Interview by DJ Fidel
Welcome to DMCWORLD! How are you today?
Hey there, thank you for having me! I’m doing fine, I’ve just moved places and now have my house and studio at the beach, which is really nice!
Can you please tell us how you got into the music industry and why you wanted to follow this path?
I am very obsessed with one thing, and that’s making music. Simple as that!
Where you a clubber from a young age?
Before I was allowed to go to clubs I was already going to them. There is something mysterious about the whole nightlife thing that really appealed to me. I had been making music for over 10 years when Secret Cinema played one of my tracks, opening his set with it and that was the first time I ever heard my own music over a massive sound system with thousands of people listening. It was a stunning moment.
Was there any particular DJ or producer that tickled your fancy when growing up that had a profound affect on you?
Before checking my own music in the car, I always put a CD on from Secret Cinema, and it’s so profound that we’re now working together. Recently producers like Sebastian Mullaer, The Fields, Stephan Bodzin, Reinier Zonneveld and Enrico Sangiulluano are the guys that I find really inspiring.
When playing live, what instruments do you use to perform and which is your favourite?
I really like the Ableton Push now, for the very simple reason that the buttons are touch sensitive – it gives such a nice human feel to it.
You must have immense fun using them and watching the crowd rocking to your sound?
Especially when I have new tune and the people go wild to it. That’s why I make a new track every week!
There’s plenty of hype right now regarding “The Egbert Sound”. Can you describe it for those that might not have heard it in one sentence?
I love basslines and every sound in the track is morphing around that.
How did you feel when Jeroen Verheij from Grooveyard and Secret Garden in Rotterdam discovered you?
From making music in my parents house for 10 years to playing for 10.000 people in a stadium in a matter of months. It’s an on going great journey.
Your renowned groundbreaking track “Vreugdevuur” on Cocoon was banging the party club scene in 2009. Were you amazed at first and then proud of this huge achievement?
Yes very and it was totally my own sound and it didn’t fit into ant category really! It was even difficult to release it because labels where not sure if it fitted into their “techno” box. So it was really cool when I went on to hear it at almost every party. It’s a very positive track and made alot of people happy I’m sure.
You’ve played at TimeWarp and the Awakenings Festivals…what were those experiences like?
Funny story! I almost missed my connecting flight in Munich and then there was a car waiting for me to bring me personally to the airplane (thanks Lufthansa!). That made alot of difference because I was closing the Main Stage at TimeWarp that night. It was extremely epic and probably one of my best sets. Awakenings is always epic and I’ve played there 15 times now and its always full of great surprises.
You travel the world playing some really amazing parties, what are your favourite places to play?
There are so many clubs and festivals with their own really unique vibe so there’s not really one answer. If the right people are on the dancefloor and the sound system is right, every place can be magic.
We heard about your 6 hour set at Melkweg in Amsterdam, do you prefer extended sets and would you be up for doing a set like that at Egg LDN?
I prefer short sets and 1.5 hours is perfect for me. But this was something I could and had to do because I was one of the only ones in the world who could do such a thing. Because I’ve been making music for more then 20 years now, I have a very big library of music to choose from. I think Egg is the place to do it if I’m ever considering doing a world tour or something with it. It’s complicated with the complex setup I’m using for it.
And lastly what should we be listening to before we head off to Familia on December 10th ?
You can checkout my new ‘Wild EP’ on Mindshake
Hi fives to Familia and the guys from Egg LDN, lovely people!
Egbert is Live alongside Julian Jeweil and Fabio Florido at Familia on Saturday December 10th at Egg London. For all info go to www.egglondon.co.uk
