DJ Cellie: “Amazing time in that ‘farmer’s shed’”

DJ Cellie and Marceline at Wooferland Festival 2018
When DJ Cellie and I run into each other, we always hug and have a laugh. About his first gig he told me: "I realized: pre-programmed DJing didn’t work."

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When the Dutch Marcel Moulijn a.k.a. DJ Cellie enters a venue, the sun starts shining. Often dressed fabulously over the top and with a smile from ear to ear, he has a chat or joke with everyone before he starts his energetic set. We share six letters of our first name, which immediately created a bond. By now, when we meet, we always hug and have a laugh. He told me about his first gig: “I had to find a balance between my vague shit, the classics, the sing-alongs and the Top 40 hits of the moment.”

“My first real set was in bar/dancing De Kopermolen (or was ith Alcazar at that point?) in the town where I lived at that moment, Nieuw-Vennep. I was about sixteen years old. Ow, that was 1983.” (laughs)

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Test-set

“I’d sent an open application  to them because In my opinion their regular DJ sucked. A few days later, owner Han called me and invited me to do a test-set for a night.”

Jam packed

“When the night arrived, I was extremely nervous. Also because my friends were always there and the place was usually jam packed on Fridays and Saturdays.”

DJ Cellie Wooferland Festival 2012 1024x683 - DJ Cellie: "Amazing time in that ‘farmer’s shed’"

Dancing

“In those days, I often went dancing in venues in Amsterdam like Zorba de Buddha, Schakel 49, Flora Palace and later the BIOS. Of course, I also wanted to check out DJs like Barry Pitch, Peter Duijkersloot and Alex van Oostrom.”

Awesome shit!

“To me, especially Flora Palace was magical! They often played dub versions and used a lot of strobes. Awesome shit! House didn’t exist yet, but these Flora nights represent for me my first house parties.”

DJ Cellie behind the decks Cafe Diep 2016 1024x768 - DJ Cellie: "Amazing time in that ‘farmer’s shed’"

Day and night

“I bought my vinyl in those days at the record stores Boudisque, Rhythm Import, Attalos and Concerto in Amsterdam. My greatest sources of inspiration were the pirate radio stations W.A.P.S. (Wave Amsterdam Power Sound) and Radio Decibel. Day and night, I listened to those. I was completely smitten by all of that underground hiphop, breakdance, electro, disco and new wave.”

Meticulously

“It goes without saying: exactly that style was what I was going to play in De Kopermolen. I understood that I couldn’t play this stuff all night long. After all, this wasn’t Flora Palace. I had to find a balance in between my vague shit, the classics, the sing-alongs and the Top 40 hits of the moment. I had meticulously prepared a set at home. I worked on it for hours and had even noted the correct playing order.” (laughs)

DJ Cellie playing at Thuishaven Amsterdam 2018 - DJ Cellie: "Amazing time in that ‘farmer’s shed’"

By feel

“Let do it, let’s play! Damn! After the first few tracks of my list, I realized: pre-programmed DJing didn’t work. So, I continued my set by feel.”

Hired on the spot

“With the fabulous support of my friends I brought down the house! I was hired on the spot to become the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night resident DJ. That was awesome!”

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‘Start options’

“After that, I never prepared a complete set. I usually select some tracks and see what happens. If it’s a short set, I merely make a small selection and generally I have one or two ‘start options’ in mind.”

“I had an amazing time in that ‘farmer’s shed’. Also, I learned a lot about playing. From Dutch to obscure new wave and from hardcore to hiphop and sexy soul. I still own most of the records (7”, 12” and albums) I played then, and I will never sell them or give them away.”

This interview is originally published in March 2014 on DJMag.nl.

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