This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
Calm Chor (IND): “Music was my lifeline”
Our first real conversation took place while walking through Amsterdam during ADE 2016. Later the Indian Calm Chor aka Ashvin Mani Sharma told me about his surprising DJ-debut. “I had two faders per channel and small fiddly EQ knobs.”
Buddy Suwijn (NL): “Rum-coke on the side and I was on!”
Buddy Suwijn was a latebloomer in music, but when he returned to his old love in 2012, there was no stopping him. I’ve seen his career take off and develop and I’m happy for him, because besides his talent Buddy has a heart of gold. In 2015 we talked about his first gig. “I was the only DJ. Huh?!”
ZaVen (NL): “Even then, networking was key”
Sven Dekker aka DJ/producer Zaven was born and raised in Alkmaar, The Netherlands. In 2016 he told me about his first gig. “When I saw how the crowd was dreaming away on my music, it tasted like more.”
Wesdex (NL): “I could accelerate the BPM”
The first time we met, must have been around 2012. The Dutch Wesdex is also known by the name ‘the green designer’. In 2015 he told me about his first gig. “It was exciting because the sound in a club’s DJ booth is totally different than in your bedroom.”
Uner (ESP): “In the end, the police showed up”
The Spanish DJ/producer Manuel Garcia, better known as Uner, started performing at a very young age. From piano he went to dance music. In 2015 he told me the story of his debut at a DJ.
Roberto DaVinci (NL): “Reasonably easy to ‘wurm your way in’”
We met way back when in the real early ’10s. In 2015 I published Ro Hoogduin’s aka Roberto DaVinci’s intriguing coming-of-age-DJ story. “Nervousness didn’t exist at that age. Mistakes did.”
