How a Lock-In at an Unruly Bali Villa Birthed €URO TRA$H
Yellow Claw are no strangers to success. The Dutch duo, consisting of Jim Taihuttu, based in Bali, and Nils Rondhuis, based in Amsterdam, have accumulated over a billion plays on their music to date, performed on some of the world’s biggest festivals and nightclubs, and collaborated with the likes of DJ Snake, Steve Aoki, Krewella, Gucci Mane and Tinashe, resulting in global hits such as "DJ Turn It Up," "Do You Like Bass," and "Till It Hurts."
The acclaimed trap artists are also the founders of Barong Family. The label is home to artists like RayRay, Sihk, Psycho Boys Club (a duo made up of Juyen Sebulba and Stoltenhoff), Dysomia, Rawtek, Sky Sky, and more.
In May 2021, Taihuttu and Rondhuis rented an enormous villa in Bali and invited Barong Family artists from around the world to visit. Once they arrived, the crew locked the place down and committed themselves to one purpose: writing music.
Dubbed Hotel Barong, the villa soon escalated into equal parts frat house, summer camp, and creative haven. Videos on social media revealed extensive studio sessions, on-the-spot interactive audience feedback, live production tips, and a deluge of late-night fast food. Through the deluge of madness and creative collaboration they broke convention, finished music, and new aliases emerged; enter €URO TRA$H, Yellow Claw's transformation into an all-new house and techno project.
“This is a special project we have been working on for quite a while now, really taking us back to the origin of the rave,” they said in an interview with Mixmag Asia. “We hope you guys are ready for this and we feel blessed to be in good health and be able to share these songs with you.”
It wasn’t long before the duo dropped their debut track, “Trust You”, in July of that year. Accompanied by a a made-in-Bali music video, the track features vocals by Bonnie Strange and a thumping kick drum courtesy of Psycho Boys Club.
“As some parts of the world are slowly opening up we hope to [play the track for you] live somewhere, preferably in a dark basement with nothing but strobe lights and bad intentions,” Taihuttu and Rondhuis said.
