INTERVIEW: Sander Van Doorn

The last few years have seen one particular Dutch DJ rise like no other. Although having had brief success with several releases way back in 2004 (Dark Roast, Loaded, Punk'd) it wasn't until 2008 that the new maestro of both house and trance received worldwide recognition for his efforts debuting at #13 on the reputable DJ Mag Top 100 list and receiving rave reviews for his album, Supernaturalistic.

Fast-forward two years and Sander Van Doorn is considered one of the finest DJ's in the world. Every release is a hit, his label Doorn Records is quickly picking up pace, and Sander's latest adventure entails tearing up the American continent on a massive six-week tour.

So, what does being a superstar DJ actually entail? Best of House goes digging..


BoH - You’ve just started a huge six-week tour of America. What was it that attracted you to play there?

Sander - I have never done a big long American tour and thought it was about time I did! It’s a long trip to the US as well so rather than spending most of my time flying over the Atlantic I thought it would be much better to get a decent tour sorted where I play in a variety of places throughout the country in one go and not just the same clubs as can often happen when I come over to play one or two gigs.

BoH - Is there anywhere in particular you’re looking forward to playing on your tour?

Sander - I think a couple of highlights will be playing the Boombox at Bal en Blanc and of course my own night Dusk till Doorn back at The Guvernment in Toronto which was amazing last time. Of course Miami is going to be great as well but to be honest I’m looking forward to the tour as a whole, it will be brilliant spending so much time especially in the States.

BoH - You’re a few gigs in to the tour now. Has it gone as well as you hoped?

Sander - Well I’ve only done 2 gigs so far but Beyond Wonderland really was amazing – one of the best gigs I’ve done in the US, so it’s a pretty good start so far!

BoH - Miami’s coming and you’ve got some big parties to thrill. Are you excited?

Sander - Yes I’m very excited! Miami is always great fun. It’s going to be great playing the parties but also hanging out with people and discovering some new music.

BoH - How will you spend your free time in Miami?

Sander - I’ll be checking out a few parties here and there but I’ll definitely be trying to stay pretty chilled in preparation for the tour ahead. Hopefully catch some time in the sun while I’m here after a long winter back in Europe!

BoH - Do you tan in the sun or burn?

Sander - I’d like to think I go more golden brown than lobster red!

BoH - After a set do you join in the fun on the dance floor or do you prefer to relax?

Sander - I generally like to chill out after DJing but on special occasions I’ll definitely get involved in the after parties. I’m sure a couple of these occasions will pop up over the next month as I’m on the road!

BoH - We have to mention your latest work, Daisy. Can you tell us a bit about how it came to be?

Sander - I made it in my studio in Eindhoven. I think it started when I made the eerie lingering sound that you hear throughout the tune and it just developed from there. I guess that initial sound was the inspiration for it. Some tunes just happen and you can’t really explain how!

BoH - After winning Best Breakthrough DJ in 2008 and Best Electro House DJ in 2009 for your sets in Ibiza, what are you looking to achieve in 2010?

Sander - I’m going to be really focusing on writing my album this year so I’ll be spending a lot of time in the studio between gigs.

BoH - Several artists have been sharing tracks they’ve made for fun in their spare time. Do you ever try your hand at other genres and have you thought about sharing them with your fans?

Sander - I sometimes play around with ideas in the studio but they don’t always develop into finished tracks. As I work on my own and travel a lot I try to focus on writing tracks for release. There aren’t enough hours in the day!

BoH - One release coming up will be the long-awaited follow up to your 2008 album, Supernaturalistic. How will this one compare?

Sander - One main difference is that there will be more collaborations on this album. I can’t reveal anything yet but there are a few in the pipeline which should give an interesting angle to it. Mainly though it will hopefully reflect my development as an artist over the last 2 or 3 years.

BoH - Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for your fans and the readers of Best of House?

Sander - Thanks for all the support and hopefully catch you at one of the gigs on this tour! Cheers!


All details of Sander's tour can be found on his website. If you're lucky to be an-route be sure to catch Sander at his best!

INTERVIEW: Dave Dresden & Mikael Johnston

Neither name is a stranger to dance music having both been wrapped up in the scene for more than a decade. Dresden of course was member of the stellar Gabriel & Dresden while Johnston was defining the San Francisco house sound with Mephisto Odyssey. Together this pair have a chance to make their mark on the dance scene once again, but just how do they plan on doing that? Best of House caught up with the newly formed duo to ask more..



BoH – It’s a new partnership. Would you like to explain how this came to be?

Dave –We met each other briefly in 2000 before I met Josh Gabriel. Mikael was in a band called Mephisto Odyssey that was signed to Warner Bros. I had Mephisto Odyssey on my radio show which was on Groove Radio for a live performance. We continued to talk online about working together but Mikael got busy touring to support his album and I met Josh and started working on what became Gabriel & Dresden.

Mikael – I think that Dave and I always had a natural chemistry from the first time we met, the timing just wasn't there back in 2000. After I left Warner I spent a lot of time producing and engineering and writing music. I was moving more towards vocal-centric material and away from the underground house and breaks sound of Mephisto, although Mephisto is still something that is ongoing. The interesting part about our story is that I actually knew and worked with Josh Gabriel long before Dave met Josh. I had worked before signing my contract at Warner Bros. for Josh's company Mixman, we had even worked a bit on music together as well.

BoH – How would you define your style?

Dave – Sad, sexy and euphoric.

Mikael – It's definitely a hybrid of what we both love about music, not just dance music. We pull ideas from everywhere all the time when we're working on a remix or new song idea. As for how it turns out, I mean I guess it's definitely music that we hope will create a mood and say something that means something to us while retaining at least the appearance of a universal message.

BoH – What qualities do you both possess that will make this collaboration work?

Dave & Mikael – Besides the fact that we've both had a lot of industry experience we also have complimentary talents. Dave has the uncanny ability to pick parts, design sounds and rhythms that are the heartbeat of our songs. Mikael is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and engineer. That might be over simplifying it a bit but in a nutshell that's how we work. We both often work closely with each other on all aspects of a song as well. For instance Dave will come up with melody ideas or Mikael will work with FX to help shape a sound.

BoH – Can you describe the process of how an idea becomes a full track when working as a duo? Does one person take the lead?

Dave – We have both worked apart and together, it depends on the song. Sometimes one of us will have an idea in our head for a direction and we'll assign tasks, like Dave might work on the drum programming while Mikael works on the bass. We'll then combine parts and begin to build the track.

Mikael – Often times I'll play a line, could be a synth pad or lead and I'll shoot it over to Dave and he'll slice it, dice it and effect it into something brand new then shoot it back to me to add to the arrangement. We never really know when we start where it's going to end up even when we feel we have a clear idea of our direction. The song always takes us on a journey.

BoH – How did you manage to bag yourselves a remix of what is already shaping up to be one of the biggest singles of 2009?

Dave – The A & R department contacted me looking for a Gabriel and Dresden style remix. Upon hearing the parts I felt Mikael (Johnston) would be the perfect person to work with me to help see this remix to fruition. Johnston and I had already been fooling around in the studio since the previous summer. After finishing the Lily Allen remix it was clear that we had the right chemistry in the studio to develop our new duo, so I suggested we call ourselves Dresden and Johnston when it came time to credit the remix.

Mikael – Dave and I have a lot of the same loves and want to go in a similar musical direction it keeps things exciting even when doing more mundane tasks. For instance we both have a love for analog synthesis and vintage analog recording gear. We both love vocals and music that create an emotional response.

BoH – Dave, you mentioned in your MySpace blog with apparent pleasure that you “pulled out the Moog and the Prophet 08” for this Lily Allen remix. Do you have any preference to hardware/software synthesizers when producing tracks?

Dave – Mikael and I both have a love for analog synthesizers. That doesn't mean we don't use software synths, but we will almost always choose the actual analog box over the software equivelent whenever possible. Some of the synths we've been using at our studio are the Prophet 8, Moog Voyager, Roland Super Jupiter, Roland JX-3P, and the Studio Electronics ATC-X. Some of the software synths we use are the Arturia Arp2600, Rob Papen Blue, ES-P, and the Vangaurd.

BoH – Mikael, still working with Orpheos Dejournette as Mephisto Odyssey, how are you going to manage your time between the two partnerships?

Mikael: Actually Orpheos left the band just before Mephisto Odyssey left Warner Bros. in January of 2002. The newer Mephisto Odyssey material that has been released since (mostly between 2006-present) have been produced by myself and Josh Camacho. Josh was our touring DJ back while we were at Warner. He was hired to take Barrie's place in our live PA when Barrie's wife had breast cancer. We were very sad to see Barrie have to leave the project but Josh has been amazing. Orpheos is working on his own solo material which has gone in a very different direction.

BoH – Dave, how is this partnership different from the Gabriel & Dresden legacy? Are you looking to achieve different goals?

Dave – I'm looking to continue where I left off and see where it takes me. I don't think we have any preconceived notions but I feel we're fastly approaching what I'm looking for.

BoH – You’ve both worked predominantly in partnerships. Is there a benefit to this?

Dave – Absolutely, it's great being able to apply your strengths to their strengths, being able to delagate work to one another so things can be acheived more quickly, having someone to bounce ideas off of and tell you when to believe the hype and when not to. ...plus it's just more fun to work with someone else.

BoH – Will you be DJing together as well as producing?

Mikael – Yes, but not immediately, and then only now and again until we release an album or EP that warrants that kind of tour support. In the meantime Dave will continue his fairly vigorous tour schedule on his own. Our first official appearance together will be at a festival here in San Francisco on August 7th (the Best of the Bay festival that's hosted by The East Bay Express).

BoH – What does the future hold for Dresden & Johnston? Are there more releases in the pipeline?

Mikael – So far this year we've done remixes for Lily Allen, Nadia Ali, BT, JD Webb and The Crystal Method. We just finished up The Crystal Method remix today as a matter of fact. We're going to take a short break from remixing to concentrate on finishing original material, including a song Dave started with our friend John Debo and music we wrote and recorded with Nadia Ali in June of this year.

BoH – Which one piece of DJ/studio gear could you not live without?

Dave – A Mac computer running Logic.

Mikael – A Mac computer running Pro Tools HD.

BoH – Which DJs/producers do you think we should be looking out for this year?

Dave & Mikael – Pablo Decoder, Wippenberg, Grayarea, Morgan Page, Serge Devant.

INTERVIEW: Martijn Ten Velden

Perhaps best known for his hit record I Wish You Would, this DJ's been at the forefront of the house and minimal/electro scene for the most-part of the 2000's. Best of House recently caught up with the Dutch superstar to find out what he's been up to as well as what lies ahead. Here's what Martijn Ten Velden had to say...


BOH - Let’s start from the beginning. Martijn Ten Velden: How did it all begin?

MTV - Well, I bought my first drum machine (Roland tr-808) when I was fifteen with money I made from doing the paper rounds in the morning before going to school. Then I bought one deck and a little mixer so I could scratch over the top of my beats. I just loved playing around with beats and records and I’m still doing it and loving it today!

BoH - What was the first dance record you bought and when was the last time you listened to it?

MTV - I remember one of the first records I ever bought was by Gary Bird and It’s called ‘You wear the crown’. It’s like an old school rap record with a disco beat. It’s been collecting dust in my Dad’s attic for a long time now..

BoH - As an international DJ you travel a lot. Where do you find the time for producing?

MTV - I start a lot of ideas on the airplane or in a hotel and then continue working on them in my studio at home in the weekdays. I try to make more time for producing these days because it’s easy to just DJ and do nothing else, so I deliberately take some weekends off from DJing to get more done in the studio, otherwise there’s just not enough days in the week.

BoH - Do you have a favourite club/country to DJ in?

MTV - There are so many great clubs out there it’s ridiculous! I’ve had so many great experiences in many countries. But I would have to say my favourite country to play in is Brazil. The amount of great clubs in that country is amazing and the people just love dance music like nowhere else - except maybe in Bulgaria, Romania, U.S.A, Russia, Denmark, UK.. :)

BoH - You’ve just released the rather epic, Together and along side it the Dubai Dub. Why Dubai?

MTV - Haha, you’re the first one to ask! It’s because I moved to Dubai last summer and I did it in Dubai. So I thought it a fitting title.

BoH - Your Chime remix was undoubtedly one of the biggest tracks of the winter, and no doubt will make a big resurgence this summer. Were you ever nervous about it living up to the original?

MTV - Not nervous, because nobody can touch the original anyway, but I knew from the start I had to make a big effort and treat it with a lot of respect. I just spent a lot of time on it, trying to give it the class production that it deserves and also give it a modern twist.

BoH - Do you have any more remixes coming up?

MTV - I did a remix of the old Heller & Farley classic “Ultra Flava’ which just came out on Junior Boys Own recently, and I also have a remix coming out on Stealth Records of Martin Acorsi ‘This is How we Do’.

BoH - What are you working on at the moment?

MTV - I am putting the finishing touches to my new mix album this week. It’s the next offering in the ‘Defected Clubland Adventures‘ Series. I made a real special effort on this one as it’s Defected’s 10th anniversary this year. Every track in the mix is from the Defected catalogue. I tried to mix the old and the new together in a really fresh way, so almost every track is a re-edit with an accapella from another track over the top, extra beats and some extra sound effects. I used a total of 36 titles to put the mix together, but it doesn’t feel rushed or over the top. Nice listening before going out!

BoH - If you could work with any artist/DJ who would you choose and why?

MTV - Tentemoller, because he’s a f***ing Genius!!

BoH - What has been your proudest moment in and out of the music world?

MTV - Winning the Dutch Junior Athletics Championship 4 x 100 meters relay when I was 16. Sometimes when I feel a bit rough I look at the big gold medal and it still lifts my spirits!

BoH - Is there anything you’d like to say to the readers of Best of House?

MTV - Come and visit me sometime on MySpace or Facebook to check what I’m up to, please!! Hahaha. Also my new website is about to go live! If you register we’ll have some free music and DJ mixes by myself for you! And you’ll be kept up to date with all my wrongdoings. Keep house music alive!!

INTERVIEW: Eddy Temple-Morris

Our latest interview is with dance-rock DJ/presenter/producer, Eddy Temple-Morris. This week he gives us the low-down on what he's been up to as well as his views on the dance scene...



BoH - You’ve been hosting your popular radio show, The Remix on XFM for many years now and have been responsible for the emergence of some of today’s most popular electronic artists. What do you most enjoy about it?

ETM - I love the immediacy of radio, listen to a pile of CDs and downloads each week, then play the ones I love. It's so simple and direct. I also like the fact that I don't have to rely on anyone. If I'm able to stand, and talk, then the show happens.

BoH - Have there been any particularly defining moments?

ETM - The show has been going for nearly nine years so there are quite a few: obvious ones like playing demos by Kasabian, Scissor Sisters, and being the first person to play acts like Pendulum, Reverend And the Makers, Infadels, Alex Metric etc, but the defining moment for me was when I first played a Mix CD by two guys in a band I like, from Belgium. They were called the Flying Deweale Brothers, it was the first time anyone in the UK had heard them on radio. When I invited them for their first ever live radio mix, the phone lines went into meltdown - it was that good. They played at my little club-night and I carried on supporting them because I knew they were the best DJs I'd ever seen and ever would see... Sometime later they changed their name... to 2manyDJs.

BoH - Wow, that's a story to tell the grand-kids! We’ve recently had minimal and electro house prove popular in clubs. What do you see as house music’s next emerging sub-genre?

ETM - There's a groundswell I can feel of - don't take this the wrong way - Gay Electro: that's the most succinct description I can come up with... It's kind of light-loafered, poppy, very musical and melodic electronica with its feet in the 80s, but with production values of now. The best exponent of this, and he will be massive, is a very young Scotsman called GRUM. He's brilliant.

BoH - Who do you think is really at the top of their game in the house scene?

ETM - I don't really know anything about the 'House Scene' - as the prodigy's favourite DJ I share a general loathing of the genre with Liam Howlett, but the people I've been loving in the four-four dance music world this year have been people like The Shoes, DIM, MSTRKRFT, Herve, Jack Beats, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, SebastiAn, Teenage Badgirl, Justice, and I've never stopped loving Utah Saints, Chemical Brothers and Soulwax.

BoH - Any ideas about artists we’re going to hear about in the not-so-distant future?

ETM - GRUM, Plugs, Le Castle Vania and look out for the return of Mylo, and the new Prodigy album which is going to surprise a lot of people and make the entire Nu Rave movement give up and go home.

BoH - You’ve obviously seen a lot of artists come and go. What do you think sets those still around from the rest of the crowd?

ETM - If you make something timeless, if you don't attach yourself -musically- to a fad or a trend, then you'll get longevity.

BoH - Who are your greatest inspirations?

ETM - First and foremost, Liam Howlett for teaching me that dance music could rock as much as rock music, and being the greatest beatmaker and tunesmith weve ever had. Chemical Brothers for their sense of joyous hand-in-the-air music, aimed always at the dancefloor, Orbital for the musicality, Soulwax and Tom Middleton for their eclectisism, Tim Garbutt of Utah Saints who inspired me to raise my game as a DJ, and Barry Ashworth and Adam Freeland for teaching me how to properly connect with a crowd.

BoH - What projects have you currently on the go?

ETM - Its all about The Losers, a dance music production/remix outfit comprising me and Tom Bellamy, the beautiful one from The Cooper Temple Clause (a progressive indie-electronica band from Reading who were never as big as they deserved to be). We've remixed Rage Against The Machine, Candi Staton, The Presets, Slyde and the next Snow Patrol single, amongst many others, and weve nearly finished our debut album.

BoH - Are there any ideas for the not-so-distant future?

ETM - We've just started doing it live... We played our first gig ever at The Dance Rocks Stage of The Secret Garden Party... It went surprisingly well, and we have a handful of gigs booked between now and Chistmas in the north and south of the UK. We just want to get the album away with a label we like and tour it. The live thing works a treat. Tom and I play everything, a lot of triggering, with live guitars, bass, keys and noises.

BoH - For the producers who browse these pages, what does your studio/work station consist of?

ETM - Coming from a live band background, we favour Protools to make our tunes, with Propellerhead Reason and some sexy outboard gear, analogue keys and a Lord Skywave synth, of which there were only 10 ever made.

BoH - Your taste in music is quite eclectic. If only one genre were to survive, what would it be?

ETM - Dance that rocks.

BoH - If you could host your own house music festival who would you invite and why?

ETM - A 'Dance Music Festival' would have to be The Prodigy, because there's still nobody that can touch them live, but if it HAD to be 'HOUSE' music, I guess I couldn't have them, or Soulwax, so my more down-the-line choices would include Tiefschwarz, Boys Noize, Ewan Pearson, Audio Bullys and Slagsmalsklubben.

BoH - Would you headline or watch? (You can do only one!)

ETM - If the Prodigy were playing, I'd support then watch, as I have done many times. Anyone else, I could follow without feeling threatened.


Eddy was also gracious enough to provide us with a track from his band, Losers' upcoming album. This is Friends Are False (Losers Wilson Says Aaron Mix).



You can listen to Eddy's show, The Remix on XFM every Friday evening from 10pm to 1am. For more on Eddy Temple-Morris follow the links below.

Eddy's MySpace / Loser's MySpace / The Remix on XFM

INTERVIEW: Fred Deakin

This week Best of House caught up with Fred Deakin, recently of British electronic artist duo, Lemon Jelly fame. We thought we’d find out what he’s currently up to as well as what lies ahead...



BoH - Let’s start with Lemon Jelly as a lot of us first heard your name through this medium. What are you trying to achieve now with your latest projects that perhaps you weren’t back then?

FD - I guess my aims are still pretty similar: I’m trying to make some unique music and put it out there in an interesting visual way.

BoH - What are the chances of a re-formation with Nick Franglen?

FD - My hunch is we’ll get our act together at some point: we’re still pals and see each other on a regular basis but our other projects have taken us elsewhere for the time being.

BoH – So do you have more spare time now you’re flying solo?

FD - No! Less if anything. I'm juggling a lot of balls at the moment.

BoH - You’re also into your art, having run your design company, Airside for coming up to ten years now. Can we expect to see more artwork made by you?

FD - I'm always working on something: my CD sleeves seem to be the main outlet for my visual style at the moment but Airside's varied output usually has some influence from me.

BoH - What are your great inspirations in and out of the music world?

FD - Hmm, where do I start? Visually Victor Vaserely, Bridget Riley, Ed Ruscha, Norman McLaren, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Studio Ghibli: musically Spirit, The Beatles, ACR, Tribe / Beasties / De La etc, D Train, Devendra, Lindstrom / Prins Thomas / Todd Terje, Jill Scott, Kimya Dawson, and that's today's list.

BoH - We heard you have a rather large record collection! How much vinyl do you have now?

FD - I used to have 20,000 records but I weeded it down to 12,000 - less is more! Having said that it's creeping up again.

BoH – Free music on blogs. Harmful or promotion?

FD - Promotion, definitely: having said that I still buy a lot of vinyl myself. Wading through MP3s is hard work!

BoH - If you were to choose just three house music tracks to take with you on a round-the-world trip, what would you pick and where would you visit?

FD - Kerri Chandler - Atmosphere (dub), Photon Inc - Generate Power, Pepe Bradock - Burning. Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York.

BoH – Oldskool! What does the long-term future hold for Fred Deakin?

FD - Death and decay. And chocolate!

BoH – Lastly, it’s 100 years into the future, and the mayor of London has decided to put a Fred Deakin statue up. What pose would you be in and where would you want it to stand?

FD - I would have my hands in the air reaching for the laser and it would be in Soho Square. But if Boris Johnson Jr. is the mayor then he can stick his statue up his arse.


Charming! So there you have it, Fred Deakin shares his thoughts with us. You can see him this coming Thursday (18th) at the Amersham Arms, London as part of the San Miguel Hidden Depths nights. Acts include Sam Sparro, Cosmic Fury (Fred and Tom Middleton) and more to be announced on the night.