"It all began at the iT in Amsterdam in the mid 90's. I fell in love with House Music at those infamous Madhouse nights of DJ Jean who was the resident at that time. All the good things came together: The music, the sound, the lights, the people. It was a great atmosphere altogether. This is what I wanted! Soon after, I bought my first gear and started practising, practising and ... (fill out yourselves). Throughout the years I played at birthday parties, some weddings and sometimes in a small club. All this was still practice, but you know what they say: practice makes perfect! So it was time for the next step: to play in front of a real audience!
From 1999 till 2002 seven friends and I organized 'Dansation' in IJmuiden. Two of those friends were Rik, you probably know him better as Ricky Rivaro, and Patrick a.k.a. DJ Patt. For us 'Dansation' had something extra. It was a chance to musically entertain more than 600 people every month and to handle a bigger soundsystem. We played alongside hero's like: Tiësto, Jean, Rank 1, Erick E and Roog, just to name a few. I have to say, it was a phenomenon at that time. Every young adult in North-Holland got to know 'Dansation'. One time it was sold out in no longer than 10 minutes! We quit 'Dansation' at its height and brought home the good memories. After this Ricky got to work at ID&T, a Dutch entertainment company, where he got the chance to host his own radioshow. He called it 'True House Music' and asked me to co-host it. He didn't have to ask it twice!
Then the beautiful beachclub Bloomingdale came up. In 2004 I got the chance to play a couple of times at this fantastic place! Most of the times I warmed up, but this didn't and still doesn't bother me. I love to warm-up! I think it is one of the most important times of the night. When a DJ warms up right the night is set to rock! I see it as carefully hiding a bomb in the club where only the next DJ knows where it is. The only thing he or she has to do is to drop it when the place is packed. Figuratively speaking of course!
Sweet memories when I think back at my gig on the Bloomingdale beach at the Mysteryland festival. The Mysteryland people made a small, but nice copy of Bloomingdale. People could relax here, order a rosé and listen to the groovy tunes of the DJ's playing. When my time was up, the sun broke through the clouds and all I saw where happy faces and people dancing! Respect!
In the summer of 2005 I got to play again at Bloomingdale. But this time I now and then got to play more primetime. This was a challenge and I have to say: It was not easy, but I felt a good atmosphere so I think I managed!
As Danny Rampling once said: 'If you can count to four, hold a pair of headphones in the crook of your neck and drop a stylus in the groove then you too, can be a DJ. But to be a great DJ you need the ability to sense dancefloor energy and direct it appropriately – to know when to rock steady and when to drop off, when to tickle and when to punch, when to go ape and when to bliss out. Cliché has it that a DJ should make love to the crowd, but only a very good DJ can provoke multiple orgasms.' I join him with these words and as a DJ I have made this my goal!
Later this year I played again at the Bloomingdale beach at Mysteryland and I got offers from other parties. The energydrink Red Bull for instance offered me to play at some gigs at several beachclubs in Holland. When the weather was ok it really was a blast! Best gigs were the Red Bull Full Moon at beachclub Republiek and the Red Bull Air Race afterparty at Jackie RC in Rotterdam! The people at Jackie were very enthusiastic about my dj-ing and from that moment on I play out there every now and then.
At the end of 2005 I played at the fascinating 'True House Music' gigs at Club Noa in Leeuwarden and the Panama in Amsterdam next to well known DJ's as Ricky Rivaro, Gregor Salto, Erick E and Lucien Foort. At these parties I caught the eye and ear of Lucien Foort. This resulted in a booking at his "SouthEnd House" at Club Rotterdam in March and May 2006. Not to forget that I played a couple of times for the organisation of 'Desire 2 Dance' at Parkzicht in Rotterdam. My friend Dekster is the resident here and I have to mention: I am jealous! It is always a nice atmosphere. People here are a little bit older and most of them go along for a couple of years. This allows you, as a DJ, to play more 'adult' housemusic and not only the hits. I love this!
In the beginning of 2006 I was offered to do a weekly housemix for Rob Stenders' radiostation KX Radio, an internet station. You can find it on kx radio. On this site you can listen directly to my mix, but it is also available for downloading! I can do what I want: Play new stuff, older stuff. If I am into a more deep-, ushouse set I play this for sixty minutes. When I am more into an uptempo set, I play an uptempo set. For me it is a perfect opportunity to showcase my diversity. I also have a residency at a little restaurant/club in Utrecht called Sjans. If I don't have to play out in the country I play here, mostly on Friday nights. It is not big, but intimate. The food is delicious and the people who work there are great! Drop by sometime when you are in the neighbourhood! Recently my good friend Ar and I devoted ourselves more to producing our own tunes. As musicheads we both feel the need to make something of our own. It is all in the first phase of the makings, but I am sure we will come up with some goodies along the way!
More recent projects are Sundale at Bloomingdale, the True House Music-tour and Red Bull. Ricky Rivaro invited me again this summer to play at his Sundale-nights. You can catch me here one to two times a month. He also invited me to join him on his True House Music-tour! Recently he has released a double mixed True House Music compilation.
There's a little peak in my life as a DJ and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Now I am asking you to sit back and relax and take a look at the rest of my site. Don't forget to drop by every now and then!
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Jeremaine S
