behind the name? “There are as many stories as there are H2O molecules in the sea!” But the, of course, truth is no stranger. “We just stumbled upon the name…” Still happy with the name to this day, it seems unlikely the two would ever part with it, admitting it’s a name that sticks in people’s memories.

With so much to chose from, many may find it hard to pick a single highlight of their career so far. “The highlight is the fact that we have a career”. Thanks to continued hard work, Ariaan and Peter are very appreciative of the support and respect they have received from everyone in the dance scene. Their success is not just from luck, as both began producing around the age of 10 in an era when the newest arrival on the computer market was the 4 Megahertz PC. With so much in common, their pasts are very similar; both have witnessed the evolution of software and hardware into what it is today and both have had a passion for underground dance music since the early 90s. “Albums like, for instance, the Spooky ‘Gargantuan’ CD were coming out,” they explain. “It showed us a really cool sound that inspired us to make dance music ourselves.”

Of the two, Peter seems to be the only one who had solo releases prior to the 16 Bit Lolitas, under the guise Snafu. Many of the releases were during a time when Peter admits he was still learning, “and I still am of course”. Peter leaks that in the future there is a possibility of new Snafu releases, a more ‘mature’ Snafu that is. With the difficulties of maintaining a solid production routine and tour schedule, it seems unavoidable to be successful on your own. “They are both full-time jobs, so you need two people!”

Their ‘Bodywarmer’ album featured two discs of productions from 16BL and Lost Orchestra. “The title is very personal, because it comes from an event in Peter’s personal life,” explains Ariaan. In general the Lost Orchestra side was to give people some tools to help them warm their hearts a little, describing the music as, “an honest account of experiencing life’s ups and downs”. Singer Jennifer Horne has provided her voice for several 16BL productions including ‘Passing Lights’ and ‘Ask Why’ Peter and Ariaan explain that they met her at the Outdoor Extrema Festival in 2005 and got along well, since then they have also worked on some more down tempo productions. “In general we just pick nice people that have talent if they present themselves.”

Peter and Ariaan have a couple of other aliases they release under, including the MK Ultra Project and the above mentioned Lost Orchestra. “We have a long history of just creating cool down tempo music in various styles,” they add. “Not with any clear commercial motivations but just cool music that comes from the heart.” As the most well known aliases by the boys, they have also worked with producers Demi, Behrouz, Jimmy Van M, and also aided in the production of a recent Jimmy Van M and Nick Warren collaboration. There are infinite possibilities for who 16BL’s will work with. “We’re always open for anything as long as it involves making inspired music!”

2006 heralded the release of the 16BL remix of Sander Kleinenberg’s classic, ‘My Lexicon’. Asked by the man himself in 2004 to remix it, the two initially produced a remix with Stef Vrolijk. The original version featured on several compilations, although unsatisfied with that mix Peter and Ariaan produced their own after they parted with Stef, and this was the version which was released. Another well received track from 16 Bit Lolitas popped up in 2006, Dave Dresden’s mash of ‘Sedna’ and ‘Deep Breath Love’. For those hoping to see a release of ‘Deep Breath Sedna’, Ariaan explains that together with Dave they made a final version. “If all the legal issues are sorted I am sure it will be released.”

Chuck Norris… Chuck Nology… Coincidence? “Finding cool titles is a sport in itself,” they reply. With quite a number of ‘odd’ titles, the boys admit that they “...try to find cool ones and write things down once we have cool ideas.” It’s a safe bet that in time their skill at this sport will become even finer tuned. Some may also have read about the Lolita’s past exploits, claiming to be both chess grandmasters and producers of choir music. I had to ask Peter and Ariaan if they have plans for any future ventures? “With the next ice-age around the corner we’re thinking about an eskimo clothing shop here in Amsterdam,” exclaims Ariaan. “We’re really excited about that idea!”

After reaching a certain point in their careers, many producers find the need to start their own record label. Asking the 16 Bit Lolitas about their thoughts on a label, Ariaan replies, “it would blur our focus a bit, we have no need for our own label at this time.” Which is evident as lots of new releases are queuing up on several different labels, the newest they have joined is CR2 Records. Admitting there is lots of unreleased material, it also happens to form the cornerstone of their DJ sets. “To have material only we have, and maybe a few others on this planet.” ‘The Break/Difficult’ will be out onCR2 Records, ‘Non Verbal Language/Back 2’ will be released on Hope Recordings, ‘Beauty Hides In The Deep’ is signed to Armada, and ‘Neptune’ will be seeing a release on Renaissance. Expect more 16 Bit remixes in 2007, and even more of their songs appearing on CD compilations, including ‘Goodbye Pluto 2’ on Hernan Cattaneo’s latest mix.

Returning to their upcoming visit, we begin to discuss how their DJ set works. Ariaan has a long DJ history in Holland, whilst Peter has only been DJing for 5 years. “We share mixing very naturally because we complement each other’s music selection very well, and we both pretty much agree on what sound in general we want to bring.” Another side to the 16 Bit Lolitas was a live show they used to perform. Ariaan explains, “[In] the first year of our ‘career’ we only did live shows.” Tired of the logistics of continuously setting up when they came into a club, they decided to stick to walking in with a CD wallet. “We choose to just be DJs for the moment, because that works nicely for us as well.”

The 16 Bit Lolitas play two Australian shows over the coming weekends, be sure to check them out if you’re nearby!

Feb 24 – Famous, Melbourne
Mar 3 – Musica, Sydney

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