What strategies do you implement in Garage Noord, where you work and also DJ, to cultivate a sense of community, inclusivity, and safety within your spaces?

As I said earlier, this sense of community very much comes from reliability and a certain trust that grows over time. People know who we are, they know the people that work in the club and know our ideology and standpoints. Our inclusive team, diverse line-ups and the
all-round decisions that we make surely represent our community, who in return feel associated with us.

As Garage Noord we have been trying to be a safe space for everyone from the start, adapting to the changing nightlife scene and the needs and behaviours of our community. We have had many training sessions on this topic with all of our staff and security. And lastly, we cannot function without our well-trained, passionate and equipped club managers who are doing a lot to make everyone feel safe and comfortable.

Besides being detail-focused on the atmosphere of a space, you also have the ability to create a magical vibe on the dancefloor. What pre-set rituals or practices do you engage in to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for a performance?

I think I have no stage presence and I don’t think I’m the most fun person to be around while playing. I’m always very focused and as I said earlier I like to disappear as a dancer and it’s the same for me in the booth. I always get a bit awkward at the end of my set rather than embracing the applause. I like to enjoy the last track I play in front of the booth rather than inside.

My preparations always include listening to a lot of music – sometimes too much and I overstimulate myself with cool new stuff, but I’ve learned to control myself a bit. Then I’ll make some sort of a structure within Rekordbox, prepping certain moments where I can change the atmosphere, and I already check at home if these transitions work. I also check my USBs, probably 10 times, if everything is on there, which is really OCD and very frustrating, but part of the process.

What is the must-have in the DJ booth when you play? And what is the best DJ booth that you ever played in? Why?

A joint and a bottle of water is what I’ll have with me at every show. I love a booth where you feel invisible, there’s a sense of connection with the first row but for the rest, it becomes a blur. I like to be anonymous in a booth and focus on what I’m doing. Garage Noord definitely has this for me, the Ankali booth is great as well.

What factors guide your set curation? Do you prioritize maintaining a seamless energy flow, or are you intrigued by the idea of creatively disrupting it?

I like cruising and maintaining a sense of groove within a certain tempo range. I like playing a long set but not necessarily increasing the tempo througout, just playing with what energy a track portrays. You can play so much with energy without adjusting the tempo.

Of course the occasional change / dip / intermezzo is cool, but creating a very stable base and building on top of that is what I very much like to do. Playing with this you can create stories, and high peaks get much better reception when there are low moments before. Interrupting is definitely something that can create tension and when done well, or well perceived, you feel that even during those interruptions you can still hold the attention of the crowd. That’s a great feeling, when you know people are into it.

How important is versatility for you behind the decks? Do you think it's absolutely essential, or do you have a different take on it?

Versatility is very important but in a subtle way, I wouldn’t call myself an eclectic DJ. I am a very eclectic listener and part of my listening selection definitely gets incorporated in my sets.

Coming from a highly competitive music scene, what unique aspects do you observe specifically in the Netherlands, both negative or positive?

There’s a lot going on in Amsterdam but I view it as quite a healthy situation, I feel like clubs communicate together. There are programs that focus on social safety within clubs and clubs that have a similar crowd and sonic identity check in on each other. Maybe I am being too optimistic but I do feel that to some degree, it is like that.

What do you miss in the Netherlands that you discovered somewhere else, and vice versa?

I miss timelessness during the night. Maybe Dutch people are too responsible and always think about tomorrow, which I do as well. But going into a club, forgetting your sense of time and having the feeling that a party is endless is such a reassuring and nice feeling. You can dwell and talk, chill and shouldn’t feel rushed, or scared about missing acts because you know it's there and you can jump back into it whenever you want.

Let’s spread some love: which musicians deserve more attention in your opinion?

Zohar is a big inspiration, someone who can do it all well, very wide music interest, insanely technical DJ and very unique producer and an all-around good person. Wouldn’t say we have similar DJ styles but I often connect well with people who view music in a similar way and I have that with her.