Meet Ozzo, winner of Float’s DJ challenge
Ozzo. Picture Hedon Sonance / Annelies Kietselaer
In July, Float Records held a DJ challenge in collaboration with Orphic and HEDON sonance. Out of more than thirty sets, we all agreed Ozzo’s submission was the one who challenged himself the most. His range of styles is impressive, and he clearly doesn’t follow current trends. I looked him up in Rotterdam to talk about his first encounters with electronic music, the city, his musical influences and of course his winning set.
I find Ozzo in the stylish old neighbourhood behind Rotterdam’s central station, which escaped WWII’s dramatic bombings of the city. He shares a spacious apartment filled with carefully picked vintage objects he found in thrift shops. He introduces himself as Onno, and immediately gets busy looking for tea and putting a bowl of fresh vegetables on the table. We talk a bit about his trip to Berlin, from which he returned the other day, before getting to his DJ life.
How did you get into techno?
“Actually, I didn’t like techno straight away. I was into deep house and Detroit house, and a lot of non-electronic music. When I was sixteen, that’s five years ago, I went to my first techno event. It was in Factory 010 in Rotterdam. We went up to the 10th floor in an elevator. I can clearly remember the massive thud of the bass drum outside the doors of the hall. I was nervous because I was too young to get in, but I knew: I’m really going to love this! I got in anyway and I did love it. SNTS and Stranger were playing. I mixed them up, I thought SNTS was called Stranger at the time because of the cloak, haha. When I lay in my bed afterwards, completely exhausted, I could still hear the music in my head.”
When did you start DJing?
“More than three years ago. I have always been very much into all kinds of music. My dad was a DJ too in the eighties and nineties, he was one of the first to play funk, soul, and disco records into one continuing beat at places like Danssalon. He also was a radio amateur, broadcasting music through a big antenna in our garden. Me, I started DJing on a laptop, with Virtual DJ. Through recording sets and listening back I developed my taste. Then I bought two CDJ’s and a mixer. There was no automatic pitching, so I had to do that using my ears, a good way to learn. After a while I got bored using two records, I felt that when I changed one of the records the energy dropped. I like three or more better, there’s more layers. I have to get into ‘hyperfocus’ to hear which one of the three is off, it’s a flow I like. Lately I’ve been using three CDJ’s and a turntable together.”
Ozzo. Picture Hedon Sonance / Annelies Kietselaer
What kind of tracks are you looking for?
“I like to go to record stores like Thatz-It and Clone in Rotterdam and just listen through whole genres. When I was done with techno, I started with the ambient. And lately I’m listening to electronix, a very diverse category comprising IDM like Autechre, among other things. I like to use more than just techno, there’s so much other stuff! In the past it was much more common to just mix all kinds of electronic music. A pioneer like Floorplan (Robert Hood, HS) still does that, we know him as a techno DJ, but he plays house too. I like to make playlists for friends, in which all kinds of music are featured, and unknown stuff can really shine. I did that for a friend who isn’t that much into dance, it’s the challenge to convert her anyway. I’d like to do that more often, maybe as a podcast or something.”
You had your first rave experiences in Rotterdam, and you live there. How do you feel about the city?
“I was born and bred in Rotterdam, and I'm in love with the place. It has an authentic feel to it because the people that live here mostly have their roots here. You don't find that in Amsterdam, everyone is from somewhere else. And of course, it has a great history in electronic music, Rotterdam was at the helm of the first house wave. But the nightlife has its issues with clubs coming and going, because of a non-supportive local government. Right now, things seem to be going okay because twelve new locations got a permit to be open for twenty-four hours, that's unprecedented. The Nachtwacht (dutch for Nightwatch, HS) organization played a big part in that. And there are some nice new places where events can be held in the M4H district like Keilecafé and STEUR Garden. Although some Rotterdammers might think that's too far to cycle", he laughs.
About your winning set: I heard very different styles in there, some breakbeat and even tinges of jazz, dub and kraut. How did you select the music?
“Yes, like I said I don't want to confine myself to one subgenre. I just listen to a track and wonder how it translates to me personally, the style doesn't matter. In this set, I challenged myself to use tracks I wouldn't normally use for a crowd. And I wanted them to be compatible with the sound of Orphic's residents, without being the same. You could say I selected music looking through their eyes, but also using my own filter. And that filter mostly means an organic sound, not too hard or dark.”
Ozzo. Picture Hedon Sonance / Annelies Kietselaer
Yes, I noticed it's very atmospheric and has a low BPM compared to a lot of other DJs. Still, in the text that went with the set you wrote it wasn't your usual ‘hypnotic’ sound. What's that sound you refer to?
“A producer like Mike Parker, I'm a big fan of his. Also Svarog, Peter van Hoesen and practically all the stuff on the Semantica label. But Parker is more to the point, less vague, though still hypnotic. About the speed of the set, I think I gradually became slower in my playing the last year. I got to know myself better going through some tough times, I really went 'down the rabbit hole'. That influenced my playing, it became more contemplative.”
We talked about your broad musical taste. What other things do you love besides electronic music?
“Oh there's so much...the other day I bought an afrobeat record by Ndagga Rhythm Force. In that vein I also like Fela Kuti of course. But I also listen to indie like Sam Cohen.” Onno shows the record. “And I love D’Angelo, the RnB singer. Funny thing is, I don't listen to a lot of techno sets anymore. Only when they include other kinds of music. I recently enjoyed a set from 2011 by DVS1. It starts with a house feel to it, that makes it interesting to me.”
What does ‘hedonism’ mean to you?
"Hmmm, that's kind of a new thing to me...maybe escapism? Forgetting about your problems can be a good thing occasionally but people lose themselves doing that, too. Me, I go to parties not to escape real life, but for the music. I want to be able to listen closely to the DJ with a clear head. Events are not so much an escape valve for me, as they are places of learning. I want to hear something new. But still, the music can move me so much that I lose myself in it, like when I heard Reeko play in Berlin.”
As with everyone we interview, I asked Onno to select three tracks of great importance to him.
“Kyteman with his ‘hiphop orchestra’ (also known by his real name Colin Benders making live techno with his modular synthesizers, HS) was one of the first performers I saw playing live as a child, it made a great impression. This particular melancholic instrumental is also a thing I share with my mother, we love it both”.
“This track is just one long sequence. I really admire the way this guy brings out his artisticity in his music, it’s like you can have a look in his brain. I think he’s a genius”.
“This track helps me through difficult times. I listened to it first when I just broke op with my girlfriend, in the dark on my headphones. At first I just got sadder, but in the end I felt comforted. It helps me to not run away from my feelings. It’s like guided meditation”.
Text André Kamphuis