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I’ve known Jurgen Rijkers since before I knew him. It’s all about sharing the same friend. Often, she spoke in a loving way about this Dutch dance-pioneer, whom I met in person in 2012 or 2013. Two years later DJ Jurgen told me the story of his first gig.
Jurgen taught himself how to play. He’s a true autodidact. When he heard Marcello and Dimitri play, he knew that musically he wanted to take that same direction. It all started in Scheveningen and went on in clubs all around the globe.
Radio City The Hague
“I taught myself how to play. I once started out at the dance-oriented radiostation Radio City The Hague. After that, I became active for several other stations. Also, I organized several drive-in shows for the broadcasting channel Veronica.”
iT and RoXY
“When in the early nineties house became popular and I had heard Marcello and Dimitri play several times in the clubs iT and RoXY in Amsterdam, I knew that this style was where I wanted to go.”
Club Exposure
“My first house gig was in Club Exposure in Scheveningen. My girlfriend at that time and I knew the owner of the club, René Mulder. At some point, she asked René whether it was possible for me to play at his club. René responded with enthusiasm!”
No turntables
“I had done some mixing in the past but never played a whole night. In the week before the gig I had bought quite a few records at Rhythm Import in The Hague. For many years this was my go-to place to buy my records, although I didn’t own turntables.” (laughs)
No clue
“So, when I started my set, I had no clue what records I would find in my flight bag. Fortunately, except for a few mixing errors, the set went okay. Before the next week was over, I had bought two turntables.”
After party
“DJ Angelo subsequently gave me the chance to play at an after-party in a club named De Berger Meermin (Mermaid) in Bergen. That sent went much better. After that gig I played for quite a while in that club.”
After Hour Power
“After that, there was no holding me back. I played many times at After Hour Party’s. Especially the After Hour Power events in Club Lexion in Westzaan/Zaandam were top of the bill. Every once in a while, I also played in Club Escape in Amsterdam. After a while, I even became one of the residents.”
ID
“Besides this, I hosted my own Thursday evening in club Asta in The Hague. It was called ID. During those evenings I offered new talent an opportunity to present themselves and get some experience.”
New ‘first gig’
“When my single Better off Alone was released, I sort of had a new ‘first gig’. By then, I had played practically all around the world. Suddenly I was the first Dutch DJ to play in the now booming Las Vegas and in Los Angeles. Those Americans didn’t understand dance music at all and constantly requested R&B and rock.” (lacht)
“These days, house, dance and EDM is part of the American culture as well. I’m happy that I was able to stand at the cradle of the development of dance music and that now, in 2014, every single week I can still play the music that I fell in love with then.”
This article is originally published on DJMag.nl on Thursday October 2nd 2014.