Maxime Merkpoel, better known as Stereoclip, began his journey ten years ago in Brussels. Maxime ended 2021 with a beautiful and majestic album release out now on Armada Music called Echoes. This album reflects on the decade of the ups and downs of his project. As you listen to the album in its entirety, you can feel his struggles and rewards within the music.
From "Sunset Drive" to "Winners" you can feel the energy as Maxime is on top. Compared to "How To Listen To This Album" and "Disconnected," which are a bit more subtle, you can feel emotions running high. Stereoclip over the years has performed at some of the biggest clubs and festivals in the world, showcasing his unique style at Tomorrowland, ADE, Rex Club, Dour Festival, and more. We thoroughly enjoyed his latest album and wanted to see what each track means to him personally. Let's dive in.
Listen to past Liner Notes (formerly Director's Cut) features.
1. Stereoclip - How To Listen To This Album
I was thinking of a cool way to present the album and to let the audience dive into it, which is why I came up with this title. I’m feeling super connected with the lyrics, they are a good representation of my creative state of mind.
2. Stereoclip - Disconnected
I made so many versions of this one. Once I made that chord progression and couldn’t tell if it was nice or not, I asked the entire team to come to the studio and check it out. They all agreed this one was the best version so I kept it :)
After that, my friend Kid Creme came in with those drums and bass to get the right punch. It’s definitely the most radio-friendly track and I love it. I like the way the lyrics describe the fact that sometimes you can’t control what’s happening inside you.
3. Stereoclip - Inner City Angels
I started with this organ sound, this housey groove and the image of driving through the city center. I don’t know why. I tried to reach an old-school contemporary style.
4. Stereoclip - All Over Magic
This track started with the idea of creating something for my live set, I wanted to have something to play with a big break and a long opening synthesizer filter. I already played this one several times during my live sets and it always works well. I like this one for its long variation of notes, it adds a little bit of craziness.
5. Stereoclip - Sunset Drive
Liner Notes: Stereoclip - Echoes (Album)
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This one is very special as it took me five years to successfully finish it. We were three people working on it. We knew that all the elements were there but I never found the way to glue all the elements together so I gave it to my friend Kid Creme and he added those drums. Turned out that was the key thing that was missing, he unlocked the problem. It’s one of my favorite tracks to play live.
6. Stereoclip - Moonlight Drive
For now, it’s my favorite of the album. The creation started with the idea of a chill version of "Sunset Drive." We ended up taking a different direction but still kept this piano progression vibe. I composed the piano progression with my friend Fibian Fiorini, a great piano player!
I still have a lot of feelings when I listen to the chords progression on this track. Kid Creme added those crazy drums again. It’s the perfect track to play while cruising around in your car.
7. Stereoclip - Feel The Game (Remix)
A classic Stereoclip track. I was searching for the best way to play "Feel The Game" live. I came up with the idea to create this techno, housey vibe. For a long time I have been playing this version and after so many requests I decided to put it on the album. I am very proud of the arpeggio at the end of the track.
8. Stereoclip - SF
I was trying to do something similar to my track "Airplane Lesson," so I started the composition with this simple arpeggio. The bass gave me the hard and dark direction the track needed. I love that kind of hybrid sonorities.
9. Stereoclip - Oze (feat. Dim Kelly)
I was searching for a big club banger to put on the album and when Dim Kelly started this track and I came in his studio I said; ok let’s put that track on the album! It’s exactly what I was looking for. For a long time, we wanted to do a proper collaboration so we finally found a way to do that.
Kid Creme, Dim Kelly, and myself; we are the best trio to make music together, I love those guys so much!
10. Stereoclip - Winners
I had these vocals of Eke on my computer for quite some time already, I even forget that I had it.
For the album, I was looking to add a song with catchy vocals which is the moment I found this one on my backups. I then finished the song within one hour! I really love her voice, Thanks, Eke :)