This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
In 2015 I had a chat with Dutch Werner Charmes a.k.a. DJ Charmes (formerly Lucky Charmes) about his first gig. After having participated in a few DJ battles he wasn't too nervous. "I did feel a kind of healthy tension."
“My first real gig was at The Palace in Groningen. I was eighteen years old. I was allowed to perform as a result of my participation in several DJ battles throughout the Netherlands that I had won earlier that year. I was immediately allowed to play a two-hour set and was presented as a new upcoming Dutch DJ talent.”
Hairier situations
“I was a bit nervous, but I had already been in hairier situations during battles and I had won all those matches. That definitely helped my confidence. That does not alter the fact that this was suddenly a set of two whole hours. So, I did feel a kind of healthy tension. My job was to keep people on the dance floor for two hours and give them a crazy time. Fortunately, I was programmed prime time on the line-up that evening. Also, The Palace was sold out and it all worked out fine.”
Club night
“The audience consisted mainly of friends and girlfriends. In addition, all DJs from the preliminary rounds of the battles were present. The event was also linked to a club night, which usually attracted full houses. Musically, I mixed everything up at the time, from house to urban and from classics to dancehall (eclectic).”
Common theme
“I already knew two months before the gig that I would play there, and I practiced my set to perfection. On the evening itself, a completely different set came out.” (laughs) “I did have a common theme in my head, and I knew roughly which way I wanted to go. That helped with the nervousness.”
Very proud
“I received a lot of support from local fellow DJs and friends. They all thought it was great that I could perform here. My parents were also very proud. I didn’t have a driver’s license at that time, so they regularly brought and picked me up when I participated once more in such a battle. They experienced my DJing up close.”
Heroes
“I didn’t have just one mentor, but several. Because I was so busy with battles during that period, I had to learn a lot of tricks related to spinning: scratching, back spinning, juggling, etc. I had all imported videos from the United States to study skills of other DJs. My heroes were DJ Roc Raida, DJ Craze, A-Trak and Q-bert. From Dutch soil, DJ Chainsaw was one of the DJs who inspired me enormously. The real playing, I taught myself. Also by copying a lot, of course. I didn’t have a teacher like I am now for a number of novice DJs.”
Girlfriends
“At that time there were a lot of girlfriends who thought it was super cool what I did. I used that occasionally. Or was it abuse?” (laughs) “Oh well, you’re eighteen and you want something from life. The girlfriends followed each other in rapid succession during that period.”
Flawless
“The set at that first big gig went great! I couldn’t have wished for a better DJ debut. Admittedly, I was of course also in a sold-out Palace at the best time of the evening, but well, something can always go wrong. At least I didn’t make any horrible mistakes. I do remember that I was shaking a bit when I put on the first record. At the time, of course, I still played with vinyl, because CDJs did not exist yet. Once the first transition went well, the rest of the set went flawless as well!”
“After that I was regularly invited again to come and play at The Palace. Then I started playing in clubs more and left the DJ battle world behind me. At that time my love for house music also started. That’s what I’m focusing on to this day. All in all, that first gig was one to remember. I remember it like it was yesterday!”
This interview with Charmes is originally published in August 2015 on DJMag.nl.
Who is Charmes?
Continuing to make serious waves across the global music industry, Charmes’s exciting, new groovy bass house sound has made its imprint in the global house scene.
Already holding a pivitol place in the Dutch dance circuit, Charmes gets ready to fulfill his worldwide ambitions. With a love and passion for DJ-ing resonating in his teachings as a certified trainer at Pioneer DJ, his status as a Pioneer Ambassador has involved sharing his unique skills behind the decks with fresh, rising talent.
You can put this multi-faced DJ/producer from Amsterdam behind any turntable at any given time and Charmes will express what house music is all about. With recent releases such as These Sounds on Tiësto’s label Musical Freedom and receiving support from artists such as Diplo, Martin Garrix, David Guetta and Calvin Harris, as well as Paint It Black (an incredible cover, which was personally approved by the ROLLING STONES) securing plays from the likes of Afrojack, Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Nicky Romero and many more! According to an interview in Billboard, Charmes was labeled as an open-minded artist presenting the next big thing in house music by the legendary Tiësto!
His history of other releases spans an array of some of the worlds elite imprints such as Spinnin Records, STMPD Records, Musical Freedom, Armada Music, Sony Music, Univeral and his own label In Control Recordings.
Throughout the years Charmes has impressive support from colleagues in the industry and the word of his performances has spread to an array of well-known venues & festivals. With an armoury of tour dates including visits to Hï (Ibiza), Ushuaïa (Ibiza), B2B set with the legend himself Tiësto at the LIV in Miami, Charmes’s impressive tour pedigree has continued to reach new heights over the years and even made him receive a personal invitation of Martin Garrix for the opening of the season at Ushuaïa in Ibiza.
The gathered knowledge and skills Charmes has and his living and breathing for house music, has shaped this new groovy house sound, attacking the global dancefloors for many years to come.
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