Interview : 2000 and One

As promised in the review of the 6th Moonday, we will tell you more about 2000 and 1. Not that famous in our country, he’s probably one of the oldest artists in the international techno scene. After his set at the Moonday, we had a talk with him. The Dutch DJ and producer, whose birthname is Dylan Hermelijn, is a true pioneer of techno music. He has been making parties move with hard, fast, and catchy beats since the late nineteen eighties. From underground parties to fancy clubs, he plays sets that will make it hard for you to stand still.

In the Vooruit, he kept energy levels to a maximum after Vaal, aka Eliot Sumner, with a set made of swift and powerful sounds. This was perfect to finish the night off with SHDW & Obscure Shape. When 200 and 1 got to the backstage after his performance, we had a chance to have a sit with him for a short but yet interesting chat…

Is it your first time in Belgium?
No, it’s not. Actually, this is my fifth time! I have already played in the Vooruit and at I Love Techno.

What do you think about the Belgian electronic scene?
I’ve been in this business for 30 years. I think that Belgium is always a step ahead of us when it comes to music. The Netherlands is more commercial: they like to please the crowd. Over here in Belgium, people want to explore the music. That’s part of their history as you can see with record labels like R&S. Belgians are more into the music. The Dutch are more into what people like.

You have been playing for a long time now. Do you notice any difference between the crowds of the 90s, when you started playing, and today’s crowds ?

Definitely! In the 90s, it was all about music. There were no social media and it was not about popularity. It was more about raving, having a good time. Nowadays, there’s an emphasis on how many likes you have, how many pictures you have on Instagram, on Facebook, on Twitter… The techno music is more commercial now. Back in the 90s, nobody wanted to be commercial. They just did what they liked!

So, how do you deal with that?
That’s a difficult thing. The thing is that the records I make are more underground than the hit records. When I play in a club, especially in America, they want me to play all the hit records! They want hits all the time.

Do you think that it is a good thing that technological advancements make music more accessible to the general public?

I think it’s a really good development. In the past, to make records you had to have a lot of money. Now, all you need is a laptop and a software program! A lot of new amateur producers who actually don’t have a lot of money can expose themselves.

Did you always play techno music?

Let me explain… I started at the beginning: the four to floor* techno and house music. For me, there’s no difference. People love to categorize: “techno”,” deep house”, “tech house”, “electro”… For me, it’s all the same and that whole spectrum is techno. Why techno? Because it is technologically based upon electronic influences. If you compare that with the music from the 80s, when people were playing guitars, drums… It’s all the same and I don’t have any problem with that.

*”Especially common in techno, a 4/4 time signature is an unaccented 4/4 time pattern in which each beat is marked with a heavy kick drum. This is desperately boring in a normal volume but at club levels takes over your entire body. Usually sourced from a Roland 909. “

For sure, you had listened to this question a lot of time. But why do you call chose “2000 and One“?

Back in the 80s, my first bank card code was 2 0 0 1. That’s it.

You work with quite a few different labels, like Drumcode for example. Does that influence your work?

When I started, there weren’t as many labels as there are today. At the time, the only label was the Belgian label R&S and there was a large variety of electronic music. Nowadays, it’s different. But that doesn’t matter to me, I continue my work as I did it before.

Future projects? 
I have many projects going on, but the main project I am going to do is my new album. It will be released in 2018. I don’t know which label yet, we will see!

 

Pictures by Simon Leloup
Update : 5th octobre 2017