This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
In this edition of MY FIRST GIG: the well-known and exceptionally friendly techno artist Jasper de Vries, also known by his stage name JSPR. His debut gig turned out a bit differently than he had imagined. “I was too late to sign up for the DJ contest.”
“In 2005, I had just moved from Breda to Rotterdam to start my studies. I also joined a student association because it seemed like a fun way to meet people. So it’s no surprise that my first real performance happened at the club owned by the student association. The venue was called Bikini. After graduating from high school, I had played for a few friends here and there, but I wouldn’t really call those proper gigs.”
Trial and error
“Of course, I brought my turntables and vinyl collection with me to Rotterdam. I spent a lot of time in my room practicing mixing. I never had a mentor – I learned everything through trial and error. One day, a housemate told me about a DJ contest at the student club. That sounded like something for me! Unfortunately, I was too late to sign up. Such a pity.”
Hidden gems
“Luckily, the day before the contest, I heard that there was still a 30-minute slot available. I was allowed to close the night and show off my DJ skills, but I wouldn’t be part of the competition. I didn’t mind that at all – I was just thrilled to play in the club. I immediately went digging for new gems at a record store on the Nieuwe Binnenweg – back then, Rotterdam was a vinyl lover’s paradise.”
Flexible setlist
“I was super nervous that evening. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to play, but I didn’t know what kind of DJ would play before me. I realized I had to be flexible with my track selection. You have to remember: not everyone was into techno back then, so I found it really nerve-racking. Another big challenge was my time slot – I had to play from 4:30 to 5:00 AM. So I spent the whole night anxiously waiting for my turn.”
Support from the student house
“What really helped was that everyone from my student house came to support me. One of my housemates was already familiar with performing, since he was in the Hermes House Band – yes, the ones behind ‘I Will Survive Lalala’. He told me it’s normal to be nervous before a show, but that it all disappears the moment you start playing. And he was right.”
In the zone
“At first, half an hour felt like a long time, but in reality, it flew by. The DJ before me was also spinning solid techno tracks, so I was able to do my thing. I really got into the zone and played my favorite records, like Dave Clarke’s “Wisdom to the Wise“, Michel de Hey & Secret Cinema’s “Another Sweater” and Carl Cox’s “Just Kick“. My mixing was on point, too – all those practice hours had paid off.” (laughs)
A lot of joy
“I look back on that first performance with a lot of joy. After that night, I was invited to play at Bikini more often and even became a resident DJ. I really see my time at that student nightclub as the foundation of my DJ career.”
“By now, I’ve also been producing for quite a while and have released music on some great labels like Minus, Second State, SCI+TEC, Elevate and a few others. My tip for producers: be patient! If you just bought your DAW yesterday, try to enjoy the process of learning how to make music. Don’t expect to have a release next week or start touring next month. Labels, agents, and managers will say ‘no’ more often than ‘yes’. It can be frustrating to hear no after pouring your heart and soul into a track. But that’s exactly when patience matters most – trust that good music will always find its way.”
This interview with JSPR was originally published in August 2018 on This Is Our House.
Who is JSPR?
JSPR (real name: Jasper de Vries) is a well known techno artist from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. JSPR always had a big interest in electronic music, artists like Prodigy and Underworld were part of his daily music dosage. He moved to Rotterdam after graduating high school, where techno music was really booming in that period of time. Rotterdam had amazing venues like Nighttown, Watt and Parkzicht. These venues were the first techno clubs in the Netherlands. JSPR was really inspired by these clubs and by this sound. Because of this he really devoted his time to produce and DJ with techno music. After DJ’ing for a while, JSPR decided to spend more time in the studio and focus on producing his own tracks.
Producing really payed off for JSPR. He started to produce a lot of techno music and start finding his own sound. It didn’t took long for his depute solo EP to release. His debut solo record called “A Duck, Boys And Girls” was released on the legendary Traum Schallplatten. After this the releases really started going.
After a few releases JSPR got noticed by the one and only Richie Hawtin. He even got the opportunity to release on this boss his label MINUS. JSPR really got in the picture and played a lot of big festivals in the Netherlands, such as Loveland, Dockyard and many more.
Nowadays JSPR’s sound is more developed into the deeper side of techno, with releases on Second State, Elevate, SCI+TEC and many many more labels. You will definitely recognise his sound.
In 2019 JSPR decided to start his own techno label called Barbaric Recordings. JSPR is running this label to release techno music from talented and familiar artists and to bring all the spectrums of techno music together on one label.
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