Interviews

Another Taste return with a new album that pushes their craft further than ever, expanding from their roots into a richer, more ambitious world of songwriting, live musicianship and analog devotion. Speaking from their studio and the road, the band reflect on their evolution, the records that shaped them, the challenges of mixing straight to tape, and the joy of watching their sound reach new audiences. What follows is a conversation with a group fully committed to their process, their community, and the groove that started it all.

Thanks for taking the time to talk. How are you guys doing, are you all good?

Very well, thanks for having us!

We are talking to you as you are about to release your next album. How are you feeling about this upcoming launch?

It's very exciting and slightly frightening at the same time. For this album we went deeper into the craft of "the song” — denser arrangements and more clever songwriting to better fit the album format and appeal to a wider audience than the format we started out with: the 12” disco single.

Can you walk us through the band? Who are all the parts and what do you all do?

On stage: Sarina Voorn - lead vocals Bobby van Putten – keys, lead & backing vocals Jordy Kalfsvel – keys, backing vocals Teun van Zoggel – drums, backing vocals Diogo Carvalho – percussion Bob Roche – bass Florian Verhagen – guitar Bryan Manuel – front-of-house sound tech

In the studio: Bob Roche, Teun van Zoggel and Bobby van Putten are the founding members of the band and spend most of the time writing and producing, as well as taking care of management duties.

I'd love to go back to the beginning. Was there a track around at the time when you began making music together that marks your production beginnings as Another Taste?

The very first track we recorded live to tape at Danilo Plessow's studio, after some years of tinkering around, was GALXTC – Life Is a Mirror. After laying it all down, that was the moment it dawned on us that we had to stick to this format of recording. The sound was massive and undeniable, whereas before it was always kind of underwhelming — we could never really catch the energy like that before. Shortly after this, we went back to record with Danilo and wrote our debut single Mad Honey – Upward Bound from start to finish, including mixdown, in a single day. This really became the start of Space Grapes Records and our sound.

Who are the artists that inspired the music that you guys make, from the past or present?

We are music lovers and record nerds first and foremost, heavily inspired by all kinds of music from the 60s to the 80s — Black disco from the late 70s in particular. Leroy Burgess, Patrick Adams, Greg Henderson, Roy Ayers, independent labels like Willkerr, Rota, West End, and many more.

When you first started out, did you have a vision of what sort of music you wanted to make?

We started with a drum kit, bass guitar, a Rhodes, synth and a sampler. The intent was to make house music with a sampler and live instrumentation — for which we still have an unreleased single laying around, actually!

Does that musical vision remain the same today or is it changing?

We have definitely made significant growth in a lot of aspects — recording techniques, songwriting, marketing, etc. We have an amazing booking agent, Bruno, who helps out with a lot of the big-picture decisions, but we still take care of all other management duties between the three of us. It isn't always fun, but it has helped us grow tremendously over the last few years.

What was the first track you guys put out?

Mad Honey – Upward Bound / Treasure Every Sunset.

Which of the records you produced do you think made the biggest mark?

Our first LP (simply called Another Taste), as this was the first time we stepped out of purely doing 12” vinyl singles and invited a new group of listeners in — the ones that don't get their new releases from a promo pool. We felt that inviting the casual listener was a logical next step, not by watering down what we did before, but by expanding the scope.

There’s got to be a record that you felt was brilliant and went under the radar. Is there one you can earmark for us to check?

• LeRoy Hutson – Hutson II.
• Eleanore Mills – This Is Eleanore Mills.
• Mike James Kirkland – Hang On In There.

Are there ever personal events in your lives that influence the music and its direction?

I don’t think we write that much out of personal experience. Most of the lyrics we write are based on things happening around us or in the world in general (take “Peace Call” or “Time Is On Our Side”). Speaking of lyrics: most of our songs rely mostly on groove, and the vocals are more of an instrument than a message (take “Setback”). It took us many years to gain a bit of songwriting skill, but with this last album we definitely got better at it — “Waiting Game” is our best attempt yet, I’d say.

Tell us about your connection with Space Grapes.

Space Grapes was born out of a few studio dates we did with our friend Danilo Plessow (MCDE) back in 2019, and it’s been the label we release all of our music on since. Band member Bobby van Putten runs it together with Danilo.

I’d love to hear about the initial idea for the album. When did you first approach this concept and what was your original intention with this release?

We went deeper into the craft of “the song” — denser arrangements and more clever songwriting to better fit the album format and appeal to a wider audience than the 12” disco single format we started with.

What was most important for you to convey through this album? Do you feel that you were able to accomplish all of your intentions?

For us the most important thing was to continue making music that we like to hear. Bottom line, that’s the biggest achievement. We are our own worst critics, and no matter what anyone else says about a track — if we aren’t feeling it, it stays archived. We put a lot of new influences into this record and feel it’s more complete as a whole album than our first effort. There’s a lot more to explore, and that’s what keeps us going on to the next one.

What are you most proud of with the final album?

That it’s all our own material, written and recorded in our own studio direct to tape. Everything is live — no fixing of vocals, etc. Band member Bobby van Putten was responsible for all engineering, and he mixed the entire record himself from tape in DPM Studios Paris. What you hear is us reaching our highest level yet.

What was the most challenging part of bringing this release together?

For Bobby it was the final mixing process — as it was all mixed from tape using analog gear in an external studio 300 miles from home, all decisions were final. You can make detailed videos describing every fader and knob on the mixer, every piece of outboard used with their exact settings, yet old equipment can be moody. Plus, doing it all on your own puts quite some pressure on you to really nail it.

What drives you to create music, do you think?

Simply the inspiration we get from listening to records — how harmonies and rhythms work together, playing live with our band, and seeing people react to new music.

What other upcoming artists do you think are making great music right now?

Jalen N’Gonda, Rogê, Kassa Overall (go see them live!), Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers.

What has been one of your favourite moments from the past year?

Not past year, but in 2024 we had two very memorable gigs in a week — Flow Festival in Finland followed right after by Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands. Both gigs went off!!

What are your plans for the release?

24th of April we play Brick Lane Jazz Festival in London, 1st of May in Rotterdam, and there are more fun shows coming up this summer, as well as promotional gigs. We’re going to give it all to be out there as much as possible and give this record its due.

Check out the latest release from Another Taste.