Sander Bottaio: “I still prefer vinyl”

Roadtrip Sander Bottaio and Marceline
In 2015 I asked Dutch Dj Sander Bottaio him about his first gig. “The VJ thought that my set was the best of the evening.”

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Dutch Sander Kuiper a.k.a. DJ Sander Bottaio is a true techno lover. The word energetic often applies to his sets as well. We met quite some years ago and attended many parties and some festivals together. By now we're good friends. In 2015 I asked him about his first gig. “The VJ thought that my set was the best of the evening.”

“I played my first gig when I was about seventeen. It was a friend’s party in a horse stable. In those days I played hardcore. I wasn’t nervous at all because everyone there was a friend. A small mistake wasn’t a matter of life and death, because everyone knew that I had just started playing.”

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Shooting club

“In the following period, I mostly played at several friends’ parties. On one occasion, we played at a shooting club because the father of a friend, who was a member, arranged that we could use the cafeteria. Often, we played in the garden shed of one of my friends. It was quite big so very suitable for an intimate party. Every time took a lot of effort, because I always brought my own gear that included amplifiers, speakers, lighting and turntables. Many times, I had just installed everything again and the next party came up.”

Techno gig

“My first gig as techno DJ was on October 27th 2012 at Life072 in Alkmaar. It was the first time that I was named on the flyer and I was terribly nervous. I owed this gig to DJ Surgeles who had arranged that I could play. He was on the line-up as well and when I asked if he could arrange a place for me, it was a done deal.”
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Timecodes

“I had brought my own turntables with timecodes. I’d just started playing with Traktor and wanted to preserve that old, nice vinyl feeling. I still prefer vinyl to play with. Unfortunately, there aren’t many new releases on vinyl anymore and in the end, digital is more convenient. These days I play with controllers but sometimes I reach out to my turntables with timecodes.”

Compliment

“The set went very well. I had prepared myself a little but not a lot. Generally, I play ‘on the flow’. I wait and see what happens. The VJ who was beaming behind me, told me later that in his opinion my set was the best of the evening. I took that as a huge compliment.”

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Good turntables

“I never had a mentor. I’m completely self-taught. When I was about sixteen, I started playing hardcore. I started out with belt drive turntables with a rotate pitch. Later, I bought my own turntables and a mixer. This took a a summer of hard work and saving every penny, because they had to be of good quality, of course.” (laughs)

Obscure techno

“I learned most by standing next to the DJ booth often and observe how other DJs play. Also, I listened a countless number of sets by other artists. Generally, I can really appreciate sets by Dave Clarke, especially the older ones. I don’t really have heroes. If someone plays well, I’m happy. Admittedly, the Drumcode sound very much appeals to me, but I also play fat, raw, underground techno. This can be extremely obscure techno, of the kind that the audience doesn’t really know what to do with it.”

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“I’m a few years down the DJ-road now. The past year, I ‘ve played at several online radio stations where I had a minimum of two shows per week. Besides this, I won a few DJ contests and since a short while I’m resident at De Feestvennootschap. This is a young organization that hosts nice parties on Sunday afternoons at The Lighthouse in IJburg, Amsterdam.”

This interview with Sander Bottaio is originally published on DJMag.nl in July 2015.

Who is Sander Bottaio?

Although his artist name Sander Bottaio suggests otherwise, he was born in 1979 in The Netherlands as Sander Kuiper. Raised in the province of Noord-Holland, you can say that he has been ‘pulled out of the clay’.

The past is something to leave behind, but occasionally to be thought of, so here is some history. Sander Bottaio started raving and DJing when he was 17. Hardcore house (or gabber) was the thing of its time. Throughout the years to come, slowly developing his taste in music, Sander’s journey lead to techno from 2012 until today.

15 Years of the artist Sander Bottaio have passed and slowly but steadily the spiral is going upwards. Besides playing at radio shows, clubs and other events, he also started his own organization Eventhorizon Techno. Eventhorizon is positively developing along with Sander Bottaio by it throwing off- and online underground events at creative locations.

Music-wise Sander Bottaio plays all sorts of techno, from 125 BPM till around 136. These days he’s also interested in psytrance.  Characteristic of his sets is a continuous energetic vibe, yet he avoids mindless banging around. The aim is keeping some type of groove or soul in his mixes, so people continue to dance, and giving the experience of a higher BPM than he’s actually playing. Exactly that defines the Sander Bottaio style. Sometimes he likes to experiment with various styles, from progressive house to obscure techno. In front of a crowd though, you can expect his typical uptempo tunes. “People want a party”, is one of his favorite phrases.

Wanna see Sander Bottaio live? You can catch him regularly on a live stream aired from his studio or on various other social media. It’s all about the passion for the artist. To quote Sander Bottaio: “I’d rather play for one person who’s dancing his or her ass off, than for thousands of people who don’t have a clue and behave accordingly.”

Sander Bottaio’s music career is at a turning point and getting crazier and crazier. And he’s loving it!

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