Local Rockstars: Milan Meyberg about Black Box and his mysterious plans for the future

Oct 3, 2012 | by Chloë Arkenbout | Music

About the author

Born and raised in Amsterdam, lives to dance and dances to live on electronic music, has a small vinyl addiction, appreciates a little sarcasm now and then, thinks musicals are annoying and loves those moments where you lose track of time completely.

Whether you went out last weekend to check out an uber-geeky beat magician or a depressingly awesome indie rock band, we all know there’s always some serious musical talents rocking around the Dam. You might not recognize them all yet, but don’t worry, you will soon. In this series of interviews we talk to remarkable artists about their music and their inspirations.

Every time I find myself wanting to go out on a Wednesday night I know exactly where I’ll end up. Yep, Black Box in Studio 80! This deep house party is a nice break from the everyday grind that we call work or school, to survive until the weekend. The one year anniversary of this lovely party is coming up, and this time it’s on a Saturday for those who don’t like being hung-over during the week. Last week I had a cup of tea with Milan Meyberg, the resident of this already legendary party.

I started off with some multiple choice to get to know Milan a little better.

1) ~~Food~~ / sex / ~~sleep~~
“The most difficult question of the entire interview first. I wanted to add music to the list as well, but that would have made this one impossible to answer.”
2) Playing at… sunset / ~~sunrise~~ / ~~daytime~~
3) Alcohol / ~~soft drugs~~ / ~~hard drugs~~
4) ~~Money~~ / fame / ~~groupies~~
Milan doesn’t really care for all three of them. By choosing fame he doesn’t mean paparazzi, but appreciation and recognition for his work.

You studied electronic music at the Academy for Pop Culture. What does an education like this look like?
“After studying medicine for two years I decided to follow my passion. The first year is very general, there are bands and singer songwriters as well. Later on I specialized in electronic music, and I also took other classes such as festival management and graphic design, it’s really broad.”

You organize a lot of events and festivals in Groningen, where you’ve lived. You’re also a resident at Pand48 there. Then you moved to Amsterdam to do an internship at Studio 80. Are the electronic music scenes in Groningen and Amsterdam very different?
“I did a lot of different things in Groningen. I’m also a resident there at Boel Op Stelten, a party I co-organize. I also did two festivals. For school I needed an intership, and I felt that staying in Groningen would hold me back. I got one at Studio 80 and three days later I found a place to live. It all happened really fast, as if it was meant to be. The scenes in Groningen and Amsterdam are somewhat different though. In Groningen the scene is really close, everyone helps each other moving forward, to build a scene together. Amsterdam has a lot of different islands that try to claim their spot, which is a shame actually. The two cities do have the same passion for music. ”

Are there Amsterdam based DJs you like?
“Raaf, a resident at my party Black Box, is on his way to becoming my favourite DJ in Amsterdam. He has a great taste in music and his new sound totally matches my taste. This is someone to watch.”

When I was 15 I still listened to really bad pop music. You first came into contact with house music at that age. How did that happen?
“I was already interested in electronic music, although I couldn’t really describe or categorize it as I can now. When I was 15 I went to Impulse Outdoor. That feeling of breathing music and seeing what the music did to the people and what it did to me, was amazing. Then I bought turn tables, CD players and spent a lot of time in record shops. I was the youngest kid in that record shop that listened to techno. The owner liked that, so he often made a special selection of vinyl especially for me.”

What’s your latest genius discovery, artist or track?
“Avatism! I discovered him pretty recently. He has this full, warm deep house sound, which is melancholic but powerful as well. His tracks have been present in my sets quite a lot the last two months.”

What are your DJing goals?
“I have never told anyone this. I do have a lot of plans, and I am a real planner when it comes to my goals. I am exactly where I want to be right now in my plan. Let’s just say there are a lot of new interesting things coming up.” I was intrigued by this mysterious answer. Sadly enough he didn’t want to elaborate and be more specific. I guess we’re just going to have to wait and see.

Finally, let’s talk about your party in Studio 80, Black Box. What is the Black Box sound and what can we expect on the anniversary edition party this Saturday?
“Black Box represents the new deep house and house, the style that became big internationally the last year. The artists I invite sometimes represents the more poppy side of this genre, sometimes the more melancholic side, or the disco side. For the anniversary, which is on Saturday instead of Wednesday for a change, we invited two British headliners: Matt Tolfrey and Sam Russo from Leftroom records. We’re doing it big with two rooms. In one room Deep House Amsterdam will take care of the place. The party will give you a different sound that what you normally hear on a Saturday. Not the ‘snack’ house you normally hear in most venues.”