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Dutch Martijn Van Dalen a.k.a. DJ/producer Buurman van Dalen is not only a talented musician, he's also such a pleasant personality. No wonder he worked in health care for many years. In 2017 he reminisced with me about his DJ debut. “Seeing all those dancing people gave me goosebumps!”
“The first time I really mixed a whole set was in September 2002, during the Liberty Dance in Veghel. Before that, I had been a longtime resident of Café Marktzicht, also in Veghel. Every Friday night I was behind the wheels in that bar. Those were the days. Every week the café was packed.”
Liberty Dance
“In 2002 a few bars around the market square in Veghel decided to organize a house party on Liberation Day. Hence the name Liberty Dance. Every bar delivered one DJ and that’s why I was asked as well.”
Live
“It would be my first time playing live with vinyl in front of an audience. I was the opening-DJ and DJ Jurgen would be closing the day off. I remember that I was pretty nervous. I think I didn’t sleep very well the night before. Of course, I had practiced a lot at home and was completely familiar with all the vinyl that I brought.”
Backpack
“So, there I went. From Eindhoven, were I lived at that moment, I took a bus. My backpack was packed with vinyl and my headphones. The closer we got to Veghel, the more tingles I felt in my spine. Fortunately, my mates from Veghel were already there. That was quite nice. The first beers went in like water.” (laughs)
The first mix
“Then it was my turn to enter the DJ-booth. I remember that I kept telling myself: ‘When the first mix goes well, the rest will be fine’. I the end, I don’t even recall whether that first crossover was successful.” (laughs) “What I do know, is that I didn’t make any big mistakes.”
Pullover
“Before I started, I had partly planned the set. Of course, I brought along a lot of extra vinyl, because you always have to wait and see how the audience responds. My last track was Speedy J’s Pullover and the audience loved it! I forgot the rest of the playlist, but naturally they were all techno tracks.”
Goosebumps
“That performance at Liberty Dance was awesome! Seeing all those dancing people in front of me, gave me goosebumps. The reactions I received afterwards, were really good and my mates were super proud of me.”
Thunderdome
“In those days, I didn’t have anyone to look up to. Sure, me and my friends went to parties like Mysteryland and Impulz and you could often find us at Thunderdome. I also like to go to the Danssalon in Eindhoven en of course, the Zillion in Antwerp. I like all styles within house music.”
Slow down
“Because I moved to Eindhoven and had played in a bar every Friday and Saturday for the past five years, I decided to slow the DJing down for a while. I started focusing more on producing music. First in a few studio bands and the past five years I completely concentrated on my big love: house. Three years ago, I actively approached labels and by now we are many releases further along the way.”
“Meanwhile, I played here and there, for example on an internet radio station where I had a weekly hour of airplay. Also, you could listen to me playing live at Steam-Up Radio. Besides this, you can find several of my mixes on Mixcloud. These days, I mainly focus on underground, deep house, psytrance and techno. What the future holds, is a surprise, but I presently find myself in a good flow. Today, on February 2nd, my track Neon Dancer is released. I made this track together with Robin ‘Jaydee’ Albers. I have high expectations of this track.”
This article is originally published on djmag.nl on February 2nd 2017.
