Hollt: "Everything I had dreamed of as a child was coming true"

Redaction
7 days ago
4 min read

Hollt (Jeffrey Frugte), a cum-laude conservatory graduate from the Netherlands, thrives on creation and iteration across various mediums—music production, building self-made controllers, coding plugins, and directing live sets. He blends melodic elements with energetic intensity, merging genres and telling stories through his work. Hollt's music, including underground hit "Halos" and BBC Radio One-supported "Fusion", has gained traction in both Berlin's melodic techno scene and the UK. His label, die Stube Records, allows him full creative control, producing works like Anomia and Philosophy of Time. Known for his live performances with the Holltesizer, his music is supported by top artists like ARTBAT, Mathame, and Joris Voorn, reaching wider audiences both online and offline. His journey is one of continuous creation and iteration.

Your new EP "Lunar Dust" with Atlas Echo on Radikon has a very cinematic and deep sound. How did this collaboration come about, and what was the vision behind the project?

I’ve always loved working with vocalists because it inspires me to translate a story and emotion. When I first connected with Quinten (Atlas Echo), I was immediately drawn to his warm sound and character.

We quickly started collaborating, and that led to our first studio sessions. Quinten has an incredible sense of vibe, and within 15 minutes, the first chords of our track "Alone" were already on tape.

I still remember how we wrote the track with my performance at Tomorrowland in mind. I shared my vision of how it would feel for me, and that’s how the track came to life.

You have collaborated multiple times with Jonas Saalbach, an artist with a strong musical identity. What fascinates you the most about working with him, and how do your styles influence each other?

Jonas was one of the first artists to believe in my sound. After he founded the Radikon label, we kept in touch, and I sent him several demos. This led to my first hit, "Halos".

This quickly resulted in a great collaboration with multiple releases on the label, label nights abroad, and some very fun nights together.

I get along really well with him, I admire his work ethic, and recently we’ve started working in the studio on an EP. We also perform a few times a year with a live back-to-back set, which I’m really looking forward to.

Beyond music production, you also develop your own instruments and software, like the "Holltesizer". How does this technical approach impact your live performances and creativity in the studio?

The "Holltesizer" means everything to me; it’s where my identity as an artist was born and the reason I’ve had the opportunity to perform in so many places.

The whole idea behind the "Holltesizer" came from a live performance I did at the conservatory that completely failed. I never wanted to experience that kind of failure again in my life. That’s how the idea of creating a device that has everything in it, without having to stress about whether everything works, came about.

It’s truly the core machine of my live set, and recently, it’s also been part of my studio setup. I’m quite the nerd when it comes to building my own plugins, and that’s how I’m able to apply the functionalities of the "Holltesizer" in the studio as well.

So, you could say it’s a big part of what I do!

Your label die Stube Records allows you full creative control. What is the philosophy behind the project, and how do you select the artists or tracks to release?

The idea actually started as a bit of a joke with a few friends. They were always pushing me to release new music, but it didn’t always get off the ground quickly, so we decided to start our own label. The cool thing was, it actually took off pretty well. What started as a joke quickly turned into something more serious, and along the way, we made a small visual transition.

From that point, my streaming numbers started to rise, and now my most-streamed tracks are those from my own label. At the moment, we don’t release a lot of other artists’ music, but it’s mostly been with artists I already know.

Soon, the label is going through a big transformation, and we’re planning to make some changes in the future.

You’ve played at major clubs and festivals, from Thuishaven to main stages at various events. Is there a particular moment or set that stands out as especially meaningful in your career so far?

Wow, there have been a lot of moments that really stood out. For me, there are actually two right now: my 10-hour set at Thuishaven for Melody Garden and my first time at Tomorrowland.

At Tomorrowland, I got a huge lump in my throat halfway through. Everything I had dreamed of, everything I wanted to achieve as a little kid who was standing on the Tomorrowland dancefloor exactly 10 years ago, was now happening, I was playing on the Crystal Garden stage.

Then there was my 10-hour set… It was intense because all my loved ones were there, and even one of my best friends flew in from Japan to surprise me. So much happened that night, too much to mention. I remember when I got home, I immediately rewatched the last 3 hours through the booth camera we had set up and I couldn’t stop smiling.

So much emotion, so many stories, everyone going wild in their own way, that’s what means so much to me, and that’s why I do what I do.