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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.
It’s not a secret that electronic music plays a big role in Dutch culture – a few of our greatest ‘export products’ are Dutch artists and concepts. Mary Go Wild even published a book about the last 25 years of dance in our lovely country. This year marks the 20th edition of the Amsterdam Dance Event, the biggest indoor club festival of the world and one of the biggest electronic music conferences around. We love electronic music, so a tribute would be in place.
That’s exactly what Red Bull Playrooms thought. They’re creating a tribute to the influential Dutch club culture. During our favorite week of the year they bring the past, present and future of club culture together in a secret location. For the occasion, Red Bull asked Prunk about one moment in dance history he would have liked to witness, and about the future of club culture in 2040.
Dennis Ferrer
Prunk takes us to a do or die moment in New York in the ’90s, from of one of the artists that inspire him; “Dennis Ferrer was a student and working in an electronic store at the time. When he heard Kerri Chandler play Kenny Bobien’s Why We Sing, his eyes teared up and he knew that this was what he wanted to do. Ferrer became good friends with Chandler, who told him that he was going to be famous. In Chandler’s house Ferrer made his first hits for the Ibadan label, which marked the start of his successful career.” Prunk would have loved to be there to see what happened in that studio: “This moment is a highlight in the deep house genre and for me the proof that one studio moment can change your life.”
Prunk’s Ferrer moment
Prunk has been in the game for nine years and had experienced a moment similar to Ferrer’s. Although he’s a regular at big festivals such as Awakenings, STRAF_WERK and DGTL, runs his own label and hosts his own club nights, things didn’t always go easy in the past. It’s hard to imagine nowadays, but deep house wasn’t always as popular as it is at the moment and not everybody was ready for it. “A lot of people didn’t like it, which was a hard period. I didn’t have a lot of bookings and at one point I just quit playing. When I heard Street from Jamie Woon though I became so inspired that I wanted to remix it right away. I wasn’t in my studio but at my girlfriend’s place, but I decided to remix it on her wacky computer speakers anyway. That track became a hit.”
In the period that followed Prunk proved to be right about the potential of deep house when the genre had a revival, which put him on the radar as well. With his successful site Deep House Amsterdam (over 200.000 followers who check out deep house related news, mixes, interviews and reviews) he’s becoming a key figure in the deep house scene in the Netherlands.
Clubbing in 2040
He thinks clubbing will be different in 2040. “Because of new technologies, like the film Her shows perfectly, there will become a big gap between rich and poor. Clubs will become something for the elite. I imagine that people will party with a Google lens on a dance floor in a skybar on a skyscraper with visuals on the walls. Maybe 3D glasses are a nice digital replacement for drugs!” Prunk knows one thing for sure though: “House will never die.”
Prunk is one of the artists that will celebrate club culture to the max during Red Bull Playrooms. Do you want to experience it firsthand?
Feature image by Richard Terborg.
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