This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
The facebook-group Huppels plays a significant role in my getting acquainted with in the Amsterdam dance scene. Since the late eighties I had lived in Kansas City (Mo. USA), Reims (France), Brussels (Belgium) and Tilburg, but never in Amsterdam. The Huppels-group - about which I explain more in my memories with DJ BeNRG - digitally opened up a whole new of dance minded people who were as much into music as I was. Also: most members were 35 plus, so we also shared the memories of our generation. One of the early members of the group was the Dutch Misja Wielings aka DJ Misja Xampl.
Although Misja Xampl, whom also produces music, and I originally met in real life at the first Huppels party ever on March 5th 2011, we really got to know each other a month later at a location called Opde Sluizen in IJmuiden, where my love, with whom I was still secretly dating at that time, celebrated his birthday. Misja Xampl was one of the resident-DJ’s at this rather underground location, where die hards got together after other venues closed. It was hard to get there and hard to get away again, but if you succeeded at finding a driver, you were assured of a night filled with dance music of all sorts and a liberal atmosphere in which there appeared to be not many rules. Unfortunately the club was closed and bulldozed down a couple of years ago.
Security men
That night, in April 2011, Misja Xampl and I got to talk for, what at least felt, hours, leaning back in an old leather couch. We really got to know each other as a person and felt a click. When Misja Xampl was one of the backstage security men at the Huppels Q-Day party at the end of that month, he was dressed in military colors and intimidated curious people away from the backstage entrance while gracefully and with his typical gentle smile opening the space for me every time again.
DJ Misja Xampl in Asia
During the years after that we didn’t get to see each other again very often face-to-face but we kept in touch through social media. As DJ Misja Xampl he travelled the world and conquered Asia, although during one of these trips something went wrong horribly and Misja Xampl ended up partly paralyzed for some years. Last January he played every day at the Sushi Bar at the Horecava, the biggest Dutch event for the hospitality business in the broadest sense of the word. At this event the picture of us was taken, by the man himself. Unfortunately, although we go way back, this seems to be the only picca of us together. I see room for improvement here, haha. We are both in the picture of the top, with a lot of other fabulous people, which was taken at that famous first Huppel-party ever on March 5th 2011. Misja Xampl is sitting almost one person to the right, next to the smiley balloon, sitting in front of me.
His own home
Finally we got to catch up – we had hours – and we ended up working on a project together. In order to do so I visited Misja for the first time in all these years in his own home, where we spent an inspirational and fruitful afternoon together. I believe that particular project is out of the picture now, but Misja is still going strong. Next month he’ll fly to Ibiza for a new challenge. Of course, I interviewed Misja Xample about his First Gig. You can find it here.
