Tom Trago Continues His Voyage Direct for Domination
Little did Tom Trago know when he released his 2009 debut album, Voyage Direct, it would set the course for his ever-growing, independent music empire. One year later, the Dutch DJ/producer founded his seminal indie imprint of the same name, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary with the label’s impressive inaugural compilation, First Mission. For Trago, the release serves more than just a collection of the label’s best hits. It tells the story of Voyage Direct‘s yesteryears and modern memories with nods to its future sounds. Likewise, Voyage Direct is more than an imprint. It’s a figurative family affair composed of a close-knit network of producers that celebrates the independent and avant-garde electronic scene of the Netherlands. For Trago, the sound of Holland goes far beyond the main stage and fist bumps; it resonates strongly throughout the country’s underground movement. Essentially, Voyage Direct is Trago’s love letter to Amsterdam and the whole of Holland, and it sounds so good.
Alongside business partner Jorn van Elden, Trago recently expanded his Voyage Direct empire with the addition of Voyage Select, a boutique booking agency that aims to discover and develop young Dutch artists and further push some of the country’s most reputable acts. Through Voyage Direct, and now with Voyage Select, Trago remains the Netherlands’ most vocal and most talented native son.
With the release of his most recent single, “Only Believe,” catching fire, Trago closes his North American tour this weekend and chats about Voyage Direct and how he aims to forever perpetuate the legacy of independent Dutch electronic music.
Explain to me the ethos of Voyage Direct and First Mission.
When I first started out, I wanted to create content with the first 20 releases I did. But after the 20th release, I picked a sound, had a direction. It was a more clear image of what Voyage Direct is and how it sounds like. With this compilation, I tried to nail that down and make it more clear for the rest of the world to see what we’re actually doing. It’s 11 new tracks and 11 old tracks off our discography.
How does First Mission tell the story of Voyage Direct today? And what is that story?
On one side, there’s a lot of young talent in Amsterdam ready to pop off and ready to do their thing. But at the same time, it’s showing guys like Legowelt, Dexter, and more evolved artists still doing great stuff. If you listen, you can also hear that the old guys really inspired the young kids to do stuff; it all comes from the same source. With the compilation, I showed to the world that it all comes from Amsterdam and Den Haag, some come from Rotterdam, but it’s all Dutch.
You recently made the transition into the music industry biz with your new booking agency, Voyage Select. What exactly is Voyage Select, and what do you envision for the company?
Voyage Select is a booking agency for DJs. I just saw a lot of kids from Amsterdam; they were all based with different agents. They were competing with each other, not for the benefit of the artists. Beyond that, I saw it happening and I [wanted to] get all these guys together to form a team, form a front line so we stand strong against certain promoters who just want to get the cheapest. We’re all on the same side. We stand stronger against promoters and festivals. I also wanted to share my experiences with a lot of new cats still working on their careers. It was a great step for all of us to get together on this one.
You split your time between being an artist and a businessman. In what ways does the industry/business aspect of your life stunt your creative process, if any?
I don’t think it affects me. I can be creative in the studio. But most of the time I’m more business-minded and I’m just working on ideas. When I’m at home and in the studio [and] my phone goes off, I’ll probably switch to a different mode than when I start making my music. I find it very nice to just leave my phone before I go into the studio.
“Why is Dutch music always connected with this major EDM stuff, while at the same time there’s so much interesting stuff happening in the underground?”
You have a unique perspective of the music industry as a hybrid businessman and artist. Do you look at music differently through this lens? Does this change your approach to music? For example, do you ever listen to music for its marketability instead of its artistic value because of your position?
No, I just have to like the tune; that’s where it starts. And from there on, I help people build their careers. If I like the tune, I see perspective; I see growth. If there’s a certain sound or certain vision, it gives me things to work with and things to share my experiences with. It’s a different approach, but I think you benefit from each other.
Voyage Direct just celebrated its fifth birthday. Congratulations. In 15, 20, 50 years, what will be the legacy of the label?
I think we’ll be able to really map down what’s happening in Holland in an electronic music level. We will always be focused on Dutch electronic music, especially the avant-garde, contemporary stuff. I think in 15, 20 years from now, you’ll be able to see a whole history of development. You’ll have a historical view of what happened in that time. That’s one of the main [reasons] I do Voyage Direct for, because I want to give a view, over the years, about the development of electronic music in Holland and represent it via the label.
We will also be, in five or 10 years, more into fashion or prints or art. It doesn’t only necessarily have to be music in the future. Music is the first thing. That’s also why I called this the First Mission, but there’s a lot more missions coming up to show what art is from Holland at the moment.
It’s obvious you’re very proud of the musical products coming out of Amsterdam and the Netherlands overall. Voyage Direct and Voyage Select make it a heavy goal to push the sound of your city and country. Though it is evident you have a deeper affinity to the independent scene of Amsterdam and the Netherlands than you do for EDM and mainstream artists like Afrojack and Martin Garrix. Can you elaborate?
That was one of the main things. Everywhere I would go, I would see a different side of music represented than I was experiencing in Holland. And after a certain point, it annoyed me. Why is Dutch music always connected with this major EDM stuff, while at the same time there’s so much interesting stuff happening in the underground? I thought that the English underground, UK underground, was represented way better. Also, the French underground and the Berlin underground were represented way better than the Dutch underground. It seemed like the Dutch mainstream had taken all the shine. I just felt somebody had to step up the game and say, “OK, that stuff is happening, but you can also look at this because next to all the big EDM stuff, there’s a really interesting avant-garde scene in Holland.” I felt that nobody was really paying enough attention to it.
What’s next for you in 2015 and beyond?
The next step will be for the whole crew to do a US tour with the Voyage Direct family; we’re planning that soon. And [also continue with] releases every month. We’re going to increase the release tempo a bit, so there will be more new talent having a chance to shine and to let the world know what they do. After the summer, we will do albums from different artists from Holland. It’s gonna give people a better insight into the minds of these artists. Working on albums is a longer process, but it’s shining more insight on what the artist wants to tell. The first album is from Maxi Mill; he’s been releasing music on the label since day one and he’s now ready to drop his first album. I’m happy for him to do that.
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