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Both at Thuishaven and Winterwooferland, we ran into each other. This edition of the MY FIRST GIG series features Dutch DJ/producer Secander Raisani of Pako & Frederik. "At first, I was mostly busy hiding that my hands were shaking."
“Music was always a part of me. I’ve played piano and drums. My earliest memory of electronic music goes back to when I was about five or six years old. The babysitter brought music from Jean-Michel Jarre one evening. She mentioned that the thunder we heard wasn’t real but came from synthesizers. I remember standing in total awe of the speaker when I heard that thunder.”
Cool Music
“My sisters had a huge influence on me. They were all older than me and often went to discos. I was around eleven or twelve then. They came home with cool music, and I would steal their tapes to listen to them.”
Cutting and Pasting
“I was also a huge fan of the Bond van Doorstarters. I knew you could send in mixtapes but, to my great frustration, I didn’t know how to make those tapes. I lived near Lochem at the time, in the countryside, and didn’t understand the cutting and pasting they talked about during the broadcast. My friends didn’t know either. It wasn’t until 1987, after we moved to Arnhem, that someone explained it to me. Later, someone showed me how to make loops: I had to unscrew the flap of the cassette tape so I could see the insides. Then I could cut and paste a loop and hold it against the head. Finally, I could start making loops.”
Raves
“Our move to Arnhem, the big city, marked the beginning of the next musical step. I met people with drum machines, someone else was good at scratching, and we made and played hip-hop. In 1991, we started going to raves seriously. I had, of course, heard of Frederik, the big man in the Arnhem house scene at the time. One day, I was walking through town with Quentin (Kwentan) and we happened to run into Frederik. Quentin introduced us, and we started talking. I was immediately impressed: he knew and understood it! He already had his own label (Gyrate Records) in 1991 and had released a few records.”
All House
“In the period that followed, I often hung out with Frederik and watched him DJ. I started to get it: ‘Oh yeah, you have to match the records.’ I already understood beat and rhythm. Until then, I didn’t realize this worked so well with house music, which I had only known from hip-hop. We didn’t talk about styles like today. Chicago house, Detroit techno, or UK progressive: it was all house!”
Collecting Vinyl
“After about six months, Frederik said to me: ‘You should start DJing too.’ I had already collected some vinyl and was making cassette tapes for coffee shops. So, the step to DJing didn’t seem that big.”
First Production
“Despite my friends’ conviction that I should DJ, it happened later. Producing came first by chance. In early 1993, Frederik had to DJ in Montpellier, France, along with Angelo and Remy Unger, and I got to come along. It was an amazing week. The guy who owned the villa we stayed in had a little studio. We talked endlessly about music but spent most of our time in that studio. By then, I understood those knobs and faders well since I often jammed with Frederik and his drum machines and Akai MPC60 at home with friends. In that French villa, Frederik programmed the Roland TR-909, Remy handled the EQ, and Angelo and I managed the flanger. One of the tracks we made that week was released in 1993 on the Top Secret label and became an underground hit: “Vauvenage – Flange Stereo“. That was my very first production.”
Shaking Hands
“My first real gig was at the first outdoor house event in Arnhem on Queen’s Day 1993. The streets were full of hundreds of people. Pretty intimidating. DJ Kamil, Kwentan Van Herman, and Pa von Funk were also on the lineup, but no one had years of experience back then. I was nervous to the point that my hands were shaking. Generally, I can control my nerves well. At the start of my set, I was mostly busy hiding my shaking hands. I would turn around when I took a sip from my glass.” (laughs) “At least that distracted me enough from my nerves.”
Club Hits
“I had about a hundred vinyl records at the time, and I brought them all with me. I hadn’t planned in advance which ones I would use, but I knew I would play the club hits of the time, like “Rise From Your Grave” and Jaydee. I also played fairly dark tracks without vocals.”
Dimitri
“Did I make any mistakes? No, I don’t think so. Mistakes have happened plenty of times during later gigs, like leaving the fader open or picking the wrong record. But not during that first gig. By the way, it’s not a big deal to make mistakes. I learned that once while watching Dimitri. At one point, dust got under the needle, causing the record to crackle and skip. Dimitri calmly lifted the needle, cleaned it with his finger, and put it back at the beginning of the track. The crowd cheered and partied on. You just need to know how to improvise a bit.”
Little Brother
“No family members were present at my DJ debut. Maybe my youngest sister passed by, but I’m not sure. My sisters didn’t think it was important. I was their little brother messing around with music. However, we had a great group of friends from Arnhem, including Frederik, Kamil, Eric de Man, Mike Risk, Kwentan, and others like Pa von Funk. The whole club consisted of a large group of people, many of whom were quite serious about music and still are!
Wonderfully Timeless
“The first track I played was “Alaska – Lost In Alaska” (Moose Mix). Somewhere early in the set, I also played Quadrant with “Hyperism“. Both are still great records. I still hear them now and then, and I’m glad they’re so wonderfully timeless. What I learned that first time on stage was that it was awesome to do, even though I was a bit shy. But after a few records, that went away too. Later, when we played in Luxor, the DJ booth was hidden in a dark corner. Relaxed. Nowadays, when I play somewhere, I often make contact with the light technician and ask for less light on stage and more strobes.”
Global Underground
“In the mid-90s, our first joint productions were picked up by major labels like Global Underground, and then England beckoned. There, we ended up at a booking agency that also represented Jeff Mills, Pete Tong, Lucien Foort, Danny Howells, and Sander Kleinenberg. When our albums were released on Global Underground, Pako & Frederik traveled the world to DJ. We saw every part of the world for five years, and when we returned to the Netherlands in 2010, everyone had forgotten us.” (laughs)
ㄷㅋㅌㅂㄹㅁㄴ
“Nowadays, I operate alone under the name Pako & Frederik and ㄷㅋㅌㅂㄹㅁㄴ. We both studied law at some point, and Frederik has since traded music for a position as a professor of ICT and Private Law at Radboud University in Nijmegen. All gigs have obviously been wiped from the agenda for the coming period. I am, however, using my time well and making lots of music in my own studio. I really enjoy it. The “Laido EP” will be released soon on Alexander Koning’s label [PERCEP-TION]. My “Donker Ding EP” has just been released on E=MC2 Records, and now it’s just a matter of waiting to see what the future brings.”
“I want to tell upcoming DJs and producers that it’s important to have fun in what they do and not look too much at others. Don’t be too conformist!”
This interview with Secander Raisani of Pako & Frederik was originally published in May 2020 on This Is Our House.
Who is Secander Raisani (Pako & Frederik?)
Pako & Frederik are a Dutch progressive duo, whose productions have found themselves global exposure through the Global Underground Label. Pako & Frederik were found DJ’ing at many of Europes biggest festivals.
Frederik bought the first house records at the age of fourteen, started mixing at the age of sixteen, and at eighteen he released his first records under his own label Gyrate records. The same year, he entered the house party scene playing his first gigs. Soon after, he gained European recognition as a DJ – with appearances ranging from the UK to Italy.
As a grafitti artist Secander Raisani a.k.a. Pako was influenced by his record collection of mid- eighties hip-hop/electro. Secander Raisani soon broadened his musical outlook after being introduced to house music. This introduction led him to compile his own collection of twelve inches, resulting in Secander Raisani’s first gig in 1993. Production work in the studio followed soon after.
Secander Raisani a.k.a. Pako & Frederik first crossed paths in 1992, through an introduction by a mutual friend. It took a 1993 meeting to bring Pako & Frederik’s two styles together. The place: a studio in the south of France. The result: the birth of their first collaboration (with Remy): ‘Vauvenage’. From this moment on Pako & Frederik joined forces to produce numerous club-hits for a Dutch label called Absolut Records. Their musical style attracted many, gaining Secander Raisani (Pako) & Frederik a spot on playlists from international DJ’s such as Carl Cox, Sasha, John Digweed, Derrick May, Danny Howells, Chris Harshman, Jerry Bonham and Derrick Carter. Since 1995 Pako & Frederik performed live, appearing at numerous house-parties, clubs and internationally attended festivals such as I Love Techno (Belgium) and Dancevalley.
In 1996 Secander Raisani a.k.a. Pako & Frederik started their Majestic project. It involved running their own independent label, Majestic Music, and remixing and producing as Majestic. Several tracks of their first two releases made an immediate impact on Europe, Asia, the UK, North America and Australia. This world-wide recognition soon led to numerous requests for their remix work, with Palo & Frederik’s remix credits appearing on Nervous NY, WGW Belgium, DMC UK and more. Their tracks featured on compilations mixed by: Sasha & Digweed (Northern Exposure + Live in Sydney), Carl Cox (F.A.C.T.), Derrick Carter (Back To Basics), Chris Harshman (Future Progressive), Jerry Bonham (Spundae) to name a few. These days Secander Raisani plays solo under their name Pako & Frederik.
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