We were there again! Video interviews at Tomorrowland festival in Belgium which took place over the 3 days, from 22nd to 24th of July, and in my opinion, changed the world of festivals as we know them. So from now on we can compare open air festivals before Tomorrowland and after Tomorrowland! If you think that I’m exaggerating and I’m completely biased, just consider the advantages of this festival. a) For 3 days the cream of the finest DJ’s and artists from a wide variety of all the known and popular electronic dance music genres were represented. b) It is organised among some of the most beautiful scenery, in one of the finest recreational areas in Belgium and c) the various stages of the festival are decorated with a particular theme. The result is to create a particular and very unique atmosphere, every year adding something little bit extra, that means an added value that distinguish Tomorrowland from other similar events. Tomorrowland aspires to offer a total experience for the visitors, to keep them occupied and excited the whole day long.
The video interview that you can watch here with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike was conducted in the press area at Tomorrowland, and for that reason you can see in the background various people coming and going, all of them working hard to cover this festival in the best possible way. The upcoming Belgian duo that have a considerable following within Belgium, and in global scene, reply to my questions without hesitation, and tell us through their eyes, ‘The Way We See The World’ of Electronic Dance Music at the moment.
They talk about the making of this year’s festival anthem, with the massive title: ‘The Way We See The World’ which was made with the help of Afrojack and Nervo. We ask them about the production of this year’s official Tomorrowland CD, which is mixed and compiled by them, and they reveal for first time, an unfortunate event which happened while they were trying to accomplish this task. They clearly state that it was difficult to find tracks with the ‘Anthem’ status to include on this compilation, because simply they weren’t any, except for Swedish House Mafia’s seminal track “Save the World”. They uncover all the detail around their label ‘Smash The House’ which is now handled by the very successful Dutch record company ‘Spinnin’, and they reveal details of their forthcoming releases, including their brand new personal production ‘Rej’. They share with us their feelings about DJ Tiesto; they perform before him for first time. Finally they give us some hints about where they will perform during the next few months, and where their fans around the world can expect to enjoy their dynamic DJ sets soon. It’s a lot of fun to watch.
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera and Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge – 1mix Radio
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime experience and conduct these great interviews.
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike single ‘Rej’, will be out soon on their own imprint, ‘Smash The House’
We Were There Again! Video interviews at Tomorrowland 2011. The absolute festival of the summer that attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world had great success and gave the opportunity to 180.000 festival goers to sense its unique and outstanding atmosphere that words with difficulty can describe and sometimes even videos from the festival cannot fully represents it’s amazing natural scenery, the decoration, the lighting and laser effects and most importantly the passion and the endless amount of energy that Tomorrowland crowd has and become for many djs the best audience ever to perform. From Tiesto,David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Martin Solveig, Sven Vath, Fedde Le Grand,Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike to Paul van Dyk and the trance master Ferry Corsten all the djs had the best to say in their interviews about how enthusiastic the Tomorrowland audience was and most importantly how prepared this crowd is to Have Good Time.
On Friday 22nd of July after his explosive extended performance at the Trance Addict stage at Tomorrowland we met at the backstage with the super star of the worldwide trance scene Ferry Corsten to record the interview that you can enjoy right here. If there’s one thing a superstar DJ will learn after years racking up frequent flyer miles and playing for thousands of fans, it’s that they are only as prominent as their last album tour. Award‐winning Ferry Corsten, someone who can easily be referred to as the DJ’s DJ, has taken this advice to heart and emerged as one of the most prominent Dutch jocks in the world. Through constant touring , fan outreach, a weekly radioshow and podcast and an abundance of self‐produced dance hits, he has managed to captivate the imagination of dance music fans around the world.
Ferry Corsten — who was named Best Producer of the Year by the Ericsson Music Awards and Best Trance DJ by the Ibiza DJ Awards, and consistently ranked as one of the top 10 DJs in the world— is best known for his creativity as a music producer and his unique up‐tempo, big‐room trance and house sound. His performances as a DJ never fails fans to keep coming back and wanting more. It is a chest‐pounding sum of the electronic music influences he turned to, going as far back as the age of nine when he started collecting records.
In 2010 Ferry introduced the unforgettable “Once Upon a Night” compilation series, which became his vehicle for touring, sharing upfront music, and shining the spotlight on bright new talent. It was the first time in several years that Ferry had taken on a compilation project. But the timing was perfect, since world touring gave him an insider glimpse to the music emerging from different parts of the world.
While Ferry’s “Once Upon a Night” concept has taken the world by storm, it also served as an impetus to starting Premier Recordings. His latest project is a joint venture between his own label, Flashover Recordings and Black Hole Recordings. “We’re still both our own platform and label, but we came up with Premier together,” he explains. Whenever they find a big record, the two companies join forces for an extra large release.
Ferry Corsten fans can also look forward to his upcoming artist album, which will present his always‐cutting edge take on electronic music. For now, the details are strictly confidential, but Ferry assures us that he’s fully committed to conjuring the right hook lines and melodies while bringing about some exciting collaborations. “It’s definitely going to be an album that you can classify as trance, but it’s way more groovy and way more danceable,” he sums.
With a massive following on Facebook and Twitter and almost 10 million you tube views, Ferry has also become an ambassador for dance music as social media resource. “It’s the only way you can directly connect with your fans without them having to wait for anything,” he states. Just as he is into his equipment in the studio, Ferry fans can have all the coolest apps and gadgets to keep in touch with him wherever he is! At www.FerryCorsten.com they can download official Blackberry, Android, iPhone and iPad apps. He is also a co‐promoter of the entertainment applications Pulse Game (tap game) and the Cue. Play.DJ , (an iphone/ipad DJ Mixer).
Corsten’s Countdown is Ferry’s interactive radio show, which he launched in 2007 and is currently available in over 35 countries nationwide such as Digitally Imported (DI.fm), Sirius XM Radio and 27 leading radio stations in The Netherlands, Brazil, UK, Australia, Argentina and the Philippines, to name a few. You can vote for your favourite track of the month on his Facebook fanpage. The show is also downloadable as a podcast on itunes.
By constantly traveling around the world, Ferry has been exposed to some of the wasteful practices going on, at the expense of animals and the environment. “When I go to the more tropical countries in the world such as the Philippines,” he elaborates, “where I see all the dynamite fishing and how coral reefs are deteriorating before my eyes.” As an ambassador for the Dutch World Wildlife Fund team, he is leveraging the exposure his events afford him to raise awareness about the WWF. “I pass on the earth because every generation has the right to enjoy its beauty — just as I am doing, and the previous generations have done." As music makes the world go round, so does sending out a powerful message to help save our planet.
When you meet such an interesting personality it’s always great pleasure to have an interview with him. What I really like about Ferry Corsten is that he is down to earth and he loves to interacts with professionals like journalists but also with this Power that is of course his worldwide fan base. We manage to record this interview at the backstage of the TranceAddict stage were he manage to put a real fire on the dancefloor and make them all go PUNK. We asked him about his set at Tomorrowland and juicy details about his forthcoming album and the first singles Feel It and Check It Out. Unfortunately not much allows to give away but you can take a taste. We enquire about his Full on Ferry Ibiza events and the mixed compilation with the same title. We talk of course about his collaboration with Betsie Larkin and his encouragement to her to record a full artist album that is out now on Premier that is joint venture of Black Hole/Flashover recordings. Its definitely worth to Check It Out and Feel IT!
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera & Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge - 1mix radiowww.1mix.co.uk
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime experience.
Many thanks to Jordy at Flashover offices for this amazing support to organize this interview .
Look out for Ferry at a nightclub, festival arena or large‐scale venue near you. For more information please visit www.ferrycorsten.com. Physical copies of his CDs and all sorts of merchandise can be purchased at the Ferry Corsten Shop. The album is also available as download at iTunes.
We Were There Again! Video interviews at Tomorrowland 2011. One of the most unforgettable experiences of this summer for more than 180,000 club goers was the massive 3 day festival ‘Tomorrowland’. It is already considered a phenomenon that grows each day, as more and more people search for information about it on the web, and I guess the tickets for 2012 edition will sell out in just as short a period of time. The question that is on everybody lips at the moment is ‘WHY is this festival so successful’, and in just a few years managed to become so popular and be the place that every DJ aspires to spin his tunes? The answer is obvious for everyone who has visited this festival already - and I have had the chance to be there twice.
First of all, there is the unique atmosphere because of the fantastic natural scenery of De Shorre recreational park, and the excellent decoration of the various stages with a certain theme, different for each year, and also the line-up which includes the hottest and most talked-about artists of the moment in the EDM scene. Second is the great attention that organisers pay to the security and safety of the visitor, based on high technology. Third, and most important, Tomorrowland is not just a festival, it is a whole experience because you have something to do from the very minute that you enter its doors.
We carry on publishing the interviews which we conducted at Tomorrowland 2011. Our next stop is the backstage at Trance Addict to meet with one of the fastest rising stars in the progressive Trance scene. He is the DJ and talented producer Sied van Riel!The Riel Deal: From the prolific electronic dance breeding ground that is The Netherlands, with close to overnight speed, in 2008 he landed. In that year alone he was tipped by Tiësto as “the hottest producer around”, by DJ Magazine as “the next big thing to hit trance” and took home Trackitdown.net’s Trance Award for the scene’s ‘Best New Face’. 12 lightning-fast months later he’d qualified all those early markers through a fleet of equatorially hot track releases, club-hypnotizing DJ performances and a ‘next-level’ remix ethic. In 2009 he played over 60 show-stopping sets (which included spinning at an incredible 7 world-class events in just 9 days). It was an achievement which culminated in him making his debut on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 2009 DJs chart. He’s the latest DJ to graduate to trance music’s ‘Van Clan’ hierarchy. He is Sied van Riel...
The Riel-eases: Following several notable ‘early years’ releases (including ‘Fearless’ on Subtraxx and the PVD-championed ‘MyDreams’ on Expedition), Van Riel started to beat a path to the dancefloor. In 2007 he was signed to Dutch super-label Spinnin’ Records; a move which bore immediate fruit through dancefloor bullets like ‘Changing Places’, ‘Sigh’ and ‘What You Want’. With the quality-control locked in place, his production career went supernova as ‘Contrasts’, ‘Minimal Symphony’, ‘One’/’Two’ & ‘Riel People Know’ brought mayhem to dancefloors throughout 2008. In August of that year the track ‘Rush’ was un-caged and marked not only a first release through Tiësto’s Black Hole Records but also Sied’s vital breakthrough record. Thrashed by Armin, Ferry Corsten, PVD and (naturally enough) Tiësto, its nu-skool tech-trance sound surged through the world’s festivals and arenas. The Liquid Recordings released ‘MME’ (which was part of the ‘Dedication EP’) & ‘Mongoosed’, and the Black Hole follow-up ‘Sunrise’ arrived in 2009, provoking similar floor-quaking upheaval.
The Riel Floor-Rocker: Sied cut his DJ teeth early in his career playing at events like Germany’s illustrious Love Parade and Tiësto’s round-the-world ‘ISOS’ Tour. FFWD three years and he is become a essential mainstay of festivals and arena events, which have included the goliath Netherlands Trance Energy, Armin’s country-hopping ASOT400, the 4-gig-long Trance Energy Australia tour, Gatecrasher’s 15th Birthday event, Planet Love and the legendary Crobar in Buenos Aires. Through far-sighted track selection, marksman-like mixing and an intrinsic ability to read crowds he has raced through the ranks of DJs. This rise was brought into the sharpest possible focus when Van Riel entered the DJ Magazine Top 100 Chart in 2009 at No.85.
In Riel Time: In late August of 2009 Sied released his first CD compilation. A double disc outing, ‘In Riel Time Vol.1’ became the ultimate at-home, in-car platform to experience the Van Riel sound. It proved a sales smash on Beatport and was made Album of the Month in Mixmag. The magazine noted that Sied had “rapidly gained in status over the last year” and that the album itself brought with it “one intense peak-time track after another”. In 2011 he brought you "Rielism". A brand new compilation series on Black Hole Recordings. The first one was released on May 4th.
Sied4Life: In late 2008 Sied became an official Dance4Life Ambassador. Donating tracks to the D4L albums and DJing at fund-raisers for the charity (which works to improves the lives of HIV and AIDS sufferers), he is a proud member of the charity’s team.
The Riel-Mixes: For the last 3 years Sied’s been lending the Riel touch to tracks from the worlds finest trance labels (including Armada, Black Hole, Spinnin’, Flashover and High Contrast). In that time he’s captured the minds of music lovers, re-touching tracks by luminaries like Armin van Buuren & Ferry Corsten, Cosmic Gate, and Offer Nissim.
The Rielism Radio Show: Following numerous radio appearances (inc. Ministry of Sound – UK, Sunshine Live Maximal, Germany &Radio 538 in The Netherlands), Sied launched his own radio show, Rielism in 2008.
His set at Tomorrowland was really explosive and you could sense the positive vibes all around, and the amount of raw energy that was radiated to all those who had the chance to be part of his banging set. It was big pleasure to meet him, and he was a pleasure to interview. We asked him about his set at Tomorrowland, his compilation Rielism at Black Hole, his forthcoming album, and the vocalists he is going to use. He tells us about his favourite software and hardware which he uses in his productions, and he tells us about the job he did before going full-time producing music, and DJ'ing all over the world. He confesses his favourite clubs around the world, and how he loves to go to the dance floor after he finishes the set, and have good time as a clubber. He is Sied van Riel.
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera & Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge - 1mix radio www.mix.co.uk
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime experience.
Many thanks to Dan @ Armada Music (Sied van Riel manager) for all his amazing help.
We were There Again! Video interviews at Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. When the best natural scenery meets the best decorations, the best party crowd, the hottest DJ’s and the loudest sound system, then the result can only be the most successful dance festival in the world ever, this is of course Tomorrowland. This year’s festival is significant because many exciting things happened for the first time, like the extension of the festival to 3 days. Until now, the majority of the festivals lasted for two days. Tomorrowland proved that festivals can go on for longer, and be packed and sold out. The commercial success, when it comes along with the artistic success, and cultural significance, makes an even louder impact on the society. Tomorrowland provides an experience that music, dancing and fun, are the main focus point. BUT there are many other interesting things to do the whole day, like eating a
meal cooked by award winning chef.
On Saturday 23rd of July, Above and Beyond returned to Tomorrowland, not as guests on another stage, but as the main force behind their own Group Therapy stage. Amongst the artists who performed on this stage, which was always jam packed, was DJ Tab - from the successful Finish duo, ‘Super 8 & Tab’. Only
a select number of modern Trance artists can convincingly say they are taking the sound to the next level. Although the humble, softly spoken duo, would never shout it out themselves, Super8 & Tab are undoubtedly amongst them.
Renowned for their innovative approach and intricate production values, the Finnish producers have stealthily pushed themselves to the front of the Trance pack since coming together in 2005. DJ’s like Armin van Buuren, PVD, Above & Beyond & Ferry Corsten, regularly smash their tracks both club-side and on the radio, while global dance bibles such as Mixmag and DJ Magazine laud them with 5 star reviews.
Through their own energising DJ sets, Super8 & Tab themselves have conquered some of the biggest club brands in the game. They headlined the ‘Future’ stage at this year’s Trance Energy, recently played Australia’s ‘Future Music Festival’, and have also rocked Trance totem poles like The Gallery, Mayday, Godskitchen, Trance Energy and A State Of Trance. On home turf, they command a legendary residency
at Helsinki’s legendary ‘Hallmark Club’, and also find time to hold down a regular spot on the monthly Anjunabeats Worldwide radio show.
Now an integral part of the Anjunabeats family, Super8 & Tab first caused fervour with the breakthrough success of tracks like ‘First Aid’ and the definitive ‘Helsinki Scorchin’. Since establishing themselves as the label’s best selling artist behind Above & Beyond, the Finnish trailblazers have delivered Trance of the highest quality ever since. Their ethereal epic ‘Suru’ was picked out by DJ Magazine as “the tent-pole
release of Anjuna’s summer”, while ‘Elektra’ conquered the download charts and festival stages with equal aplomb in 2008.
In 2009, their star rose further still when German Trance godfather, Paul Van Dyk, requested them to remix both his ‘New York City’ anthem, and the equally large ‘Nothing But You’, while Ferry Corsten requested the magic Super8 & Tab touch on his vocal anthem ‘Made Of Love’. Crowning a year of unchecked success, it was little surprise when Super8 & Tab broke into the DJ Magazine Top 100 for the first time at #82. They then followed in 2010, coming in at a massive #60, up 22 places from the year before, making them the highest ranking Finnish artist in the poll.
With the arrival of their debut artist album ‘Empire’, Super8 & Tab elevated themselves to the grander stage they were always destined for. Drawing on the diverse vocal talents of Jan Burton, Betsie Larkin, Alyna and Julie Thompson, ‘Empire’s’ 11-track journey sees Super8 & Tab stamp their distinctive skills on deep, brooding vocal anthems, classy down tempo excursions, and futuristic Trance fusions – with plenty of their trademark forward-thinking melodic sound besides. On the day of release, the album went straight to #1 in the Finnish and #7 in the US iTunes dance charts. An instant classic, it prompted Mixmag to say “It’s a rare and wonderful thing to be blown away by an album on first listen. And that’s exactly what Super8 & Tab’s debut artist album does.” With comments like that, maybe they don’t need to sing their own praises after all. At the end of this summer, Super 8 & Tab released the remix edition of Empire, with remixers included such as Lange, Maor Levi, Kyau & Albert, 4 Strings, Gareth Emery and many more.
On Saturday 23rd of July, Above and Beyond hosted their own Group therapy stage. At their backstage, we met with DJ Tab from Super 8 & Tab, and we did a great interview. We asked about their Empire Remixed album which is out now on Anjunabeats, their collaboration with Betsy Larkin on her new album, and their radio show, as well Super 8 & Tab Radio. It’s fun to watch it, Enjoy!!
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera and Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge – 1mix radio www.1mix.co.uk
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime experience and conduct these great interviews.
We were there Again. Video Interview with Giuseppe Ottaviani at Tomorrowland 2011. The official after movie for Tomorrowland 2011 is one of, if not the, most spectacular pieces of post-event festival footage ever shot! Quite rightly, people all around the world have been going utterly mad for it, and the surrounding hype is unprecedented. It will come as no surprise then, that in just under two weeks the audio-visual masterpiece has clocked up over 1 MILLION unique hits on YouTube, and climbing fast! With almost as many views already as last year’s movie, it’s quite clear that festival organisers ID&T are doing something right. Each year Tomorrowland surpasses all expectations, and delivers to revellers a more wonderful, imaginative, magical, and unforgettable experience than before.
On Sunday 24th of July the German superstar DJ, and legend of electronic dance music, Paul van Dyk hosted his own gigantic stage ‘Evolution’ at Tomorrowland, named after his forthcoming album. One of the great artists, who performed there, was the Italian maestro, Giuseppe Ottaviani. I have done several other interviews with him, and at the end I get always the same impression. He is one of the warmest and most welcoming artists because he loves to talk about his work, and he is really friendly and so down to earth. We asked him how he feels when he plays in other countries, and notices people in the crowd holding the Italian flag. He talks about his latest mix compilation ‘GO ON AIR’, which is out now on VANDIT/Armada Music. He explains the production process of this CD, explains that the majority of the tracks are exclusively selected and produced for it.
Also, he talks about his brand new monthly show with the same title "Go On Air". What is more, we discuss the growing popularity of Trance music in Italy, and the hard work he is putting in to raise the profile of Trance in his country. It’s a really informative interview which is worth watching for sure.
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera & Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge - 1mix Radio
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime experience.
Many thanks to Alexa Gerth at VANDIT offices for organising this interview.
Video interview with DJ, producer and label owner Daniel Kandi. We were there again. Video interviews at Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. For 3 unforgettable days 180,000 visitors come together to enjoy the same grooves to celebrate their love and passion for Electronic Dance Music. Travellers from 51 countries experienced the most in-demand DJ’s like Tiesto, David Guetta, Avicii, Fedde Le Grand, Martin Solveig, Paul van Dyk, giving their best ever performances. When the DJ plays for excited crowds like those at Tomorrowland, they are obliged to deliver their finest DJ sets, with the hottest, most recent tunes, mixed with unforgettable classics in equal measure. Each day the Trance fans at the festival had a stage to attend and party at the whole day, with the finest and most talked about artists and DJ’s of the genre.
On Saturday, Above and Beyond celebrated the release of their ‘Group Therapy’ album with their Group Therapy stage. Sander van Doorn, Cosmic Gate, Jaytech, Super 8 and Tab, and Daniel Kandi, were the main artists that serviced the unforgettable soundtracks, on a stage that was packed the whole day long, proving how popular and loved trance music is as a genre.
This time the video interview, which was conducted backstage at the Above & Beyond's Group Therapy stage, we met Daniel Kandi. Denmark might be a small place on the map, but the country has produced some big exports that are forces to be reckoned with; Danish Bacon, Aqua and now: Daniel Kandi!
Daniel Kandi has been featured on all the major radio shows by the top 10 DJs in the world. His tunes are renowned for their emotional melodies, and energetic drive. Forums were quick to vote Daniel into the ASOT 400 tour. Armin handpicked Daniel to represent Trance music at its very finest, in a 3-country tour celebrating the 400th ASOT radio show.
Starting his growth as an artist on Anjunabeats, he was an obvious choice to support Above & Beyond at their massive TATW 300 show in Moscow in December 2009. With a packed Forum Hall in Moscow, Kandi helped along with the other DJs, to celebrate the ongoing dominance of Anjunabeats and its artist stable.
Having had an amazing year, with gigs in Australia, UK, USA, Argentina, Ibiza, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and many many more, Daniel was voted in at no.87 in this year's DJmag top 100 poll. A plethora of great gigs from 2009 have been the reason for this. As Kandi reflects on memories of closing for Ferry Corsten in Australia, with a packed QBH club; "A night I will never forget", he comments, 'One of the many moments from the year to remember'.
Other prominent gigs have seen Daniel included in the major Godskitchen in Ludowa Hall PL, (also used for the polish Sensation parties), MOS Gallery in London, Gatecrasher Seven, Digital Society in Leeds, Global Gathering PL, Fresh Squeezed Festival in L.A., Summadayze Festival in Sydney Australia, Segara Lounge in Indonesia, and many more. Also included are Trance Energy in Utrecht, the Love Parade in Germany, Armin's A State Of Trance 450 party, and Anjunabeats events across the globe!
2010 saw Daniel work closely with Enhanced, releasing several collaborations and a succession of top draw remixes. 2011 will see him work even more heavily with Enhanced, with the launch of his new label ‘Always Alive’, along with fellow Dane, Phillip Alpha.
Within the video interview with Daniel, recorded right after his DJ set, the very talented DJ and producer, talks about how he started his career in the Trance scene. He chooses for us his best ever tracks and remixes, he talks about his record label ‘Always Alive’, which he founded at Enhanced Music with Will Holland. Its great interview which you should not miss!
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias Camera and Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge – 1mix radio
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation for us to attend this fantastic, once in a lifetime experience, and conduct these great interviews.
We were there Again! Tomorrowland 2011. Video interview with Sander van Doorn. For 3 unforgettable days, we were there again at Tomorrowland. From 22nd until 24th of July, we experienced one of the best organised productions, with the highest level of security and safety, which ensured that the festival goers had some most unforgettable moments partying, and with the best music provided by the hottest names in the EDM scene. It is absolutely true, that Tomorrowland music wise, was the most complete festival, with great names from the international DJ circuit. The who’s who of the international DJ pantheon was there, servicing their best sets, because the atmosphere was so intense and celebratory, that it was impossible for the DJ’s not to feel excited, and be part of that phenomenon which is taking the world by storm. ID&T Belgium can be proud, that once again they kept their reputation really high, and secured their position at the top of the list of the events, that anyone would want to experience, at least once in a lifetime.
We continue the series of video interviews conducted at Tomorrowland festival in Belgium from 22nd to 24th of July, with the superstar Dutch DJ, and the hottest export from the Netherlands, the always amazing, and ahead of his time DJ and producer, Sander van Doorn. We met with him in the press and artist area at the backstage of the festival, and we recorded the interview that you can now watch right now. As you can see, he was really friendly, down to earth, easy going, and very welcoming, because its extremely important for an artist to make the interviewer feel comfortable, and allow him to ask the questions that he feels that the fans might ask if they were there also.
Thought to be a technical and musical genius by many, Sander van Doorn is without a doubt, one of the worlds most essential, influential, and popular DJ/Producers in dance music today. In very short order, Sander has become a brand synonymous with excellence – both production wise, and in front of the thousands he plays to nightly. He is truly one of the strongholds of dance music, a generation defining artist, who reshapes our perception of what dance music can be, and he does it all with that electrifying Sander van Doorn smile.
Those with an ear for music, have known of Sander for some time now, but 2007 was when the world started whispering “have you heard of Sander van Doorn?” It seemed the secret weapon of so many top DJ’s was out. When Carl Cox stops the music to point you out, telling the nearly 50,000 people “This is one of the best producers in music today, remember his name… Sander van Doorn!” then you can bet the whole
world will take notice.
Carl wasn’t the only Sander fan. Armin van Buuren named Sander as one to watch early on, and Tiesto championed his productions regularly. Sander seized the opportunities at hand, and dedicated himself to a relentless touring and production schedule for the next few years. It was during this time, that Sander penned some of his classics. From originals like Grasshopper, Punk’d and Riff, to massive remixes of The Killers (Spaceman), Sia (The Girl You Lost To Cocaine), Robbie Williams (Close My Eyes) and Depeche Mode (Peace), it seemed the lad from Eindhoven was on a collision course for superstardom.
With the release of his debut album “Supernaturalistic” in early 2008, Sander showed once again that he was no one trick pony. Preferring to term what he does as ‘SvD Style’, Sander shrugged off the confines of genre typecasting long ago. The album was a critical and commercial success, and was the first unabridged glimpse of Sanders musical virtuosity. With the help of his prolific alter egos (Sam Sharp, Sandler, Purple Haze and Filterfunk); Sander has been able to transcend the musical prejudice, that so often accompanies being a big name DJ. This is why every DJ, no matter the genre, has an SvD track in their arsenal at all times.
His fans are the real stars in Sander’s phenomenal rise. They send all his records to number one, and help to make him a required headliner at the most prestigious institutions dance music has ever known. Mysteryland, Dance Valley, Global Gathering, Godskitchen, Garudas, Sankeys, Pacha, Cream, Sensation, Space, SW4, Trance Energy, Creamfields, Electrocity, and Electric Daisy Carnival, have all hailed his arrival, and given the world the truest refection of Sander’s real power and popularity. Each year, the number of countries visited grows, as does his frequent flier status. With a tour diary that sees the superstar play to more than a million fans each year, there’s no doubt that that Sander van Doorn is dance music’s favourite son.
Sander continues to meet the demands of being one of the worlds most sought after artists, by continuing to evolve musically, professionally and artistically. In 2010 a deal was reached with global satellite leader Sirius XM, to syndicate his radio show called ‘Identity.’ The show airs twice weekly to over 10 million worldwide on channel 38, Electric Area. Sander has also worked tirelessly to bring his clubbing concept, ‘Dusk till Doorn’ to fruition. It’s a fully produced and musically integrated stage show, which showcases, not only van Doorn, but seeks to highlight and expose new artists, technologies, and music that Sander favours. The concept spawned a successful double mix compilation in 2010, which allowed fans to re-live the experience anytime. ‘Dusk till Doorn’ has been hailed as the future of clubbing. Of course, Sander’s label Doorn Records, has been gaining a strong foothold as one of the most upfront in dance music. Sander is passionate about the music released on his namesake, choosing every track personally. If this mountain of accomplishments were not enough, he somehow makes time to produce the quarterly ‘how to’ show called ‘Studio Sessions.’ The show airs on his YouTube channel (SanderVanDoornTV) and provides viewers with step by step instructions of his process in the studio.
Today, Sander van Doorn is electronic music royalty. He’s a hit-maker, a tastemaker, and musical visionary. With boundary pushing precision, Sander has taken music, clubbing and production to the next level. He’s been awarded so many honours from industry and peers alike, that his mantle is permanently bowed. Poll after poll cement his status as one of the world’s best, and you can bet that whatever the position or rank he holds, in the hearts and minds of his fans he is always number 1.
Within the video interview which we conducted with him at the press/artist area at Tomorrowland in Belgium, before his performance which went down really well at the Above and Beyond's Group Therapy stage, we managed to ask several interesting and intriguing questions. He tells us his opinion of his latest successful singles like, Koko and Love is Darkness, which managed to get in the BBC’s Radio 1 playlist. Another question is where he gets his inspiration, and how he records the unforgettable melodies like the one he uses for KoKo. He reveals to us exclusive insight about the production and the content of his forthcoming album ‘Eleve11’, which will be out this month on his own label Doorn/Spinnin, and on many other labels like Ultra in USA, or Tiger in Germany. Last but not least, he answers how long it took him to compile his latest mixed CD ‘From Dusk Till Dawn vol.2’, and how the whole process went. I personally find this interview really interesting and informative, and I highly recommend you to watch it.
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera & Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge at www.1mix.co.uk
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen & ID&T Belgium and GetinPR for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime experience.
Special thanks to Sara Cooper Management and PR and Jorn Heringa at Spinnin records, for helping us organize the interview.
Watch out for Sander van Doorn ‘Eleve11’ that will be out soon on Doorn
