EDM duo Paul Bäumer and Maarten Hoogstraten, known as the Bingo Players, sat down to chat at the Redbury Hotel in Hollywood before their live set at Playhouse. Well-known worldwide for their hit single "Cry (Just a Little)," they also have a massive following due to energetic dance tracks such as "Rattle" as well as quality remixes to numerous other songs.

Originally from the Netherlands, The Bingo Players were a joy to speak with, as they revealed how they came up with their name, and even what their favorite foods are. Here's a hint: The intriguing yet laid-back duo fits right into the L.A. scene!

Neon Tommy: How did your hit single "Cry (Just a Little)" come about?

Maarten: Well actually, we saw the Brenda Russell ("Piano in the Dark") video, which it was sampled from, on VH1 a while back, and we heard it and were like, "Oh, it's a cool hook," so we sampled it and played the track on it. Then we put it on the Laidback Luke forum and people loved it, and we never paid attention to it until a year ago, when Paul watched on YouTube and he saw that someone had put it online, and it had more than a million views. So he was like, "Oh, damn, it's a really popular track on the internet right now, so we should update it to the 2010 sound. So that's how it became a new track; it was really funny to see how the track took off on its own while we didn't know, so then we updated the track.

NT: What changes did you make to update the track?

Paul: The sample stays the same, of course, but the sounds change. So we just updated the sound, like the 2011 sound. It wasn't a big change, it was more like an update to make it sound stronger, you know?

NT: How did you both meet, and then get started together?

Paul: We were friends, and then we were both really passionate about music, and especially about dance music. So we tried to see if we could do something together.

NT: How long ago was that?

Paul: Well we started Bingo Players in 2006, so it was like 5 years ago.

Maarten: But we've known each other since '97, '98 so it's a long time!

Paul: Yeah, long time! So, the last couple of years we started Bingo Players.

NT: How did you come up with the name Bingo Players?

Maarten: We had a friend who was on the online messaging program in Holland, that same as AIM in the U.S., and he had a screen name called "BingoPlayer" and I was like, "it's a cool name for an artist" and made Bingo Players. First of all, we thought it was funny, or a bit too gimmicky, you know, and we asked some friends and they said, "We like it, it's a unique name," so we stuck to it and that's it!

NT: It is a pretty unique name!

Paul: (both laughing) It stands out, so that's important!

NT: Where do you get your musical inspiration from?

Maarten: I'm a big Daft Punk fan, so that's probably why I got into dance music.

Paul: For me, it was The Prodigy, but I think that we get our inspiration from all kinds of music. We don't only listen to dance music; we listen to pop, to rock, to hip hop, to whatever.

Maarten: Big 80's fan as well.

Paul: Yeah, we love 80's music as well, so we love everything, you know. It's all together, and of course dance music of today.

NT: What is something unique or surprising that we would find on your iPods?

Maarten: I think John Denver is on my iPod, so I think that's a surprise for most people (laughs).

Paul: I have Duran Duran on my iPod, so maybe that's surprising as well.

NT: How would you describe your style of music? What differentiates your sound?

Maarten: You know, it's difficult to say. We always try to make energetic, accessible music, not too complex. And it's different compared to other music because we just do what we like to do, so we're not forcing us to make something way different than what other people are doing; we're just doing whatever we do.

Paul: It just has to have good editing, and we also like melodic tracks, we use a lot of melodies in the tracks, and it has to work on the dance floor, you know. That's the number 1 rule.

NT: What are your dream collaborations?

Paul: (thinks about it) For me, it would be The Prodigy... and for him (Maarten), Daft Punk!

Maarten: (smiles) Yeah, that would be awesome.

NT: What's your earliest musical memory, growing up?

Paul: (closes eyes, thinks for a bit) Umm... I think for me it's KISS, the rock band.

Maarten: For me it's Prince's Purple Rain. It's the first track I really remember.

NT: Explain what you want to convey to your fans in your music videos, like the one for "Cry."

Paul: We don't actually make a lot of music videos, we made that one because it was such a huge song in Europe and was a success all over the radio there, so then you have to make a video. So normally we make music for the clubs and so you don't need a video for that. But maybe if we do a song that goes to radio as well, then (shrugs) we'll do another one, you know?

NT: You've played in so many places around the world. Do you have any favorites?

Maarten: It may sound obvious, but for us the U.S. is the best place to play.

Paul: Australia as well.

Maarten: Yes, Australia as well.

NT: Why are those countries your favorite places to play?

Maarten: In U.S. the dance scene has become so big in the last few years, and so many people are discovering dance music, electronic dance music. Everybody is so open-minded about the music you play and they're so crazy for it, so every time we play in the U.S. people go nuts, it's so cool!

Paul: It's amazing energy out there, amazing....

NT: Do you feel like the U.S. is much newer to the dance music scene than other places?

Maarten: Yeah, especially Europe, you know? The U.S. is really discovering it now for the bigger audience, so now it's taking off. It's like a second life.

NT: Any theories as to why it's taking off at this particular time?

Paul: I have no idea because it was always so hard for dance music to really break into the U.S. and then suddenly... maybe it had a little bit to do with David Guetta and Black Eyed Peas doing like dance kind of songs and they were really big hits. It always starts with mainstream and then it goes (gestures downward with hands).

NT: What is a favorite memory of somewhere you played?

Paul: For me the Creamfields tour in Australia was a highlight.

Maarten: For me it was Nocturnal last year.

NT: What made those special?

Paul: We like big crowds!

Maarten: Nocturnal was such a huge crowd, and it was so loud! It was crazy...

Paul: EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) this year was great as well. It was a really good show.

Maarten: We like the big festivals.

NT: You've been to L.A. before, so how do you like it compared to other cities in the U.S.?

Maarten: The weather, for instance, is the best!

Paul: The crowds are really great in L.A. as well, I think they're one of the best in the U.S. for sure.

Paul: Yeah, they are.

NT: Last but not least: what is your favorite food?

Paul: For me, it would be sushi.

Maarten: I'm loving In-N-Out burger here!

NT: Oh good, you fit right into L.A. then!

Both: Right! (laughs)

Paul: In-N-Out is a personal favorite of mine as well, but that's more like a snack.

The Bingo Players then went on to thrill the enthusiastic crowd later that night at Playhouse. The duo has played in top venues around the world, and their success continues to grow rapidly. They also hold residency at Surrender nightclub in Las Vegas.

 

You can reach reporter Tanaya Ghosh here or follow her on Twitter.