Dennis van de Geer: “Studio fuller and bank account emptier”

Dennis van de Geer at the beginning of his career
I got to know Dutch DJ/producer Dennis van de Geer at one of his first Buzz! Events. In November 2015 he told me about his intended debut story. The one that didn't take place...

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I got to know Dutch DJ/producer Dennis van de Geer and his charming other half at one of his first Buzz! Events in Amsterdam Zeeburg. With our shared poor eyesight, we immediately had plenty to talk about. A few months after that, he told me about his intended debut story. “The only option was an improvised podium on the dance floor.”

“My first gig was not as a DJ, but as a performing producer under the alias Chameleon. Back in the 1970s, inspired by electronic music, I had started piano lessons and bought – well, my parents – one of the first affordable synthesizers. When the house virus spread in the Netherlands, I knew immediately: this was the music I was after! Based on an Atari computer and that old synthesizer, the adventure began.”

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Empty bank account

“The studio became fuller and my bank account emptier.” (Laughs) “At the end of 1994 my first gig finally presented itself. I was allowed to play a set in a party tent in Mijdrecht at the turn of the year. The preparations were feverish. All the songs had to be put in the right order, the Atari had to work at its peak and the equipment, which had always stood so safely in my bedroom, was allowed to stretch its legs in the angry outside world.”

Disaster

“That didn’t go without a hitch. There was no money for a proper flight case, so a friend ended up making one. To make matters worse, my friend turned off my studio’s main switch just as the final touches were being made on the set, but not yet saved to floppy disk.”

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Lump in my throat

“Arriving at the marquee to set up and sound check, I was told by the organizer that they had not taken into account such an amount of equipment on the stage. The only option was an improvised podium on the dance floor. With a lump in my throat, I declined that offer, because my equipment would not survive that. In order not to disappoint the group of friends traveling with me, I then did a small performance in my brother’s living room anyway.”

Full dance floor

“Fortunately, the next performance was scheduled shortly afterwards. This one took place in ‘t Heerenhuys (later Club 114) on the Herengracht in Amsterdam. Fortunately, the dance floor remained full during my gig, but I didn’t notice much of that because of the nerves.”

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Castle

“In the following years I was lucky enough to be able to play at many beautiful and fun parties. From a castle in Belgium to a ship on the IJsselmeer and everything in between.”

Electronic gems

“I still produce and DJing has been added over time. DJing started for me out of love for music. There is so much beautiful music that needs to be heard as far as I’m concerned. In my sets I mix old with new techno and electronic gems from the seventies also invariably find a place in my sets.”

“I don’t really make a name for myself as a DJ, but with my organization The Party Company I organize parties listening to the name BUZZ! At these parties we bring a mix of oldschool and techno of today.”

This interview with Dennis van de Geer is originally published on DJMag.nl in November 2015.

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