You've
done a lot of travelling the past few years. What is the
weirdest or most troublesome traffic hold up you had to
experience while touring?
Recently
I was playing in Estonia and I was flying there via Copenhagen,
the flight was late to Copenhagen so I missed my connection.
I ended up getting into Estonia two hours late and missed
my set time so the only thing I could do was play last
after a hardstyle DJ who’s last record finished
at 160bpm, when I started with my sound, well lets just
say the cleaners thought I was DJing to help make people
leave!
I've
introduced my mother who's 48 to your music with the
promo cd you gave out in Miami during WMC and she loves
you. What would you say to a fan of that age if you
were to meet her?
Get
your clubbing gear on and start experiencing some more
Sander Van Doorn music, I took my mother to a festival
last year, not only did she give out my number to every
clubber that she met, she has since been asking when
she is going clubbing next!
When
did you realise you had 'made it' as a big name Dj??
Probably
eighteen months ago when I asked my manager could I
take next weekend off, he laughed and said if I want
a weekend off ever again that I would have to request
it at least three months in advance.
What
famous celebrities have you met that aren't musicians?
I was in the same plane to Ibiza about a month ago with
2 famous Dutch appearances (Wendy van Dyk and Xander
de Buisonjé). The funny thing is that a week
later I saw an article in a gossip magazine with the
headline “Is Wendy back with Xander? Not that
I read gossip magazines btw!
What
does your logo mean?
Originally
I wanted something to resemble a turn table but with
a twist, it won’t be lasting for much longer as
I am working on a new logo right now.
What
football team do u support, and do u ever get to see
any games?
Being
from Eindhoven I am a PSV fan of course, but to be honest
with my schedule these days, any free time I get is
in the studio, its not so easy when you produce everything
by yourself.
Have
you got a preference on what cheese you have with your
crackers?
Edam or Gouda
Which
DJs would you have play at your birthday party?
Carl Cox and Jeff Mills
If
you could give your success to anybody in the world,
who you thought deserved it more than you, who would
that one person be and why?
Now that’s tough… I guess there are a lot
of persons out there that probably deserve it more than
I do for not having the opportunity. Let’s just
say that I’m very lucky it happened to me.
Do
you pull the inspiration for your songs from present
events in your surroundings or do you look more towards
the past to find a key situation that gives you the
spark to create?
It’s
a combination of a few things really, I sometimes go
to the studio with an idea, I get working on it and
then the finished product might turn out to be something
totally different. I suppose my past and present influences
like being on the road travelling and hearing other
DJs play may well be the cause of that. I sometimes
go to the studio with nothing at all in my head and
out of nowhere ill have a start on something I really
feel the vibe off.
Just
wondering how long it usually takes you to fall asleep
after a gig?
Anyone
that knows me knows I love my sleep, although these
days I am just getting used to the fact that I need
to get sleep when I can, especially on weekends when
some weeks it can be tougher than others. Having been
in the studio all week, and then travelled throughout
a day to get to a gig, then play, meet loads of great
people, have some drinks…not very long, I would
say 15 mins.
Have
you ever gotten your dick sucked while spinning at a
huge event?...you know where like everyone could see
it and whatnot?
Can I ask you a question; would this happen to be a
fantasy of yours? Being honest no I have not, me smiling
when I am DJing is purely the pleasure from the music.
I heard stories of this happening to some DJs but I
wonder half the time is it just rumours, but as they
say there is no smoke without fire.
Are
there any producers that you want to work with, that
you haven’t yet?
I have always been a fan of Junkie XL, Moby and maybe
work a remix for an artist like Justin Timberlake, it
would give me more of an opportunity to work on a vocal
project.
What
do you think about out there?
I’m
not too sure what this means…….life I suppose,
day to day things, my music, my family, my career!
Do
you consider that using Serato and all the new DJ mixing
software as cheating or just another way for DJ’s
to get their music and message out there?
Well… To be honest I’m not a big fan of
laptop dj-ing but there is a big difference between
the software dj’s are using. For instance Sorato
I believe still makes you do all the mixing as you would
normally do. Ableton on the other hand makes it a little
bit too easy in my opinion. I’ll stick with the
cd’s for now!
Your
sound has gone from a traditional tech to a more houseier
tech sound. It's an amazing sound!! What inspired you
to go in this direction?
I
like to build my sets, originally when I was playing
out more at the start I played shorter sets, then when
I started playing for three or four hours I though that
it was not so entertaining for clubbers or for me as
a DJ to play the same style for that period. I started
going a bit more housier at the start, working it up
to some more trancier stuff, then my techno grooves
before taking it in the direction of SVD to finish off.
I’m glad you are liking it!
If
you could play anywhere in the world, even if you created
it, where would you play?
I’ve
never been to Iceland before and to be honest it sounds
really appealing to me. Besides that I can’t really
complain about the countries I’ve played in already.
Thrust me there’s a lot see in this world!
Which
program do you use for production and what is your favourite
instrument?
I
use Logic on a Mac and Macbook. My favourite softsynth
would still be the Stylus RMX plugin by spectrasonics,
for compiling my drums.
What
did your parents say when you said them that you want
to be a DJ/Producer ?
My
family have a family business so they all expected I
would follow in the footsteps of my brothers but to
be honest my passion for music was so strong. I finished
my schooling and borrowed the money from my brother
to buy some studio equipment, my Dad was pretty pissed
but they supported me. Nowadays my Dad collects all
my bits of press and is as proud of me and what I have
achieved as for my brother continuing the family business.
Where
do you see yourself in the next 3 years?
Still
working as hard as I do these days, maybe playing bigger
and better clubs, continuing to meet more amazing people
and pretty much just enjoying life!
When
you’re about to go on stage and start your set?
What goes through your head at that exact time?
I
used to be nervous when I first started DJ out in clubs,
but I was thrown in at the deep end by doing some of
the best clubs and festivals in the world which has
helped me adapt really quickly. Now I just usually have
three tracks in my head as to which one I will start
with and which ever one I choose I need to be thinking
of the next track after that.
What
would you be doing if you were not a DJ/Producer?
Probably still working for my brothers family business!
Will
we ever hear anything under the 'Purple Haze' alias
again?
Although
we decided last year to put all projects under the name
Sander van Doorn we also decided that I would continue
to produce as diverse as possible. This means that I
will definitely produce tracks in a more Purple Haze
kind of style, the only difference will be that it’s
going to be released under Sander van Doorn.
How
do you combine so many music styles that they sound
so awesome?
In
producing, I suppose that I have been very lucky that
the grooves I have created when I start producing a
track has a warm appeal, even the ones that are really
rough. In DJing, it comes down to picking tracks that
I hear key comparisons in, even though they are not
in the same genre, but working the EQ’s on a mixer
you can blend them easier together.
How
do you manage to get the ‘kick’ in your
tunes so phatt?
Compression!
What
sequencer, virtual instruments, effects, and mastering
software do you normally use?
I
use Logic as a sequencer, softsynths like Atmosphere,
Trilogy and Stylus RMX from Spectrasonics, pretty much
the effects that are imbedded in Logic and also Logic
as mastering software.
What
is your favourite all time record and why?
Jeff
Mills “The Bells”, anyone who caught me
playing a Turnmills back in April noticed I dropped
it in on the last night of the month. I have it in my
bag for special occasions, or for when my old friends
come with me, just to see the look on their faces when
I drop it out of nowhere!
What
CD in your collection are you most embarrassed about?
A
very old cd from Mariah Carey, but it’s actually
my sisters, still don’t know how it got there
?!
What
is your favourite transition trick when mixing?
I make a lot of use of the filter functions in the Pioneer
800 mixer. What a fantastic mixer that is.
Why
did you choose Sander van Doorn as your artist name?
First
of all using my real last name “Ketelaars”
wasn’t really an option! Actually a colleague
of mine came up with “van Doorn” when I
asked him about a Dutch last name that was easy to pronounce
in English. I still have to buy him a beer for that.
Have
you ever met up with anyone off dating site on the internet?
Nope, that’s not really my thing, as I am sure
you will have gathered that from above, the only thing
I do on a computer is produce, and try answer lots of
emails, which I appreciate so much!