The global Dirty Dutch phenomenon
There are two types of DJ. The first is the serious, static kind of spinner – all heads down buried in their music with little or no crowd interaction simply immersed in their beloved tunes. Think of Sasha and John Digweed, that kind of player. But we love them as much we love DJ number two; the DJ who we feel are one of us, jumping around behind the decks with a big fat grin on their faces, dripping with sweat and having the time of their life. Our friend Chuckie falls into category number two, a real ball of dancefloor fire, burning with energy, not afraid to take over the microphone or demonstrate to us that at the end of the day, he really is a clubber at heart. And boy does he know his music. Having risen to fame with chart successes with the likes of ‘Let The Bass Kick’ and ‘Aftershock,’ his career has continued to explode, spreading the Chuckie flavour with his explosive beats, surprise FXs and adulated climaxes. On his way to the Far East, Dan Prince catches up with the main man…
Chuckie, what a different life we lead. Here I am waiting for a taxi to take me to see Gary Barlow at The Albert Hall, and there you are in Amsterdam on your way to Hong Kong for a clubbing feast…
“Ha ha. Yes Dan, I’m on my way to the airport for a week in Asia. We’ve got Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore and Phuket coming up, really looking forward to it.”
What a year you’ve had. Do you think it was your best yet?
“I’ve had a great year, I’m not sure if it has been my best as I am always hoping the following year will be my best. Every year has it’s own highlights, 2011 has seen me release some great records, I’ve done some fine work behind the scenes for people, I had an incredible tour in Australia with deadmau5, my residencies in New York, Argentina, Vegas and Miami have been fantastic and I had some great parties with Erick Morillo in Ibiza at Pacha.”
Ah glad you mentioned Pacha, so have you signed up for next year with Mr Morillo yet?
“We are talking about doing some shows again. I really enjoyed the nights at Pacha with Erick, I really love his crowd. They are so cool, they know what’s going on and are really educated on their music. And I love playing with Erick. He is one of my all time heroes alongside people like Roger Sanchez and he is still doing it. I played alongside him a week ago in Miami and it was an incredible night, the way he builds his set, the way he tells a story…”
You were born in the South American country of Suriname before relocating to The Netherlands where a friend got you interested in DJing. What’s the story there?
“He was my best friend at school and was doing a bit of DJing. One time he was setting up for a party and asked me to help with the sound check. I put two records on and all of a sudden they were beat matching perfectly, it was an incredible feeling. I went home and couldn’t sleep that night, I was just thinking of what equipment I needed, what records to buy and how I’d decided what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So I started playing at house parties a little later, then some small clubs in my local area, then around The Netherlands and before I knew it around the world.”
And do you still keep in touch with your friend?
“Yes I do, he’s not a DJ any more but we’re in still in touch.”
You are known as the Dutch hip hop kid who turned to electronica. Who were the early Hip Hop artists you were into?
“I was into the whole early 90s West Coast East Coast thing, Run DMC, Black Moon, Wu-Tang Clan – that sort of vibe and that was my lifestyle back then. I was buying all sorts of music at the time, all across the board musically but all of the time I just wanted to be a hip hop DJ. Looking back, I can now see that was a huge mistake as it was all boys in the club!”
So Mr Clyde Narain, where did you get your DJ name?
“Where I came from everyone had a nickname. Some had nicknames because they were hiding from the police and some people had nicknames because it was just cool to have one. I was one of the cool kids, I wasn’t hiding from the police! My friends called me Chuckie and I sort of just stuck with it.”
DMC of course are the company behind the World DJ Championships – what are your turntable skills like, ever thought of entering our competition?
“Hey it was you guys that inspired me back then and one of the reasons that I wanted to become a DJ. I practised all of those routines, the Rob Base DJ E Z Rock ‘It Takes Two’ cut, DJ Mark The 45 King ‘The 900 Number’, LL Cool Jay ‘I’m Bad’/’Get Down’, Mantronix ‘King Of The Beats’ – I knew them all but I never wanted to go in that direction! I did enter a competition once upon a time and came second to a guy who although I knew I was better than, was a friend of the promoter and it was obviously fixed. I thought to myself that if I was going to continue in that world of DJing, I was going to encounter this kind of thing again and again. So I moved onto house music. It did however give me a foundation of working the decks and whenever I am at a club with a pair of SLs I always sneak a go on them!”
So a massive Dirty Dutch event coming up in Amsterdam at The Rai on December 17th and a new Dirty Dutch CD pack to accompany the party, it’s been a huge year for music – was it a difficult process narrowing down the tracks that made the final cut?
“The CDs are easy enough to compile, however the restrictions arise when licensing rears its head and a lot of the time you don’t get all of the tracks that you ask for. Saying that though, I am really happy with this year’s package. It has enabled me to show all sides of my music…”
Your Radio 1 show is going great guns…you must be happy with how that is going?
“I am. Radio 1 called me in January and told me they want to give me my own show, saying that they love my music I play and want me part of the BBC family, which was cool. They don’t get involved in my playlist and I have total freedom to play whatever I want whenever I want. I’m very happy with it!”
What’s the story behind your new single ‘Who Is Ready To Jump’ with the vocal?
“What happened was that I was playing at Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas, and I knew they were recording my set. I always wanted to do something with ‘Who Is Ready To Jump’ and because I knew they were recording my set I grabbed the mic a couple of times and said it. I wanted to sample it from a live environment and EDC was the perfect situation for it. At the end of the set, I downloaded it from the internet, started to chop up the samples and make the track. This goes all the way back to June, so I sampled my own voice and made it a track.”
How can you describe what the Dirty Dutch Blackout event is to anyone who hasn’t been?
“We have been doing Dirty Dutch since 2004. I wanted to have my own kind of party. I wanted to do a party with my own entertainment, my own line up, my own musical direction so I started Dirty Dutch and the club tour. I did 15 tour dates and they had 20,000 people in total. So then I said, if I can have 20,000 in one tour, let me try 5,000 in one venue. So I sold that out and said, why not try 20,000 in one venue. So we did that and succeeded. Blackout is the theme; every year we have a theme. I wanted to go more dark. Even the line up is dark, DJs like Knife Party. It is so strong in Holland so we are able to sell out, even if the economy is really shitty.”
What was your tune of 2012?
“My own tune ‘Who’s Ready To Jump?’ is still growing so got to mention that. However, I must say that my good friend Avicci and his song ‘Levels’ is right up there. It’s so good to see him doing well. I did ask him to play on December 17th but he was just too busy.”
You’re a real crowd worker using the microphone and will hit the rewind on a monster cut if the night is hot. Do you feel it’s better to put on a show and entertain rather than a heads down mixing showcase?
“It’s all about the balance. Most of the time the DJ should just shut up and let the groove build and build. However, my background is hip hop and I like to give it my own twist. I like to entertain, have some fun. Any DJ can just play records, I’m just trying to be a little different.”
You once stated that you started Dirty Dutch because you were bored with your home country and the parties. Do you think you helped revitalise Holland’s dance music scene?
“I think there’s some truth in that statement. Looking back, trance was absolutely massive but there was no house, no urban music and nothing eclectic. This was my vision; mixing in all the cute girls with all of the ravers dancing to great club music. And that’s what we stand for at Dirty Dutch, all genres are covered from tech house to trance to house.”
You said after playing at Sensation in 2000 that it was your dream to come true to play there after once standing on the dancefloor there as a clubber 8 years prior. So what is the next dream come true?
“I want to take Dirty Dutch to the next level internationally. I want to be doing things like the Swedes are doing at Madison Square Gardens playing to that kind of audience.”
You are a happily married man with two children who must have music surrounding them all of the time, what was your upbringing like musically?
“I come from a big musical family, we didn’t all play instruments or anything, we just loved to listen to music. I can remember when my mum was cleaning around the house she had music on all of the time, singing away.”
And what do your children think of your music?
Dan, they think I am the greatest!”
A massive crowd in Amsterdam awaits your return from the Far East, but what is the biggest crowd you have ever played to?
“This year actually where I played to over a million people at the Salvador Carnival.”
And how does that work for a DJ, do you concentrate on a particular bunch of people dancing or just enjoy the whole crowd?
“Exactly, you just get into the whole vibe of the whole sea of people, you don’t just target one bunch.”
What have you got planned for us all in 2012?
“The last year or so has been all about big club tracks. Next year I want to drop some more radio orientated songs, more vocal stuff. I made ‘What Happens in Vegas’ without even thinking about possible radio success. I have some pretty sick stuff lined up. I am going to do more production for pop artists as well as dropping my club stuff as well. Also I will be presenting the world with some of our new artists on the Dirty Dutch label. I have just signed three artists from Los Angeles, France and The Netherlands which I am very excited about. I wasn’t aware to begin with about the whole potential of Dirty Dutch, it’s not just about the Dutch promotion…it’s time now to take on the world. I am really looking forward to next year.“
CD1 — ALL BLACK. EVERYTHING
01. Genairo Nvilla — King Of Drums (Original Mix)
02. Marvelous K Feat. MC Knowledje — Fokkie Fokkie (Artistic Raw Remix)
03. L’Oppresseurs — Basskicker (Lau Savano & Rajeev Gualtiero Remix)
04. Christian Baez — Welcome To My World (Francesc Sentis & Pablo Martin Remix)
05. Gregor Salto & Joshua Khane — Bum Bum Bum (In The Club) (Club Mix)
06. Viro & Rob Analyze Feat. Whiskey Pete — Limelight (TJR’s Let’s Ride Vocalized Remix)
07. Chuckie — Who Is Ready To Jump (Club Mix)
08. Soundpusher — Swagga (Lazy Rich Mix)
09. Matt North — New Horizon (Evenwave Remix)
10. Robotic — Tomorrowland (Original Mix)
11. Chuckie Feat. Gregor Salto — What Happens In Vegas (Club Mix)
12. Gregori Klosman — Low Battery (Original Mix)
13. GLOWINTHEDARK — Maskara (Original Mix)
14. Chris Montana & Chris Bekker — TrIBIZA (Swanky Tunes Remix)
15. Marcel Woods — Sunrise (Original Mix)
16. John Dahlback — Are You Nervous (Original Mix)
17. Champagne — My Love Is Right (Sharp Boys Vocal Mix)
18. Peter Presta & O.B — Get Down In My House (O.B Lakotas Mix)
19. Chuckie — Together (Original Club Mix)
CD2 — BLACKOUT
01. Robert Dietz — Bingo Wings (Original Mix)
02. Subb-an — This Place (Nic Fanciulli Remix)
03. Luca Terzini — You Can’t Afford Me (Original Mix)
04. Angel Stoxx — Addiction (Original Mix)
05. Jay Lumen — The Journey Pt. 2 (Original Mix)
06. Kyle Watson — He Knows (Original Mix)
07. MYNC & Wally Lopez — Esa Boca Linda (Massivedrum Remix)
08. Central Avenue — The Bounce (Original Mix)
09. T. Tommy & Victor Perez — El Tumbao (Original Mix)
10. DJ Fist — Long Road (Original Mix)
11. Luigi Laner & LJ Pepe — Discok (Original Mix)
12. Bass Kleph — Gatsby Jam (Original Mix)
13. Pleasurekraft — Carny (Original Mix)
14. Chuckie — Stay (Original Club Mix)
15. Paul Strive & Cevin Fisher — I Don’t Mind
CD3 — BONUS UNMIXED DISC FOR DJ’s
Released by: Dirty Dutch Records
Dirty Dutch Blackout 2011
December 17th 22:00 – 07:00
Amsterdam Rai
AREA 01 . DIRTY DUTCH MUSIC
Chuckie
Laidback Luke
Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano
Knife Party
Ruckus & Rev Run (DJ Set)
Gregori Klosman
Betatraxx
GLOWINTHEDARK
Silvio Ecomo
Mitchell Niemeyer
MC Gee
AREA 02 . AMAZONE PROJECT
Riva Starr
Mastiksoul
Gregor Salto Live!
Genairo Nvilla
Tom Ruijg
Pete Bandit & Jason Shae
Michael Mendoza
Firebeatz
MC Roga
AREA 03 . YOURS TRULY
The Flexican & Sef
FS Green ft. MC VI
Hydroboyz
Reverse & Adje (Sloddervosgang)
Sjaak
Vic Crezée
