The empowering “Live Out Loud” is the title-track from Mike Rogers‘ upcoming debut album and encourages listeners to speak their truth and live life to the fullest.
Mike Rogers in an Amsterdam based indie dance trio who make bold music to make big musical gestures without sensationalism. Encouraging listeners to live in the moment, Mike Mago, TWR72 and the lead singer of Kita Menari have joined forces to craft something which is unlike anything you’ve heard before.
Mike and Roger met during the famous Dutch underground electro parties in early 2000, where they both performed as DJ’s. The raw and energetic scene saw the two playing a mixture of electro, French house, fidget and techno. As years passed by, they both started to develop their own sound, but noticed they had a similar dream; to start a live act inspired by the acts they grew up with, including Mike Snow, Foals, Editors, Van She and Goose to name a few. Thus, they created Mike Rogers, as a way to bring an extra challenge and development next to their DJ and production career.
Bringing in singer Micha to add big vocals to their signature sound, the combined creativity of the three has reached a whole new level. Their upcoming debut album combines analog with digital and retro with modern, as they explore the roots of their inspiration as music fans and combine that with the skills they have developed over the years.
Their latest single is the title-track off of their upcoming debut album. “Live Out Loud” is the pinnacle song of the album and cuts two ways. The band shares, “The song was written during a period where, we felt, far sides of the political spectrum were very present. We wanted to motivate the group known as the silent middle to stand up for their (slightly more nuanced) thoughts/visions/ideas.” The trio continues, “We also wanted to seek overlap in standing up for your idea and being outgoing whilst losing oneself in the moment. We all have to live out loud more. If you don’t live life fully, you don’t live life at all. You have to live it out loud to make sense of it, because otherwise ‘you’ll never know what it’s all about.’ And if you know what it’s all about, you have to fight for it.”
Their debut album combines analog with digital. Retro with the modern. As they explore the roots of their inspiration as music fans and combine that with their music writing and production skills they have developed over the years. During the writing process, most of the band members shoot over short ideas to each other which another band member then picks up and develops. The ideas get passed along or blown off till there is an album. During this process they agreed that it felt like a second nature to be bold and make big musical gestures without the sensationalism.
This approach is not only found in the music but also in the message of the record. Why do people always have to choose between black and white? You don’t have to choose between extremes. You can be modest in your opinions but still Live Out Loud!
This is what Mike Rogers is sharing with you. Go out there and live in the moment. You don’t always have to choose sides. The music represents this throughout. All styles from opposite sides are mixed to create a perfect balance in the middle or leave the listener with an ambiguous feeling.
Roger: ‘We encourage to ask questions out loud. To share your uncertainties out loud. To say, I don’t know, yet I care. To forgive out loud. To live out loud.’