Holland's illustrious love affair with the techno genre has given birth to many homegrown exponents of the sound, notably names such as Speedy J and Anton Pieete. Known for an unforgiving, straight up but funk laced tech-house sound, Mr Pieete - also member of District One - has struck his masterful chords across labels from Kling Klong and SCI + TEC, to Drumcode and Rejected (who've just released his latest slice of tech groove, the Loner EP). As we enter October - meaning Amsterdam Dance Event month - we look at this familiar name in Amsterdam's second generation and asked him to lace together an exclusive Pulse Loves mix. Read & listen on.
Pulse Loves.. family heirlooms. I read that your Grandfather passed you his old synthesiser at an early age, prompting an interest in electronics. How did he influence you musically and what were your inspirations growing up? My grandfather made very spheric syntheziser music, it sounded more like movie scores, I liked it but i started playing guitar when i was 8 years old, so at that time i was more interested in rock music. When he gave me some of his old synths and FX of his i was 15 years old and didn't really know what to do with it until i went to my first rave one year later. My mind was blown and i knew what i wanted. I started making techno music that same week but had no clue where to begin. I remember the first track i made, it was called ''Panther'' and it was a loud kick with too much reverberation and helicopter sounds. I still have it on DAT somewhere, but Panther was my interpretation of the music i had experienced on my first rave.
Pulse Loves... strong work ethics. You've released on dozens of labels - are you prolific in the studio and how do you go about hooking up with chosen labels? I think it was after 5 years of making techno i sent my first demo's out to some distributors and labels. I remember i made 10 copy's of the CD, checked the addresses of the records i liked and sent them off with a handwritten letter. I dropped them at the post office, and after 3 days i got an email from Pure Plastic. They told me they were blown away and wanted to release it, i couldn't believe it. The labels i released for just got my music. When you dj with guys who own a label and you have a click together its easy to send them some music, and if they like it they will release it.
Pulse Loves... Amsterdam's club scene. The landscape for clubbing in Amsterdam seems healthier than ever; what are your thoughts on the city's ever bustling club culture? The scene is very strong and diverse at the moment and that's a great thing. It's really amazing how many good DJs and producers live in Amsterdam, and how many good dj's from around the world love to play here.
Pulse Loves.... your exclusive mix. is it a typical representation of your usual DJ style? Yes, well it always depends on where i play, but i think thats the same for everybody. There is one thing tha'ts always important for me and it doesn't matter if i play heavy techno for a big crowd or more housy music in a small club, it has to be funky.
Pulse Loves... the future. what does the rest of the year hold in store and what do you hope to achieve in the not so distant future. At the moment i have a very good vibe in the studio, so im just going to make a lot of music. Also i really would like to play in the US again, so lets see what is possible.
Anton Pieete's 'Loner / I Hold From You' EP is out now on Rejected.