About the author
Reza Athar is one of the masterminds of Horizon, a new party in already legendary Doka. For the last edition Reza brought Massimiliano Pagliara and Discodromo from the Cocktail D’Amore label to the Netherlands for the first time, and the next edition will be just as awesome. I got the chance to have a little chat with Reza, about the concept of Horizon among other things. Party time!
You live in Nijmegen. Can you compare the scene there to the one in the Dam?
“Nijmegen is a progressive student town, there’s enough going on! Last year a lot of cool initiatives were brought to life that make me feel at home more than ever. There’s a new cool city beach for example, a lot like Roest. In terms of atmosphere Nijmegen is a city where I can lose myself in and stay in love with, just like Amsterdam. A lot of fun, creative, open minded people live here because of the creative and social schools.”
Let’s talk about your party Horizon. Tell me more.
“The idea started with the love for DJs who (hardly) play in the Netherlands, with an international cult status, that don’t go with today’s thinking. DJs who are willing to play music their visitors haven’t heard yet, with enough baggage to dare to go on a discovery. There’s no focus on one genre but on a sensual impact on the dance floor.”
You organize Horizon together with Ricky Thorn. How did your collaboration come to be?
“Ricky is the initiator. We’ve known each other for seven years but kind of lost touch because we were both busy. We saw each other now and then and talked about music. Vague ideas to start something new never happened because of our schedules. Until this spring! Ricky told me about his plans to start something new where the focus would be on challenge. When he asked me to be in charge of the creative input I didn’t have to think about it long!”
Who’s playing at the next edition next Friday?
“We got Chloé (pictured above) and Jennifer Cardini, the two grande ladies from French electronic music. Ever since we started Horizon it was my passionate wish to get these ladies behind the decks together, and this is their Dutch début. Both of them have been in the electronic music scene for a long time, they’re not afraid to explore some edges and their b2b sets at Club Rex in Paris are loved.”
What a nice name, Chloé. Give me a track that you think is timeless.
“Wow, that’s a hard question. My goal is to only buy tracks that are timeless, I ask myself if I still like this after a year. I do have my favourites of course, I was blown away when I heard Thinking Allowed from Tornado Wallace for the first time. It made me very Zen, it’s like a Bikram Yoga anthem for the dance floor.”
Do you have a special ritual or habits before you perform? Do you drink Red Bull maybe?
“I’m usually a little stressed. Healthy tension of course. I mustn’t drink caffeine then but relaxing drinks. I like to drink a cup of thee before my gig.”
Electronic music becomes more popular every day. How do you see this developing?
“I think that’s fantastic, I don’t see this as something negative as some do. People look down on DJs that play at the DJMag top 10, are in the charts and make big bucks. These DJs reach a complete new audience that might develop an interest in underground genres. A beautiful example is ADE, a conference that connects underground with mainstream. The entire town is filled with events and everyone will find something they like.”
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