CASE STUDY: Pol

Dutch siblings Ruben Pol and Matthijs Pol are bringing back New Wave in 2023. They find themselves hooked to the frequency and unique allure of the genre. It not only echoes the brothers’ creative ideals but also channels the exhilaration they experience in their fashion endeavours, transmuting it into diverse and compelling forms of expression that go beyond music.

In 2022, they introduced a series of captivating singles, with the first being “Comme Ça”. Written, performed and produced by the two brothers, and mixed by Dave Bascombe (Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, Erasure), ‘Comme Ça’ is an affecting slice of New Wave – replacing digitally produced sounds for analog synths and drum machine samples. Two months later, Boys Are was released. “It was important to us to not only find the right sounds, but also to give those sounds the right texture and weight. When the pieces came together, immediately everything made sense”, the band said about the single. Continuing their New Wave journey, they released “Modern Strange Love” – the third single that solidified their reputation for bringing back an analog-driven sound. Following the success of the singles Comme Ça and Boys Are, Modern Strange Love has a more synth-pop approach, using big bass arpeggiators and a drumcomputer loop, which puts this song as an excellent addition to the two songs that are already out.

Pol is releasing an EP in August, marking the launch of their first cohesive body of work. The collection of songs are all written and produced by Ruben and Matthijs, some are mixed and mastered by them too.

Besides music, Ruben and Matthijs both resonate strongly with the high-fashion industry, modeling for various fashion houses (Saint Laurent, Gucci, Fendi, Valentino, Dior, to name a few) as well as producing music for some.