Martijn Ten Velden Interview

This article is about Pure Pacha @ Pacha in London (UK), Sat 05 Sep

How would you describe your sounds to someone who didn’t know, why should they come see you live?
Energetic upfront tech/house music with the occasional hit thrown in. Lots of creative mixing with accapellas and sound effects. I like to be in touch with the crowd and really play into the energy of the dance floor.

You started out in hip-hop I understand, what made you make the switch to house?
I switched to house at the end of the nineties because at that time house music and house parties were just a lot more exciting.
There was a lot more innovation and new sounds in house music which tickled my ear as a producer as well.

What role, if any, did the UK play in that?
A major role because I was already living in the UK by that time and totally into the UK house scene.

Holland is being put back on the house map at the moment with the likes of Lauhaus, Remote Area Records, Julien Chaptal, 2000 and One – why do you think that is?
Holland has always been into dance music since the late 80s. I still believe the majority of Dutch people are more into trance (not me though!) but the new generation of house producers are definitely making a mark again. It's in their blood!

Where do your musical ideas come from? How do make yourself sound different when anyone with a pc can [try] to make music?
My ideas come from everyday life. I usually get a melody that just pops into my head and then I go off and put it down on my computer. I have created my own sound over the years and to be
honest would find it hard to try to sound like somebody else.

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You’ve done hundreds of remixes with Mark Knight – how did that pairing come about?
Yeah I know, we did a lot of tracks together :-)
We already knew each other from the London club scene and simply decided to do a track together, turned out we really complemented each other in the studio and really got on well, so we kept working together on a whole lot more.

Why do you like doing them so much?
I love playing around with sounds and shaping them into something new and more to my liking, it's the nerd in me :-)

Any one you’ve turned down for a remix, or would really like to do?
I have turned down a lot of remixes. I have to like the original otherwise I don't want to do it. I won't mention names though. I can't think of any specific artist I would like to remix, it really all depends on the song.

Are you a vinyl or digital man? Where do you stand in that debate?
Well, I play with CDs now and have been for many years. It's simply a whole lot easier to carry around when you're travelling like crazy and you can burn off last minute tracks in your hotel room and play them one hour later in the club. I don't use Tractor or other computer software because I think CDs sound better.
I use Ableton to do my radio mixes but not in clubs (even though I am not against it). If you're going to use something like Ableton you got to step up to the plate and take it to another level by looping up beats, dropping in accapellas etc. and not just mix one track into the next. I see too many young DJ's nowadays who just use Ableton and do nothing with it, that’s just cheating in my opinion because ANYBODY can mix with Ableton, even my grandmother.

If you could only DJ from now on, or only produce from now on, which would you chose and why?
Producing, because I can still do that when I'm 70 and not look silly.

Tell us about your latest productions?

Well, I’m working on an array of interesting projects at the moment but I’ve got a nice track out called "Together" on Phonetic Recordings which has been going down a storm in Ibiza. I’ve also done a cool track called "Sophisticated Simplicity” with Mark Knight that will be released in the autumn…so keep an ear out!

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What piece of kit couldn’t you live without?
My Macbook Pro.

How will you approach the Pacha gig… what can we expect?
I'm there for the people! I will give it all I’ve got and drop some insane new tracks :-)

How do London crowds compare to others around the world?
It really depends on the club, but the last time I played in Pacha London it was off the hook and the crowd was really great.

What’s the worst thing about your job?
Jetlag and exhaustion

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
The drummer in 'The Police'.