André

“Being a music nerd, a techno event is about losing myself in the music first and foremost. The clean electronic sound and the volume make the music almost tangible, that’s a wonderful thing. As if you can touch it. As the party progresses, I like to just dance at the front continuously, with closed eyes. You don’t need to look at a DJ. That doesn’t mean I don’t care who’s playing, there’s certain DJ’s I want to hear and I like to discover new talent. When someone like Claire Morgan or Talismann performs nearby, I’m there.

But second, it’s about people of course. You can’t get this immersive experience on your own, it’s about being in sync with others. I also love to chat with complete strangers, though mostly at the start of an evening. I like to speak to people from completely different walks of life, and at these events that’s a lot easier. I think it helped me get over a certain shyness, I make smalltalk with all kinds of people in daily life since I started raving.

I can go to a party on my own, but it’s much better when you have a small gang of people with you who you know and love and can share these experiences with. I’m very glad I found that.

I started going to raves in my thirties, rather late in life. I’ve always been very much into different kinds of music, like alternative rock, metal and new wave. But at some point I got a bit bored, new bands didn’t surprise me anymore. I very gradually started listening to electronic music,  Kraftwerk was a major gateway for instance. I also got curious about all the dance festivals that were coming up around my hometown of Utrecht, I could hear the boom in my home in summer.

So I started going to these events with friends. I still like to do so, but I also got to appreciate the intimacy of a smaller club where you can just lose yourself in the night with a few hundred people. There’s more focus on the music, and also more room for people to express themselves as they wish, dress how they want. That’s the kind of world I’d like to live in.

I like all kinds of electronic music, but techno grabs me the most because of a certain darkness, I guess. Dark doesn’t mean hard, I like techno that flows naturally, with some funk in there. This can just as easily be played by a Detroit pioneer as by a twenty year old from Amsterdam. I think we have some great talent around in the Netherlands nowadays. I try to support that in my own small way by interviewing these people, so the world can get to know them. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference”

🗣 @andre_kamphuis
📸 @hedonsonance / Annelies Kietselaer

#hedonsonance #echoofyouressence #techno #freedom #equality