ON MY WRIST
I am not a major watch fanatic as some of my friends are, but I do appreciate a beautifully made watch. Over the years, I have collected a couple of watches but the watch I’ve been wearing the most lately is my Panerai Luminor 1950 ceramic watch. It has a special meaning for me as I received this from my wife for my 40th birthday. It is a limited design and apparently took quite some time to find just in time for my 40th. I love that it is black matte. It doesn’t catch too much attention when I’m on the decks, and works really well with what I like to wear. I can wear it with a pair of jeans and it looks just as good when I wear a suit (not that I wear those a lot.) I fell in love with it’s retro shape when I first saw it. It has beautiful bold lines and its simplicity in design and detail really compliments it. When I write this I realize that it reminds me of how I like my musical productions, which is probably why I like this watch so much.
IN MY SIGHTS
I am an avid snowboarder. Unfortunately, because of my work and living in the Netherlands (where there aren’t any mountains and/or snow), I don’t get to snowboard so much. So when I get to these trips are the highlights of my year. There’s something about breathing in the crisp air on the mountains while floating on your board down an empty piste. I am always at peace when I’m boarding. I used to try and spend a few weeks in various parts of the year to turn my mind off work and hit the slopes. Lately it’s become harder, which makes me appreciate all the more the times I am able to board. Many people think being a DJ/Music producer means you love listening to music all the time. Personally, I find it just as important to enjoy the sound of nature and the sound of silence once in a while to balance things out. Snowboarding gives me that opportunity to do that. Every time I get the opportunity to do this I literally count the days till I’m there.
IN MY WARDROBE
I have a pretty simple wardrobe. I like clean simple lines. I do like wearing some prints here and there but don’t get too crazy with those either. I have a three and a half year old son who does have these cool sweaters that sometimes I wish they had in my size. I’m a sneaker guy and love my Vans. They fit really well so it’s easy to just keep reordering them online when my old ones have become ratty. I bought a pair for my son as well and he loves it when we are wearing them together. I’m a huge fan of Scandinavian designers and brands Samsoe & Samsoe, Cheap Monday, and Won Hundred for example. They have simple designs but their cuts work really well for me. I don’t often wear suits but I have one suit from Helmut Lang that I really love. I’ve had it for a few years now. It is timeless and the cut is great, and I get compliments every time I wear it. I released this year an audio book/music album, which included some illustrations made by this amazing artist called Oska. We worked together on him illustrating the characters I had in mind for my album. We used some of his images on various t-shirts from my fan line that came out great. I wear a lot of them during my shows.
ON MY RADAR
I have embarked on my first official composition feature this year for a mystery thriller entitled, Don’t Let Go. The movie stars Stephen Dorff and Melissa George and the film is directed by David Gleeson. I had the privilege to work with David on this project and it was fantastic. I fly a lot so a lot of my time is spent on flights either working on my laptop or watching films. Working closely with a director on a feature film is eye opening and allows you to experience movies far more in-depth. I was deeply impressed with him as a director and as a writer. Aside from his movie Don’t Let Go, he is also the screenwriter of the movie Tolkien. I’m definitely watching out for all his upcoming work.
ON MY TRAVELS
I travel almost every weekend throughout the year so I’ve learned over the years to travel as light as possible. I hate waiting for luggage so I always try and fit everything I need in my hand luggage. I use the Tumi Gatwick International Expandable Carry-On. It’s a great piece of luggage that works perfectly for what I do. It has two compartments where I can put my stinky clothes after shows and keep my fresh clothes fresh. Plus it has enough room for me to put all the production equipment I need. It has a four-wheel spinner that allows me to easily navigate in busy airports, so I rarely have to carry it or drag it when I’m caught in those busy moments. I love that it’s expandable so if I’m gone longer than the weekend and want to buy some gifts for the kids when I go back, the hand carry is expandable and will fit whatever little toys I buy for the kiddos when I go back home.
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IN MY DREAMS
I’ve always been fascinated with space. On my downtime, I love watching documentaries about it, learning and fantasizing about what is beyond. I had the opportunity almost 15 years ago to be able to experience zero gravity with Space Adventures. Back then, zero gravity experiences were limited to astronauts in training. Space adventures offered this in the national training centres in Moscow in their official training centres. It was an experience of a lifetime. 15 years later, I still think about that experience and if I had the opportunity I would love to be able to go to the moon or live in space for a while. Seeing what astronauts see from the international space station is simply mind blowing. I can imagine it being a humble and a spiritual experience.
ON MY AGENDA
As a DJ, the word agenda means automatically my schedule for the next couple of months. For the month of December I’m shuttling back between various countries in Europe like Malta, Poland, Scotland, and of course a few cities in England such as Rong in Manchester, Digital in Newcastle, and last but not the least Ministry of Sound in London. I’m spending the last couple of days at the end of the year in San Francisco for a big show but I’m pretty happy that I will at least spend the first few days of the new year with my family!
IN MY PAST
I always have a great time in the UK. I had my first radio hit there in the beginning of my career and travelled there so much that it has for me become a second home. The UK, particularly London, means a lot to me. I remember in the first few years that I would always stay in this hotel in Covent Garden that was close to a Pizza Express and I would end up eating there a lot. I ended up signing a lot of music to labels in the UK such as Ministry of Sound, FFRR, Warner, and Positiva Records/EMI.
IN MY FUTURE
I am super excited to watch the movie Don’t Let Go of which I did the music for. It was a privilege to be given this opportunity to make it, and I’ve enjoyed every single process in the journey. Music production has always been my passion and since I was a kid I already had an interest in it. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to make a career of my hobby as a music producer for dance music, and as a DJ. Working on this movie has allowed me to hone my craft as a dance music producer in another space and give this type of music another dimension. I really hope that I will be able to make more of these sound scores in the years to come.
ON MY BUCKET LIST
I’ve always wanted to be able to go on these long mountain hikes. To be able to say that you climbed one mountain peak to another would be absolutely amazing. When I go on my snowboarding trips to Austria I do come across these hikers sometimes and I’m amazed with the amount of perseverance they have to be able to climb that mountain. After all, I’m up in a few minutes with a chairlift, gondola, or train. I definitely want to try and do this one day. Seeing the minimal time I always have for winter sport, the only time I have for at the moment is boarding, but eventually when I do have more time I would love to spend my time hiking AND boarding.
