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When “Alors on Danse” became a massive summer hit across Europe and several other countries around the globe, many people were surprised by its overnight success. Perhaps most surprised was Belgian producer Paul Van Haver. Now known to the world as “Stromae,” Van Haver had revived the anthemic and fun qualities of 1990s dance music with a modern hip-hop twist. Audiences couldn’t get enough of it.

“Alors on Danse” was produced in Reason along with all of Stromae’s music. The now iconic bass line? That’s the NN19. The drum beat you’ve probably bopped to is coming from the Redrum. The NN-XT provides the synth hook that has audiences numbering into the tens of thousands singing out. And in this special interview, Stromae shows us how the track is constructed inside Reason.

Transcript

Intro: “Alors on Danse” goes global

In September 2009, Belgian electronic artist Stromae released “Alors on Danse.” The song went global — number one in sixteen countries, released in the US featuring Kanye West.

Who is Stromae

My artist name is Stromae, and my real name is Paul Van Haver. I’m a composer, I’m a songwriter, and I have my own label.

Musical influences: hip-hop meets French chanson

When I was twelve, I discovered hip-hop music, and later electronic music, and I did like a big crossover between folk French music, between electronic and hip-hop music. When I heard a hip-hop instrumental, I said, okay, I can do the same with the program Reason from Propellerhead. Until today, I use it.

His first release

My first release was self-released in 2007. This music showed me that it was possible to say something with meaning, but really simply.

The bassline behind “Alors on Danse”

The bassline of “Alors on Danse” was just a “thomp,” and I put it on an NN-19, and I put like a “thomp, thomp, thomp…” I said, okay.

The song’s rapid rise across Europe

It was already five weeks number one in Belgium, and it was already in the top 20 in Germany. We discovered that when you have Germany, you have all of the east side of Europe. When you have the French community, you have all the French community all around the world. We just realized that the song would be huge.

Building the track: the bassline in NN-19

So, I’m going to show you how I made “Alors on Danse.” First of all, I chose a special sound, like you can hear — a special bassline. I used it in the NN-19. I found this composition…

The NN-XT synth hook

So after that, I decided to use an NN-XT, to have a special ’90s synthesizer. The melody is like this…

Recording the sounds

So, we record the sound. One, two, three, four…

Programming the drums in ReDrum

After that, we need a drum — so, one kick and one clap, thanks to the ReDrum. We record the kick and the clap. One, two, three, four…

Adding the saxophone sample

And the last sound is the saxophone, and it’s a sample that I put in the NN-19. This saxophone was like this. So, we can record the sounds. One, two, three, four. And the track is done — thanks to Reason.

Staying grounded amid the success

My life doesn’t change. I think that I need to keep the same environment, the same family, the same friends, and the same room with the same controller, and the same program. That’s really important. For the past year, it’s just been surprise after surprise, and it’s just like a dream, yes.