Our Emerald World and how we created it

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Our Story in a Documentary

Have an hour? Then settle in — here is the full story, in Dutch.

In April 2012, Dutch national broadcaster VPRO featured our debut album in its Classic Albums documentary series — notably, the same series that has covered Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Metallica. It tells the full story of how the project started, how the sound was built, and, ultimately, how it became one of the biggest-selling Dutch albums of all time. In short, it’s our origin story, told by the people who made it.

▶ Watch on NPO Start  ·  3voor12 / VPRO article

 

Our Story in Quotes

Thirty-one quotes. Four voices. The complete story — how we found each other, how ‘Back It Up’ sparked the idea, why we started our own label, how we made the music, and how we took it on the road.

 

Our first singel ‘Back It Up’ — How It All Started

Jan van Wieringen — on finding David Schreurs, and that track with Robin Veldman
“I really wanted to do pop songs… I tried working with lots of people but never got the result I was looking for, until my publisher sent a hip-hop beat I’d made to David. The first track that Dave and I did, we also wrote with Robin Veldman, who I’ve done lots of hip-hop with.”
Source: Sound On Sound, August 2013 — Read the full feature →

David Schreurs — on meeting Vince Degiorgio, and the beat that became the model
“After scoring some local credits, I met Vince Degiorgio in 2006, and soon after we wrote ‘Back It Up’… [on the beat:] The beat had been produced by Jan and Robin Veldman, a great track-master. We were so inspired by the sound, it worked so well. The exotic instruments, the old recording techniques, the ballroom glamour, perfectly blending with a hip-hop beat: we knew right away, let’s stick with this and turn it into our own thing.”
Source: GForce Software, 2011 — two answers, same interview — Read the full interview →

Vince Degiorgio — on the Back It Up late night writing session with David
“Robin Veldman and Jan van Wieringen did a track, and David Schreurs and I worked on the top line. Wrote it about 1 A.M. in the morning. We had written it for a demo. Namie Amuro was looking for songs.”
Source: It All Starts With A Song, August 2013 — Read the full interview →

Jan van Wieringen — on calling Caroline van der Leeuw in for the demo
“Originally Dave wanted another vocalist, but she couldn’t or wouldn’t do it, so I suggested we try Caro and it was a match made in heaven, because she just sounded right.”
Source: Sound On Sound, August 2013 — Read the full feature →

Vince Degiorgio — on the moment Caroline started singing
“The next thing you know the first demo singer doesn’t show up. This other girl shows up and it’s Jan’s friend Caroline. We heard her, and just looked at David and said, ‘Oh my God, this is something.'”
Source: It All Starts With A Song, August 2013 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on falling for the song Back It Up
“It was just love at first sight. I just so loved this song, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be the demo singer of a really, really big hit.’ This moment with ‘Back It Up’ was definitely one of those moments where you just know, ‘This is the kind of music I would like to make.’ I knew that in that second.”
Source: The World / PRX, August 2013 — Read the full feature →

 

Our First Album — How We Created It

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the good match in the studio
“I was singing the song in their home studio and they were thinking, ‘wow this is a good match.’ We liked it so much that we decided to make it our own sound and write an entire album in this direction.”
Source: BBC News, October 2010 — Read the full article →

Vince Degiorgio — on writing the album in Toronto with David
“We never had a writer’s block. We were too busy laughing… I wish Eartha Kitt was still alive — I could write an entire album for her in about 20 minutes. A couple of songs were written with her in mind.”
Source: It All Starts With A Song / Songwriters Association of Canada, August 2013 — Read the full interview →

David Schreurs — on defining the Caro Emerald sound in Toronto
“That week, we defined a big chunk of the Caro Emerald universe. We also realised we had something special on our hands: a great writing team, a great artist, a great sound, and a great production team.”
Source: GForce Software, 2011 — Read the full interview →

Jan van Wieringen — on the sonic philosophy behind the album
“Modern pop records are so bright, and we didn’t want that. We want people to listen to the whole album without their ears getting tired, so they can crank it as loud as they want and it still sounds good.”
Source: Sound On Sound, August 2013 — Read the full feature →

David Schreurs — on the sound they were going for
“We wanted the album to sound like a 50s movie score, created for modern radio.”
Source: GForce Software, 2011 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the meaning behind the album title
“You pick up a scene that wasn’t used in a movie, but it could have been used in a movie. Vincent Degiorgio, who is a brilliant songwriter from Canada, is really, really good at that.”
Source: Interview Magazine, January 2013 — Read the full interview →

 

Our Record Label — Why We Started It

Caroline van der Leeuw — on why they went independent
“We just couldn’t get a good deal. So Jan and David, who are smart guys, finally said: ‘How hard can it be to release a record? We will do it ourselves.’ And we did.”
Source: Essential Surrey, 2019 — Read the full interview →

David Schreurs — on what independence gave them
“We don’t have to care about anything but our own opinion. Highly recommended.”
Source: GForce Software, August 2011 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the decision that changed everything
“That was the greatest decision we ever made.”
Source: BBC News, October 2010 — Read the full article →

David Schreurs — on getting radio stations to listen
“We had to convince radio stations, ‘No, it doesn’t fit your format. Yes, your audience will love it.’ — once you heard a short piece of it on the radio, you’d be hooked.”
Source: This is Vintage Now, 2011 — Read the full piece →

 

Our Way of Working

David Schreurs — on what they were chasing
“It was like a couple of alchemists looking for gold. Not necessarily to become rich, but to make something that we really liked.”
Source: Sound On Sound, August 2013 — Read the full feature →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the nature of the project
“It’s more like a collective. We work very closely together, and we created this style. We wanted to create this for ourselves.”
Source: Interview Magazine, January 2013 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the songwriting process
“During the songwriting process we would inspire ourselves by watching either scenes from old movies or old videos of big bands.”
Source: Popdose, November 2012 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on making the debut album
“My producers and I took a lot of time — two years — to make it, minding every detail and giving each song our fullest attention. We really believed in our music.”
Source: IndieLondon, 2011 — Read the full interview →

 

Our Visual Identity

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the visual identity of Caro Emerald
“It’s something that me and my partners David Schreurs and Jan van Wieringen created together. We discuss everything, from make-up, to styling, to photography, to artwork to videos.”
Source: Renowned For Sound, January 2013 — Read the full interview →

David Schreurs — on writing the visual identity into the music
“We wrote with Caro’s great voice as an inspiration, and also her strong appearance and 50s movie star looks in mind. Vince knows a lot of old movies, and we used images, movies and movie stars from the 40s-50s as a source of inspiration. This way, we started defining the musical identity of the Caro Emerald universe, and also the image and looks of it.”
Source: GForce Software, 2011 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the look and what it meant
“In 2008, we figured out this really cool modern sound mixed with old fashioned music, so for the look I wanted to create something to emphasize that.”
Source: Marie Claire, July 2013 — Read the full interview →

 

Our Live Shows — The Show We Created

 

The Caro Emerald live show is a Grandmono production, conceived and directed by the four partners. David Schreurs and Vince Degiorgio are credited as Creative Directors on the live releases. Jan van Wieringen serves as Creative Director of the show. Caroline van der Leeuw on the live performance.
Sources: Tempus Magazine, 2018 — Tempus Magazine →  ·  Live DVD credits via Wikipedia →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on building the show as a collective
“We really work as a collective. We keep sending each other ideas and talk about these ideas and possibilities which, in the end, creates a beautiful show of the highest quality.”
Source: Dluxe Magazine, October 2018 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on the show concept
“We want to give a full experience to each person in the room, both visual and musical. Like you’re inside a movie and you get to dream away about stories that aren’t yours.”
Source: Dluxe Magazine, October 2018 — Read the full interview →

Caroline van der Leeuw — on Jan van Wieringen as creative director
“One of my musical partners Jan is also the creative director for the show. It really helps to have someone sitting in the audience during rehearsals, listening and watching what we’re doing from an objective stance. He judges the show as a whole — how my vocals, the sound team, the lighting team, everyone in the band are all working together — and it’s definitely a collective effort.”
Source: Tempus Magazine, 2018 — Read the full interview →