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>>Hi I'm Chris from MusicRadar.com. We're here with the DJ Expo with Sander Van Doorn.
We're going to be talking about DJing, his career - its been a long time since we've
seen him. So, what's been happening? You've gone from strength to strength since I last
saw you with Future Music magazine, now you're huge in America as well. I mean its really
gone from strength to strength now. >>Its been quite an amazing time you know.
The last couple of years American market has blown up. I've got a really big profile over
there, as well as South America these days. My radio show is pretty much everywhere. I
think 55 countries at this stage and all the productions are doing really well so I'm in
a really good spot right now. >>So I know you've just been working hard
at it but are there any points where you can remember a little snap, a little change where
it was the next step? >>I would say koko was for me a track that
started the new era. It changed the direction, and also being accepted for doing that, so
for me that was a very important moment in my career.
>>Because you kind of stepped a little bit away from trance.. Not stepped away but the
bpm dropped a little bit >>It dropped a little bit. I'm still working
on tracks that have a lot of melody in them. I love melody just as much as I did 10 years
ago. There's so much good music out there as well so I've started binding more and more
different genres. You know, tech-house, house, progressive house. And keeping the melodic
vibe in there as well for me was a big step. It opened a lot more possibilities for me.
>>And developing the label as well. When we last saw you it had kind of just started...
>>Its pretty crazy. We decided to go with a new label to promote my own music. I had
a lot of tracks to be released and I wanted to release them on another label, and to be
in control of the whole perception of it as well. Then people started sending me tracks
and it got into a whole new world of being an A&R manager as well which I absolutely
love so xxxx now the whole release schedule is just filled up with new tracks.
>>So let's talk about the A&R because obviously we've got lots of people watching that are
maybe DJs, maybe trying to start making records. What really catches your ear from a record?
>>Well, you know first of all being different from everybody else. There's a lot of good
music out there, there's a lot of good music to get inspiration from, but in the end you
want to do something different. If you do so then definitely I will like it and I will
try to guide the whole proces, make it better. I give a few tricks and sometimes I will actually
go into somebody's studio and just show a few things. A whole new process that I absolutely love.
>>Are there any things that you hear constantly that sort of annoy you with demos? Using the
same preset or.. a mistake that everybody makes that they need to stop doing?
>>Well you know, at one point a certain Sample CD xxxxxxxxx, so everybody starts
using the same build ups, the same structure in a record xxxxx nexus 2. I use Nexus 2
and I use Sample CDs but I try to be original with using them and there's so many
sounds out there to make great records of. Sometimes its better to step away from the obvious
and make something new. >>So who's coming up on your label? Who's
the new guy, the new talent, who is really exciting you at the moment?
are two guys that are really working on it. They've got massive potential. *** I did a
>> Yeah so the new track I just did together with Dubvision and Into the Light - those
tour with, he's crazy. I just heard him playing in kind of like a tech house techno sound.
Absolutely amazing. There's only *** or so, so there's a lot of new and up and coming
talent out there which is very good for this industry.
So you're looking to sort of nurture as well on your label. These will be guys that you'll
help.. >>Oh absolutely, I will do whatever I can.
Even like in the contractual side of things I will give them advice. When I started becoming
an artist myself, I had to figure everything out myself, you know, how to work with contracts,
planning in a photoshoot, simple stuff like that. These days its a lot better organised
but they need to have advice from people that worked their way up until now. And I'm more
than happy to give that to artists. >>Ok so this is a question I've been asking
everybody, its kind of off track from the studio thing, but tell us about the worst
gig you've ever had to play. Not your performance but maybe you've turned up and the equipment
or the power's been shut off, everybody's got a nightmare gig, tell us about your nightmare gig
>>Actually I do know which one.. There was this promoter. Im not going to say which country
because he's going to clock it right away, in a certain country, he decided to build
a club on an island. But he didn't take into consideration all the logistics behind it.
So there weren't any shuttles going to that island. So if you wanted to go to that club
you had to get your own boats to get there. So I arrived at the club and I was a nearly
late and the only people there were the actual staff in the club. So I said to the guy let's
have a drink and let's see what we can do but this is really not going to work out,
you really need to start looking into your logistics, this is not...
>>So you had your own private island and that was it..
>>That was like the party, it was pretty interesting actually! That was pretty funny...
>>What's on your tech rider then? CDJ 2000s I guess?
>>Yeah I've got 4 cdj 2000s. I still love
the 900 mixers, definitely that's on there. Good monitor speakers, I personally prefer
to have acoustics, they have a really clean sound, I don't have to break it up that much.
And the wifi, its not that spectacular but with it I can work.
>>And 2000 Nexus, do... >>Oh absolutely yeah
>>But they're on your rider or do you... >>Yeah 2000 is more than enough-
>>So you don't need to sync or.. >>No. What's the point in syncing? The 2000s,
the original ones, if you only look at the bpm and match those then its already fine.
I actually didn't know that myself when I started mixing with the 2000s that they were
so accurate because I only mix by ear, so I still do that these days.
>>And what headphones are you using? >>The Technics, obviously they are not going
to be produced in the near future, so I'm going to see if I'll move to V Moda or Pioneer...
>>Maybe your own headphones? >>Yeah I might have been working on that as well.
>>Ahh ok, well thanks very much and we really
appreciate your time, thank you. >>No problem.