History Music / Droeloe

After a two-year hiatus, Rooijers returned with the ''PILLARS'' /// EP in early 2022, sporting a new visual identity alongside the classic DROELOE sound on three tracks serving as the start of a new era for the project titled "Unexpected Odyssey."

[[caption-width-right:350:''Pretty wasted.'' [[note]]We’ll take their word for it, anyway. Hein Hamers on the left and Vincent Rooijers on the right.[[/note]]]]

->''You’re the one ‘til my tan fades away\\
Get on a train and we’ll be strangers again''

Originally appearing out of the blue in 2015 with their viral track “zZz” on Music/SanHolo’s indie record label Bitbird, the duo was later revealed as producer Vincent Rooijers and digital artist Hein Hamers, whose respective positions within the band played to their strengths much like Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett in Music/{{Gorillaz}}.

The duo’s musical output draws on the genre hallmarks of electronic trap music, but with a heavy emphasis on melodic elements and a diverse sound palette. Also, glockenspiels. Lots of glockenspiels. The duo’s visuals make heavy use of VHS tape filters for a {{Retraux}} aesthetic, along with lavishly produced, photorealistic environmental design, a cube of neon lights used for their live shows, and a visual trademark present in almost all of their work: a skull made of solid gold.

Rooijers and Hamers announced that the two of them would part ways after five years of making music and art together as DROELOE in October 2020. Rooijers will continue the project on his own for future releases, though not without a proper goodbye in the form of a rerelease of the trilogy as one collective anthology album, titled ''A Matter of Perspective.''

Oh, and by the way: it’s “drew-lou,” not “dro-low.”

* AllThereInTheManual: Since a large chunk of their work is either instrumental or makes use of [[LimitedLyricsSong limited lyrics]], they tuck much of the artistic and emotional intent behind their work into the songs’ descriptions on [=YouTube and SoundCloud=].

* BilingualBonus: Their name is a slang term for “hungover” or “wasted” in Dutch.
* BoleroEffect: “Arazu” makes use of this through its primary vocal loop.

* CompilationRerelease: ''A Matter Of Perspective'' is one of these. Described as an ''anthology album,'' it wraps the previous three [=EPs=] up into one package along with an epilogue of its own extra tracks.

** Some of the earliest songs on their [=SoundCloud=] (including “Straight Murder” and the demo version of “Arazu”) make heavier use of outside samples and bear a closer resemblance to straight-up electronic trap than their most recognizable work. Elements of their recognizable style are certainly present, but “[=zZz=]” seems to be the point where their most distinctive elements, including the glockenspiel, start to emerge. (They later made a return to their trap roots with some of the tracks on their third EP, most notably on “Grind & Hustle” and "World Full of Snakes.")
** While the golden skull has been around since the very beginning, some of the accompanying elements like the VHS-style video effects and text weren’t present until the debut of their “LIFE.” documentaries on [=YouTube=] in May 2017, and “Lines of the Broken,” which dropped the same month.

** ''A Moment in Time'' uses this at the beginning and end, with “Back When (1997)” blending into the opening of “Sunburn” and “Homebound” transitioning into the beginning bars of “Just Now (2017).”
** On ''The Choices We Face,'' the end of “Turn Around” blends into the opening bars of “Looking Back.”
* FriendshipSong: “Only Be Me.”
* GenreRoulette: Their work is easily as much future bass/trap inspired as it is {{synthpop}}-influenced, and that doesn’t even cover the metallophonic elements.

** From the start of the project up to ''A Matter of Perspective,'' only two of their early solo singles (“Wake the Warrior” and “Shibuya”) and two collaborative releases ("Lines of the Broken" and "Running Away") didn’t feature their hallmark golden skull.
** The Unexpected Odyssey singles, meanwhile, build their visuals around a particular black, white and yellow color scheme and a slash motif (represented as lines on a crosswalk on the single cover to "Strangers", bars across a window on "Demons", etc.)
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: ''A Moment in Time,'' ''The Choices We Face'' and ''A Promise Is Made'' each share similar cadences when said out loud.
* LimitedLyricsSong: A lot of their songs with vocals make use of this trope, though it’s averted on tracks like “Lines of the Broken” and “Weird Machine.”
** [=zZz=]: “I know, I / It’s like a lullaby”
** “Arazu”: Its title. That’s it. (Unless you’re listening to the original demo, which also has a Anime/TokyoGhoul sample for good measure during the bridge.)
** “Sunburn”: “You’re the one til my tan fades away / Get on a train and we’ll be strangers again”
** “Step by Step”: The title line and “did I walk too far to turn around, around?” make up the bulk of the lyrics.
** Aside from the two repeated verses, most of “Backbone” consists of various permutations of the lines “I don’t wanna be like that though / Better grow a fuckin’ backbone.”
** “Grind & Hustle”: “The grind and the hustle / The thing on my mind”
** “Push Through:”: “ I guess the only way out is to push through / 
And if it doesn’t look great, what’s it to you?”
* NonAppearingTitle: None of the titles on the ''A Moment In Time'' EP appear in the tracks themselves. Also applies to some of their other singles, including “[=zZz=],” “Kintsugi” and “Moonwalk Mike.”
* PrecisionFStrike: “JUMP” is clean for the most part, but featured vocalist Keeley Bumford (of Nevve) drops a whammy at the start of the song:
--> I was thinking that maybe when we get back, you could come with me
--> Fuck work, fall in love right now and spend all our money

** They’re one of the longer-running groups within Bitbird’s roster and have shown up on all of the label’s compilation albums. Some of their contemporaries include San Holo, Taska Black, Sem, Fytch, Flaws, and Duskus.

* PronouncingMyNameForYou: The “dro-low” pronunciation is enough of a common mistake that they’ve made shirts with “Pronounced Drew-Lou” on them.
* RemixAlbum: ''The Choices We Face'' and ''A Promise Is Made'' got remix [=EPs=] a few months after their original releases. The band themselves have done remixes for their label’s founder San Holo, as well as Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez, Petit Biscuit, ARIZONA, and Music/CharliXCX, among others.
* SelfBackingVocalist: The vocals on “Homebound” do this with a pitched-down version of the main singer’s voice.

** “Weird Machine” is a fun variant, with the narrator either metaphorically seeing herself as a newly independent robot among humans or outright being one.
** "Push Through," "Statues" and "Open Blinds" fit the bill as well.

We’re not here to fuck around\\
The future’s our phenomenon''

After a two-year hiatus, Rooijers returned with the /// EP in early 2022, sporting a new visual identity alongside the classic DROELOE sound on three tracks serving as the start of a new era for the project titled "Unexpected Odyssey."

** /// (2022)

* ArcWords: The phrase "together we are free" is used verbatim in two of the three tracks on the /// EP

** They’re one of the longer-running groups within Bitbird’s roster and have shown up on all of the label’s compilation albums. Some of their contemporaries include San Holo, Taska Black, Sem, Fytch, Flaws and Duskus.

* SelfEmpowermentAnthem: “Weird Machine” is a fun variant, with the narrator either metaphorically seeing herself as a newly independent robot among humans or outright being one.

* IdiosyncraticCoverArt: To date, only two of their early solo singles (“Wake the Warrior” and “Shibuya”) and two collaborative releases ("Lines of the Broken" and "Running Away") don’t feature their hallmark golden skull.

Oh, and by the way: [[ItIsPronouncedTroPay it’s “drew-lou,” not “dro-low.”]]

* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: The “dro-low” pronunciation is enough of a common mistake that they’ve made shirts with “Pronounced Drew-Lou” on them.

The duo made waves with more singles on Bitbird, Lowly Palace and Monstercat before expanding their discography with a trilogy of [=EPs=]: ''A Moment in Time'' in August 2017, ''The Choices We Face'' a year later, and rousing out with ''A Promise is Made'' in October 2019.

Rooijers and Hamers announced that the two of them would part ways after five years of making music and art together as DROELOE in October 2020. Rooijers will continue the project on his own for future releases.

* [=EPs:=]

* IAmTheBand: Vincent makes all of the tunes, though Hein joined him on [=DJing duty=] on tour dates until late 2019.

** Additionally, some of their frequent collabs outside of Bitbird include songwriting group Nevve and fellow electropop duo CUT_.
* RemixAlbum: ''The Choices We Face'' got its own remix EP a few months after it released. The band themselves have done remixes for their label’s founder San Holo, as well as Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez, Petit Biscuit, ARIZONA and Music/CharliXCX, among others.

Roomier s and Hamers announced that the two of them would part ways after five years of making music and art together as DROELOE in October 2020. Rooijers will continue the project on his own for future releases.

Originally appearing out of the blue in 2015 with their viral track “zZz” on San Holo’s indie record label Bitbird, the duo was later revealed as producer Vincent Rooijers and digital artist Hein Hamers, whose respective positions within the band played to their strengths much like Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett in Music/{{Gorillaz}}.

** Some of the earliest songs on their [=SoundCloud=] (including “Straight Murder” and the demo version of “Arazu”) make heavier use of outside samples and bear a closer resemblance to straight-up electronic trap than their most recognizable work. Elements of their recognizable style are certainly present, but “[=zZz=]” seems to be the point where their most distinctive elements, including the glockenspiel, start to emerge. (They later made a return to their trap roots with some of the tracks on their third EP, most notably on "World Full of Snakes.")

* RemixAlbum: ''The Choices We Face'' got its own remix EP a few months after it released. The band themselves have done remixes for their label’s founder San Holo, as well as Selena Gomez, Petit Biscuit, ARIZONA and Music/CharliXCX, among others.

The duo made waves with more singles on Bitbird, Lowly Palace and Monstercat before expanding their discography with two [=EPs=]: ''A Moment in Time'' in August 2017, and ''The Choices We Face'' a year later. Details on the duo’s next project are on the horizon.

** Some of the earliest songs on their [=SoundCloud=] (including “Straight Murder” and the demo version of “Arazu”) make heavier use of outside samples and bear a closer resemblance to straight-up electronic trap than their most recognizable work. Elements of their recognizable style are certainly present, but “[=zZz=]” seems to be the point where their most distinctive elements (including the glockenspiel) start to emerge.

* ElectronicMusic: Yep! Specifically, future bass, with [[{{synthpop}} electropop]] and occasional {{dubstep}} leanings.

* IdiosyncraticCoverArt: To date, only two of their early solo singles (“Wake the Warrior” and “Shibuya”) and two collaborative releases don’t feature the hallmark golden skull.

* BilingualBonus: Their name

• FriendshipSong: “Only Be Me.”

* ElectronicMusic: Yep! Specifically, future bass, with {{electropop}} and occasional {{dubstep}} leanings.