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This week in the series MY FIRST GIG, we feature the Dutch house pioneer Marcel Bakker, a.k.a. Marcello. His life has always revolved around music. “Exactly the way I wanted: the turntables facing the crowd.”
“I’ve been listening to music daily since I was a child. I still do. Out of passion, but now also as a way to pass the time due to lack of work. For instance, I just made a mix with all recently released music.”
Turntable
“In any case, at six years old, my mother occasionally let me buy singles. That was in 1986. We had a turntable at home where I could play them. Of course, I listened to everything on the radio, from The Beatles to Creedence Clearwater Revival. My first LP was “The Best of The Osmonds” and my second was a live double album: “Revolution of the Mind” by James Brown. In some way, I see a symbolic reflection of my own musical development in this sequence… The Osmonds and then James Brown.”
Warehouse in the Garden
“I grew up in Haarlem, and while most people had a shed or a garden house, ours was more like a warehouse. It was at least eight times larger than the average shed. In the early seventies, my parents threw parties for their friends in that warehouse. There would be twenty or thirty people with everything: mirrors, a smoke machine, and an artist creating a work on the ground in his underwear. The neighbors would bring an extra turntable, which they set up next to ours. We had two small amplifiers, one for ‘in’ and the other for ‘out.’ It was the hippie era.” (laughs)
Not Hippies
“No, my parents weren’t hippies; they just had a very eclectic group of friends. Those parties were a great learning experience for me, also musically. By the time I was ten, I had a solid collection of singles and LPs. Disco was dominant at the time. They also played a lot of South American music, especially Max Woiski Junior, and there were popular ‘That’s Soul’ compilations. Part 1 was the big favorite.”
Big Compliment
“And so I ended up with my first real gig. One day, people said about the musical part of a party: ‘Let Marcel handle it, he’s good at that.’ Getting a big compliment about something you’re naturally good at, a skill you clearly have, makes an impression.”
Familiar Atmosphere
“My brother and I got to work. I typed out a complete list of all my records and started DJing enthusiastically. It was a familiar atmosphere, so everything just flowed. After such a party, the equipment would stay in place, and I’d play around in the warehouse with the neighborhood kids. Naturally, I’d be DJing too. Sometimes a few girls would come and request a song, but I wasn’t into that at all. I wanted to play my own records in my own way.”
Ridiculously Expensive
“In 1972/73, I went to high school. I was soon DJing at class parties too. From the age of sixteen, I DJed more often at parties in people’s homes. Disco dominated, but in the early eighties, New Order, Prince, Human League, and Kraftwerk joined in. And also Giorgio Moroder, Madonna, and George Michael. I bought a lot of ‘imports,’ as we called them, including unknown 12 inches. I mainly bought my music in Haarlem-Noord, but as I got older, I’d go into ‘the city’ to dig through record shops. That was quite something.” (laughs) “Soon, I started going to Amsterdam and Zaandam as well. Records were ridiculously expensive back then.”
Technics
“I practiced a lot at home, and at eighteen, I bought my first Technics set. It was an award-winning design with the well-known slider. I still have those two Technics turntables, and they still work!” (laughs)
Dark Corner
“I also did countless drive-in shows. As a DJ, you’d be tucked away in a dark corner, preferably with your back to the audience. Vinyl acted as a buffer – something to do with drunkenness, beer throwing, and fights. The equipment stayed protected this way. Mostly, I’d play Top 40, a bit of new wave, and sometimes there’d be live bands.”
Mixing
“Most DJs at the time would talk between records, but I never used a microphone. I practiced mixing as much as possible at home. When hip-hop arrived, I experimented with backspinning and scratching, but it wasn’t my thing. I didn’t want the technique to dictate or even ruin the music. It’s always been about the music for me. All that unnecessary knob-turning…”
Second Family
“In 1980, I started working at the record store Boudisque in Amsterdam. That became my second family. I was responsible for the dance department. Sure, you could find some jazz and reggae in my section, but soon, the focus was on electronic music.”
The Place To Be
“Alongside the drive-ins, I was DJing weekly at Tamberlain in Haarlem from the age of nineteen. I’d been going there since I was sixteen and would always stand next to the DJ to see what he was doing. That venue was the place to be back then. I also DJed at Flora Palace in Amsterdam and at a venue in Maassluis called Downtown. At that time, these were the main venues where house – or rather, electronic music – was played.”
Obscure Belgian Records
“I had no idea how to build a set at that time. I was supposed to take over Friday nights from DJ Jeffrey (Savelsbergh). Back then, you used the house collection, purchased by various DJs. Jeffrey was pretty quirky and would always bring obscure Belgian records. People often didn’t like them, but I saw it as a challenge to work with his collection. I played all the crowd favorites among his records. That’s where I learned what it’s like to clear out a room.” (laughs) “This is when I learned a great insight from old masters: you don’t throw a frog into hot water, or it’ll jump out. Start with cold water and heat it up slowly. In other words: don’t use all your ammo too soon.”
Arc of Tension
“My first big gig was at the student society Minerva in Leiden in 1984. At Minerva, I was on a stage for the first time in front of five thousand (!) people, looking out into the room. Exactly the way I wanted: turntables facing the crowd. That way, you can make more contact with people. Then I DJed for three hours. This was the first time I tried to create a real arc of tension. Not just playing all my records, but really building up.”
Italo
“In 1986/87, I heard house for the first time. It started with Italo, which was the bridge to house. Then came the first house records from Chicago and Detroit. Damn, what a revelation!”
Club iT
“At the same time, I was DJing in Zandvoort and Bell’s Club in Amstelveen. I was also playing internationally. Meanwhile, I was also going out more, often to the RoXY. In 1989, I was ready for a break. I packed my bags and traveled around the United States for seven weeks with a friend. When I got back, Robert Broekhof from Club iT called me: ‘Marcel, Manfred (Langer, iT owner) wants to extend to Thursday nights. Would you like to help?’ I replied that I wanted to stop but was willing to pitch in for a month or so.”
Mixed Crowd
“Thursday was student night. I mainly played deep house and New York house that night. Nice and easygoing, nothing too intense. Then I also started DJing on Sundays. The crowd was very mixed: from lowlifes, criminals, and prostitutes to bank directors and lawyers. An interesting bunch. That first Sunday, there were only a hundred people. Quite sparse for a room that held thirteen hundred. But it grew day by day, from one hundred and fifty to three hundred, and so on.”
Dimitri, My Fellow DJ
“The eighties were marked by darkness, the Cold War, and economic malaise. Then came the nineties. Life seemed brighter again. Musically, so much exciting stuff was happening that I regained my passion. By then, I was living in the heart of Amsterdam and producing music more frequently with others. I also traveled to London with my fellow DJ Dimitri from the RoXY to get new music. It was a golden time.”
A Bit Tired
“In 2002, I turned forty. On that birthday, I decided and even said out loud that I no longer wanted to play music until the late hours. I was, of course, performing night after night at Rush and Chemistry in Club Escape. By that point, I was one of the oldest still doing it. A few others, like Dimitri, Remy, and Joost van Bellen, were also still around. Plus, people were always coming up to me in the streets, which got a bit tiring. A turning point was at Dance Valley when I had to take about two hundred (!) photos with people in a single day. That was back in 1996/97; I was being lived. Everyone constantly wanted something from me. They wanted a photo, or to be on the guest list, or even to sleep with you – whatever you could imagine. And all the traveling was wearing me down too.”
Idealist to the core
“Another thing was that people would sometimes comment on how it was always about Dimitri, Remy, and me. I am a pure idealist, and I agreed. I also wanted to make space for others. I never thought, ‘I just want to stay in the spotlight for as long as possible.’ Success was never the driving force.”
New Generations
“So in 2002, I felt it was time. That was thirty years ago now. I increasingly felt the urge to share the scene with a new generation of guys and girls. It was time to give others a chance. At that time, I knew an editor at De Wereld Draait Door. He was often there when I performed somewhere. If the show had a segment on dance or house, he would always call me to see if I could come on the show to say something. I would always respond that he should invite someone younger, like Don Diablo or someone like that. I didn’t say that out of disdain; it was simply time for others.”
Success Isn’t A Goal
“In reality, I never stopped. I’ve been involved in music every day for the past thirty years. In that sense, nothing has changed since I was six years old.” (laughs) “And I’ve continued to perform a lot over the years. Do I have any tips for up-and-coming DJs? I’ll keep it short: stay true to yourself, and don’t make success your goal.”
“As for the future, I don’t dream of a little house in Thailand or anything like that. I would really like to stay in Amsterdam. Of course, I still want to keep playing, but I don’t necessarily need to die in the DJ booth.” (laughs)
This interview with Marcello was originally published in May 2021 on This Is Our House.
Who is Marcello?
Marcello needs no introduction. He is living proof of what a DJ’s profession is all about. More than thirty years of serious playing, and still on top of it all. The unique quality of Marcello is that he still finds as much challenge in every new gig as in his first. This man has charisma in every gene of his body and with his ability of creating the perfect atmosphere he will make the party.
Marcello has put a lot of Dutch clubs on the international dance map. His claim to fame came with the dawning of rave culture in 1990 when he started his legendary Sunday residency at the iT club in Amsterdam. He transformed this Top 40’s oriented place into Holland’s premier house temple for which punters from all over Europe would queue up to visit. A star was born.
With his Saturday residency at de Waakzaamheid Marcello put this club on the agenda. It was here where he met Eelko Anceaux, who was creative director of the Waakzaamheid at that time. Back then they did not know their collaboration would change the face of Dutch club culture.
Marcello and Eelco unleashed Chemistry on the Amsterdam night life in March 1995. Without making concessions, house music became accessible to a larger audience than ever before, mainly because of Marcello’s open approach to music. Chemistry was the first club where house and techno fused together into what we now call Tech-House. Chemistry still dominates the Dutch scene..
Some International Clubs: Twilo (New York), Rex Club (Paris), Haoman 17 (Jerusalem), Allenby 58 (Tel Aviv), The End (London), Space, Pacha, Amnesia, Privilege/Ku (Ibiza), Opium Garden (Miami), U Turn (San Paolo), E-Werk, WMF (Berlin)
Some festivals: Dance Valley, Extrema, Impulz, Sensation, 4 Elements, Fast Forward Parade, New Frontier, Racism Beat It, Mysteryland, I Love Techno, Beach Bop, Lowlands
Some Facts: Marcello co-organized two weekly club nights at Escape Venue, Amsterdam (Rush and Chemistry). Chemistry was nominated ‘Best Dutch Club Event’ seven years in a row and won six times, Marcello was nominated ‘Best Dutch Club DJ’ three years in a row and won twice. Marcello was already given the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at LSDA 2002.
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