Words by Jim Ottewill

“Our approach to making music constantly changes as we like that sense of being free and all over the place,” Weval’s Harm Coolen says. “It means we can make the writing process wild for ourselves rather than sticking to a formula.” 

Wild is how Dutch duo Weval have played it, ever since Harm and his bandmate Merijn Scholte Albers first bonded when working in the film industry and began experimenting with sound. 

Their fearless artistic approach has paid off. Over the course of numerous releases including an eponymous debut LP and follow up, The Weight, both for the Kompakt record label, the pair have built themselves an enviable reputation as experimental artists and an exhilarating live act. At the heart of their electronica is a tension between contrasting styles, influences and warm-blooded sounds alongside chunky synths. Weval’s latest EP Time Goes On, released via Ninja Tune offshoot Technicolour, offers a four-track mix of emotion and euphoria and marks the latest zenith in a 10-year sonic journey. 

“If you constantly have a different approach, instead of using the same sets of tools, then you can’t help but make different sounds,” explains Harm of their musical methods. “When we started, our bandmates would be blown away by our bass sound - why is it so thick? They studied at music school and could never understand our naivety. They would always ask: ‘What the fuck are you guys doing?’” 

First meeting in 2010, Harm and Merijn formed their musical alliance a few years later. Harm brought Merijn on board to assist with a video for some friends in a band and their collaboration ended up spilling into the music. “It was pretty exciting but a huge challenge,” recollects Harm. “We spent a lot of time studying online tutorials with the bare minimum of gear. But we were really interested in sampling and distortion and how you could create something amazing with this simple combination.”  

Despite the lo-fi setup, the initial flickers seemed promising to the pair. Many of their early ideas have been revisited and fleshed out for material they ended up releasing to the wider world. “Every time we started with something, we always surprised ourselves and felt like an idea was there,” says Hamut. “It was fun to think about how this was worth pursuing,” agrees Merijn. “The only people who initially heard it were a couple of friends and the neighbours as the walls were very thin. Some of our friends just couldn’t understand what we were doing.”

In those early days, the pair had seemingly disparate influences, Merijn with a taste for dubstep and harsher sounds while Harm preferred more melodic bands and artists. “It was a shared love for Beach House that made a huge difference,” says Harm. “I never expected he would like their music as it’s calmer and more vibey. But he did, and it made me think we could make this work. We later found out about krautrock and smoother jazz electronic styles - it opened a whole world of inspiration.” 

Amsterdam where they call home is known for a rich music scene but it’s not an environment that has exerted too much influence over Weval’s music. Instead, they’ve preferred to keep themselves slightly removed, focusing on creating their own sonic world. “There’s a big, multi-layered scene here but we were on our own island for many years,” says Hamut. “Sometimes we get this question - how is the scene here? I’m also curious,” laughs Merijn. “But we have met more and more people through music.” 

Many of their friends hail from music schools, meaning these musicians are trained and educated in the creative process. The pair believe their lack of formal training is a strength and has been a defining influence and inspiration. “It’s an interesting combination as they are so skilled - and we are only going with our intuition,” says Harm. “We never really had any expectations around where we might end up with Weval. At the same time, it’s super cool that the people around us really know their scales and how to use their instruments.” 

Harm and Merijn have drawn on the music of their shared past to inform their most recent releases, ‘Time Goes’ and November 2021’s Change for the Better. “Both EPs are connected as they take inspiration from the music we listened to when we were teenagers,” says Merijn. “For example, I used to love trip-hop bands and have always been curious to learn how they could get specific drum sounds.” 

Underworld’s Born Slippy is a classic rave anthem for the mid-nineties - and captures what seems like a more innocent time. But Weval has always been fascinated by a different section than the ‘Lager, Lager, Lager’ refrain it’s notorious for. They used the opening as the springboard for their new EP’s Minute by Minute. “We’d hear the chords from the start of Born Slippy and always ask why isn’t the whole song like this?” Merijn says. “We were wondering whether we could do a cover without any chords or drums. We already had the lyrics for ‘Minute by Minute’ - but we couldn’t figure out what the song should be like.” 

The song is one of the release’s finest moments, a well-timed ebb and flow of anticipation, nostalgia and unwavering elation. Its spine is a bassline of synths, seemingly with a direct line to the centre of the dancefloor. Harm adds: “We wanted intensity and this chill feeling and we ended up with this combination. I love how the song has turned out.”

Merijn and Harm’s music-making process is one in a constant state of flux, flitting between the tour bus and Ableton jams to full studio sessions with the wealth of equipment they’ve collected. This is partly driven by their love of touring and a pragmatic approach to creativity. “Fire from the Changed for the Better EP was made on the road, then the title track came out of a jam on the piano and a drum kit,” says Merijn. “It’s a very different way of making a track but it’s also a very different track.”

The chords for Changed for the Better were sketched out in a previous attempt at what they describe as “a classic ballad style song”. But demonstrates how everything they’ve created has been archived with the potential to be recycled. Although Weval has their own well-stocked studio, they are not in thrall to their equipment, instead, picking up pieces and discarding them when they’ve been squeezed for all their creative juice. “Investing in gear can make a huge difference to your ideas and sounds. But sometimes it won’t change anything,” says Harm. “It can be magical when you have something great to use,” says Merijn. “But you can use an expensive microphone or an iPhone. After a while you forget which is recorded using what and you just listen to the idea.” 

As for so many musicians, deploying an objective often gives Weval more of a structure and sense of ambition in their music. Harm believes that this sense of purpose pushes him to start and finish tracks. “Putting in a deadline really helps me,” he says. “Perhaps you want to share this music with your friends next month. Or you’re working towards a tour. However you do it, I try and find a sense of playfulness and fun in taking these little steps.” 

Harm also cites his collaborator’s often ruthless way of editing as an important aspect of their relationship. “Merijn is so easy with throwing ideas out,” he says. “When we started, I thought all ideas were holy and I found it tricky to move through songs and sounds. With him sometimes I think ‘fuck off’, this is a great idea. But he’s right - it’s just an idea and you will have another tomorrow.” 

At the same time, Merijn is also a fan of pursuing an idea until it's completed, often pulling late nights to ensure he doesn’t miss out on a particular sensation or energy. “When you start something, that first feeling you have towards it can be a really sacred moment,” he states. “I like to continue with an idea until I don’t know what to do with it anymore.” 

Weval also has a reputation as brilliant live performers, taking their show to gigs and festivals including Gottwood and Primavera as well as a sold-out show at London’s Village Underground with their multi-limbed band. Unsurprisingly, this live side to their music has influenced what they make - and they are excited to be getting back out on the road for much of 2022. “The studio used to be this parallel universe to the stage and we’d treat them as two different worlds,” says Harm. “But now it’s a real consideration in the compositional process. It’s new to us and has been part of the vision of these two recent EPs.” 

“We are so excited to be back out on tour and have decided our live show is going to be very energetic,” Merijn continues. “Before, we loved the feeling of going to a gig and having these quiet, more introspective moments. Now it’s really full-on and all about making people dance.”