Track & Trace: Frederique Vroom
“I grew up in a very musical family – not playing any instruments was not an option. We had a separate music room/area in our house with various musical instruments. After the recorder and the violin in elementary school, I switched to piano and even added the accordion for a while – and traded all of the above for guitar (and the occasional bass guitar) in high school. At some point, I joined a band as a guitarist and back-up vocalist, but quickly noticed my singing skills were better than my guitar skills. So, I became the lead vocalist for several bands, for which I sometimes wrote my own music. During my student years, I performed with a cover band regularly and wrote (Dutch) cabaret songs as a side project. Singing is a great outlet, but I knew turning it into a profession was not in the cards for me. So I chose a profession behind the scenes.”
“I’ve always wanted to work in the music industry. During my studies – Media & Entertainment Management – I started working behind the bar at the Melkweg (Amsterdam), hoping to get to know more music-minded people. And of course, see a lot of free concerts as a bonus… Win-win. When I started my first internship at Universal Music, I recognized a lot of faces from all the concerts I’d seen or worked at. After Universal, I did three other internships: at Mojo Concerts, Heineken and Bacardi. This variation would allow me to discover which aspects of the music and event industry I liked the most. Experiencing, feeling and sharing music with others is amazing to me. These values have since come back at every job I’ve had.”
“A song can improve your mood, comfort you or give you certain insights. Lyrics are very important to me. Someone is telling you a story and I for one would like to know what it is. I’m looking for meaning and a message in lyrics. Mac Miller is an artist I admire, considering his deeply personal messages about insecurities and mental health. This is one hip hop artist who led the way for many others. I’m an active listener; music can quickly distract me during a conversation. So whenever I have visitors, I prefer to play instrumental music such as mellow jazz or Hermanos Gutiérrez, or rather timeless music that everyone knows by heart, such as Ray Charles or Billie Holiday.”
“I love being able to juggle multiple projects at once, being in the center of the creative web as Project & Licensing Manager at Amp.Amsterdam. It’s fun to see how we’re briefed by a client and how we develop the perfect sound for their specific needs, time and time again. I like to think and listen along, whenever I can.”
Listen to Frederique‘s favorites: