With the help of ITM and Tribal Vision Records of I’ve been fortunate enough to get the chance put an interview on with one of the most respected DJs in the Netherlands, DJ San the ex-Kremlin resident, also of Solid Sessions – Janeiro, SanProject, the Q club, Pure in Belgium and The Sessions.
When did you start your musical career? What did you start to do first DJing or production?
I started my DJ career about 12 years ago in a small club in Holland. It took me a few years before I got into producing music, I guess this was about 7 years back.
Who helped you to learn the ropes with musical software, or are you self taught?
I spent many days and nights fiddling with all kinds of synths and software. The basics I taught myself, but I learned a lot from working with all kinds of engineers and co-producers.
Life in the dance industry is never dull. What have been some of the positive and negative aspects of your career?
When you’re young and naive you can make some mistakes and I made quite a major one by signing an exclusive record deal for 6 years. I thought it was 3 years, but since I didn’t release the amount of records stated in the contract I had no choice but to finish the contract. Another problem I had was that any project name I used became property of the record label. So during those years I used synonyms for my productions from which ‘Solid Sessions’ is probably the most known (Solid Sessions – Janeiro was my best selling single so far). You can’t imagine how it feels when your original productions have been featured on compilations from Paul Van Dijk, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Sasha, John Digweed, Deep Dish, and the majority don’t realise it’s you! But luckily many people did realise it was me behind those productions and at the same time I was able to build up my DJ name, which resulted in a residency at Holland’s #1 club, Kremlin, Romania’s #1 club, Kristal and India’s #1 club; Elevate and furthermore in bookings all over the world.
This month your new mixed compilation called Elevate will be released, why did you chose to record your compilation at the Elevate Club in India?
Elevate is the name of the #1 club in India, where I hold a monthly residency. I firmly believe the club has a massive potential. I wanted to introduce their club to the world since it’s the most beautiful club I have ever seen and this is a perfect way to do it, the booklet therefore is packed with pictures from the club. Everything the club has to offer is just right, from the sound, hydraulic dance floor, to the lights to the incredible design to the employees. They deserve all the attention they get and I strongly believe that their brand is strong enough to travel boundaries and even conquer harts of clubbers worldwide.
Fektive Records in Holland is releasing your new compilation. Tell us something about Fektive Records.
Fektive records (http://www.fektive.com), is a very cool team of people who have been active in the dance scene for a long time. Fektive focuses on tech house, progressive and trance music. Their goal is to push talented artists alongside established names. I was very pleased when they asked me to mix a new cd for them. They are based in Holland and I know the music they’re about to release and I’m positive that they will get major support!
Why did you chose to relocate to Prague (Czech Republic) from your home country Holland?
As a DJ I’ve been active for many years in Holland, playing every single club, festival and having been the resident at Amsterdam’s #1 club ‘Kremlin’, I felt that it was time to focus more on my international career. So I decided to leave Holland. Since I’m getting more and more requests to play Eastern Europe, I picked the centre of Eastern Europe; Prague, as my new base.
You travel around the world. In which country have you had the most memorable experiences ?
It’s hard to pick just one, but I guess playing all over India made quite the impression on me. The country is so huge (1 billion people) and there’s so much difference between rich and pour. Still people have a smile on their face and are very grateful. The Elevate club is by far the best club in India and it’s good to see that Electronic music is finally kicking of in India.
What different styles of music influence you? What do you listen to at home, in your car?
I listen to all kinds of music, I believe that you should be open to all musical styles to truly feel what people experience when they listen to music. I can find inspiration in all kinds of things, from classical music to noises in the street.
If there was nobel prize for electronic music, which producer do you think should win it?
Steve Osbourne -Paul Oakenfold’s producer!
What are your upcoming releases, and what labels are you releasing on?
CD
Elevate – DJ San (mixed compilation Fektive Records) – January / February 2006
San & Sebastian Moore – Inceptor (Tribal Vision Records CZ) – January 2006
Vinyl
San & Sebastian Moore – Chunk’d (3 Beat records UK) – December 2005
San & Sebastian Moore – Temper (Sprout Records GER) – February 2006
San & Sebastian Moore – Night Eyes (Fektive Records NL) – March 2006
San & Sebastian Moore – High Stakes (19box records JAPAN) – April 2006
San – Déjà vu – May 2006
And there’s one of my own productions I’m re-releasing in May with 2 new mixes, but it’s still a secret!
