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In 2015 I met Jan Liefhebber for the first time. After that, we periodically kept and keep running into each other. No surprise that in 2016 I asked Jan about his DJ debut.
“I started playing at home with beltdrive turntabels. I had pimped them with a selfmade pitch. I used to live in Germany from my fourth till my fifteenth. My fascination for electronic music and my first visit to Mayday in Germany, inspired me to play music myself. I wanted to make mixtapes and play vinyl, like Westbam, Marusha and other Mayday members.”
More and more records
“When I was seventeen, I borrowed some money from my grandmother to purchase a set of Technics. I immediately started buying more and more records at record shop De Waaghals in Nijmegen and later at the Dance Drugstore in Arnhem. Sometimes I went to Important Records in Essen, right across the German border.”
The place to be
“In those days I lived in Druten. A small village about twenty kilometers from Nijmegen. Nothing was going on in Druten. Every weekend most of the teenagers collectively fled the village to go elsewhere. On Saturday nights Altforst was the place to be. This even smaller town with approximately only five hundred inhabitants, was the proud owner of three popular venues: de Stoep, Kikvorsch and De Blauwe Sluis. Each weekend, touringcars stuffed with youngsters from our region named ‘Land of Maas and Waal’, were transported to and from Altforst.”
German rave
“In 1995 de Kikvorsch saw its first house party ever. Conveniently the name of the event was ‘House Party’. (laughs) In those days, DJs weren’t exactly there for the taking. Also, in a village everyone knows everyone. So, some guy from Druten named Stijn told the Kikvorsch resident DJ that I played German rave. He also gave him one of my mixtapes. Coincidentally, that sound was just emerging in The Netherlands.”
Extremely nervous
“So, one Saturday night, I was standing there, at the House Party event, when I got in a conversation with that same resident DJ. He asked if I was willing to play for an hour the next week. I was extremely nervous. Not only because I would perform for an audience, but also because I knew everybody at the event. I didn’t want to fail in front of my friends and make a fool of myself in front of the complete Maas and Waal region.”
Hardcore
“That first gig actually went really well. Even that good, that I was rebooked. In the end, I played five times at House Party. After that, I was done with it, because hardcore took over. Absolutely not my thing.”
Radio show
“That first gig triggered lots of positive things. One of them was meeting Jacco Peters. He asked me to host a radio show on the pirate station Radio Actief. Jacco also released his first track on my label Highland Beats. Later, I actually organized parties myself in de Kikvorsch, together with Mark van den Hurk. We had parties on all sorts of locations in The Netherlands. Also, I was asked to play at an acid event in the Goudvishal. The wheels were set in motion.”
“As a result of the overwhelming amount of positive feedback, my first gig turned out to be a huge motivation to continue playing. It was most definitely an experience to cherish forever.”
This interview with Jan Liefhebber is originally published on Thursday February 28th 2016 on DJMag.nl
Who is Jan Liefhebber?
Jan liefhebber is DJ, producer and label owner of Highland Beats & We Are Techno productions. Jan Liefhebber has been an important element of the Dutch techno scene since the early 90s.
In 1995 Jan Liefhebber set up the record label Highland Beats to provide a platform for the acid and techno that he played in his DJ sets. Highland Beats went on to become one of the most successful techno labels of the 90s and it provided a spring board for many upcoming artists. One of the first of its kind in the Netherlands, Highland Beats has inspired many labels and artists over the years.
Jan Liefhebber’s DJ career started off in the underground techno scene. Together with some friends he organised parties in crazy industrial locations like old abandoned farm houses, fields, tunnels and warehouses. His musical taste differed from what most people were playing and he soon made a name for himself due to his musical diversity and refreshingly different sets. The popularity of Highland Beats fuelled his success and his first international bookings soon followed.
In 2003 Jan Liefhebber released his first co-production. This led to a storm of remix requests and he has since (co-)produced on many prolific labels. The main reason that Jan Liefhebber has remained a sought after DJ is that he doesn’t let any trend dictate what he plays while still evolving and progressing.
After 40 releases on Highland Beats and several releases on sub labels HBLTD, Body: Art: Form and Klirfactor Jan Liefhebber decided to start up a new, fresh project to reflect the sound he is playing at the moment. 2008 saw the launch of Eterno Records, a joint project with partner Jenny Rose.
Jan Liefhebber has performed in Austria, Belgium, Brasil, Croatia, Turkey, France, the UK, USA, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Malta, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, Poland and Russia at some of the world’s most prolific events.