Performing on the Balzaal at Dour Festival placed Marie-Julie in unfamiliar territory. Invited to perform on the Balzaal, the festival’s largest stage dedicated entirely to electronic music, and the biggest of its kind in Wallonia-Brussels, she brought her vinyl-only approach to a stage capable of welcoming up to 15,000 people.
A resident at Fuse, Belgium’s legendary techno institution, Marie-Julie has steadily built an international reputation through meticulously crafted all-vinyl performances. Recent highlights include her long-awaited Berghain debut, an achievement she describes as a true personal milestone, as well as appearances at some of Europe’s most respected clubs, including Tresor, De School, Spectrum Waves and Closer.
For an artist whose career has been built around intimate clubs, long-form storytelling and carefully constructed journeys, the setting could hardly have been more different. Yet that contrast was precisely what made the performance so compelling.
“I really didn’t expect to play Dour,“ she admits. “When the invitation came, I was genuinely surprised. It was never really on my mind or even a goal. Especially because the lineup is quite different from the kind of music I usually play.”
That, however, is also what makes Dour unique. For decades, the festival has distinguished itself by highlighting alternative cultures and giving space to diverse musical communities rather than following predictable programming formulas. Booking an uncompromising vinyl DJ on the Balzaal wasn’t simply a surprising choice, it was another demonstration of the festival’s willingness to place adventurous electronic music in front of a large audience. Far from feeling intimidated by the scale of the stage, Marie-Julie embraced it.
“I actually really enjoy playing these massive stages,” she says. “I grew up in clubs. I played bars, then small clubs, and that’s really where I learned how to DJ. Of course it’s completely different here, but I like that challenge.” Many DJs, she explains, struggle with the physical distance that naturally exists between artist and audience on large festival stages. She has developed her own way of overcoming it.“I try to look up more, smile, wave at people. There’s always a way to create a connection.” For her, that connection remains at the heart of DJing, regardless of the size of the crowd.
Another unique aspect of playing the Balzaal was finally hearing records she’d lived with for months in the context they were imagined for.
“When I’m practising at home, I often imagine how certain records will sound on a huge sound system. Then you arrive here, you play music made by your friends, you hear it at that scale, and you look out across the whole Balzaal… That’s something really special.”
From Fuse to Berghain: Growing Through the Club
If Dour represented unfamiliar territory, the foundations of Marie-Julie’s career have always been built elsewhere, inside clubs. Long before festival stages and international bookings, she spent countless nights behind the decks in small Belgian venues, gradually developing the patient, narrative-driven approach that has become her signature. Today, that journey continues through her residency at Fuse, Belgium’s longest-running techno club, a place she still considers one of her greatest sources of artistic growth.
“Fuse is still giving me so much,” she says. “I really feel like I’m still growing there as an artist.” For Marie-Julie, a residency is far more than having your name regularly appear on a line-up. It’s an education that no touring schedule can replace. “I’ve played many different clubs and stages, and of course you learn from all of them. But I honestly think you learn the most through a residency. You play every time slots, the opening, the middle of the night, the closing. Every set asks for something different, and you learn how to adapt.”
That constant exposure to the same room also creates something that occasional bookings never can: familiarity. “You start recognising people. They come back, you remember faces, and you slowly understand what your audience enjoys. You also build a relationship with the room itself. Every club has its own personality, and you learn to work with it instead of against it.”
Just as importantly, a residency provides something increasingly rare in today’s fast-moving electronic music landscape: the freedom to experiment. “It’s really a gift because you can try things. You can take risks and develop without feeling like every set has to prove something.”
Being part of the Fuse resident roster also carries a particular significance.“It’s one of Europe’s most important techno institutions, so being trusted with that residency means a lot. I’m still very grateful for that opportunity.” She also speaks warmly about the other residents, many of whom have become ambassadors for the Belgian scene far beyond the country’s borders. “I think we have a really strong resident team. Everyone is touring internationally now, and in our own way we’re helping to put Belgium on the map. I’m very proud to be part of that.”
While her residency continues to shape her as an artist, this year has also brought another defining chapter. “Some people keep telling me it’s my year,” she laughs. The biggest milestone, however, wasn’t a festival booking. It was Berghain.
“My debut there was incredibly special. The first time I ever went to Berghain was almost twenty years ago. Back then I was just mixing records at home. I wasn’t even thinking about becoming a professional DJ, I simply loved music, buying records and going out.”
Returning years later as the artist behind the decks felt almost surreal. After first playing Säule in October, Marie-Julie made her long-awaited debut upstairs at Berghain earlier this year, an experience she describes without hesitation as a personal life achievement. Interestingly, she explains that the second appearance taught her almost as much as the first.“The first time, you’re discovering the room from the booth rather than from the dancefloor. Even if you’ve been there many times before, it’s completely different once you’re the one playing.”
Berghain’s sound system quickly became another instrument in itself. “You suddenly realise that some records have an entirely different power in that room. You think, ‘Ah… this one works much better than I imagined,’ or ‘Maybe I should play this differently next time.’ It completely changes your perspective.”
Rather than treating each booking as an isolated performance, she now sees Berghain as a place where she can continue developing. “For me it’s the perfect club to experiment. After the second time I already knew there were records I wanted to bring next time. I already have ideas for the next sets.”
Despite those recent milestones, Marie-Julie doesn’t approach her career as a checklist of achievements. There are still clubs she dreams of playing, not because of their prestige, but because of what they might teach her. “Of course I’d love to play Bassiani. I’ve also heard incredible things about Open Ground.” Again, her answer immediately returns to sound :
“I’m always fascinated by how records sound in different spaces. Places like Berghain or RSO completely change the way you hear your music. I’ve heard so many people talk about Open Ground’s sound system that I’m really curious to experience it for myself.”
For Marie-Julie, every new club is less about adding another name to a résumé than about discovering another listening environment. “There are still so many clubs across Europe that I’d love to play. I’m really curious to see where the journey goes next.”
The Art of Packing a Record Bag
Ask Marie-Julie what the biggest difference is between vinyl and digital DJing, and she won’t start by talking about sound. She’ll talk about limitations. In an era where digital DJs can carry thousands of tracks on a USB stick, vinyl forces every decision to be deliberate. Every record occupies physical space, every kilogram matters, and every selection has consequences long before stepping into the booth.
“I prepare a lot,” she says. “Partly because you simply don’t have the opportunity to bring that many records with you, especially when you’re travelling.” Flying has become a logistical exercise in itself. “Whenever I fly, my records always stay with me in the cabin. I really don’t like checking them into the hold unless I absolutely have to. That immediately limits how many records I can bring.”
Years of touring have gradually taught her what deserves a place in the bag, and what doesn’t.
“Over time you learn which records you actually need. My preparation is very meticulous.I usually prepare the first ten records first. I always like to start from a clean slate, often with an ambient track or something without a beat. Then I slowly build the tension.”
Rather than thinking in individual tracks, Marie-Julie thinks in chapters. After the opening comes a carefully assembled section built around functional records, tools capable of shaping the flow of the set, before introducing more distinctive selections that gradually define the night’s identity.
Toward the end, another shift occurs. “I often bring more melodic records for the last part of the set.” It’s a structure that has emerged naturally after years of playing clubs rather than something consciously designed.
“Little by little, you learn how to pack a really focused record bag. It takes years of experience. My biggest advice would actually be to record a lot of podcasts or home mixes.”
When recording at home, she imagines an entire night unfolding in front of her. “If I record a three-hour mix, I don’t treat it as three hours of music. I imagine the first part as the warm-up, then the middle as peak time, and finally the closing. I love storytelling. By recording these little stories at home, I gradually learned how to build a complete journey.”
Paradoxically, Marie-Julie sees the limitations of vinyl as one of its greatest creative strengths. Being forced to make choices long before arriving at the club changes the way a DJ thinks. Her advice to younger vinyl DJs reflects that philosophy.
“Bring enough records for the beginning of your set. Bring tools. Bring your favourite tracks. And don’t forget records that work towards the end of the night.”
It’s practical advice, but it also reveals the way she approaches DJing itself. Preparation isn’t separate from performance. The set begins days before the first record is played.
Touring with Vinyls in a Festival Environment
Unlike digital performances, where a backup USB stick can solve many unexpected situations, vinyl demands an entire ecosystem to function properly. A turntable setup may appear simple, two decks, a mixer and a bag of records, but behind that simplicity lies a surprisingly fragile balance.
“Unfortunately, technical problems are part of the job,” she says. “There are so many things that have to be right.” She is quick to make an important distinction. Permanent clubs such as Fuse, Berghain or Tresor rarely present major issues.“Those clubs have permanent DJ booths. Everything is installed properly, people know the setup and you can simply arrive and play, most problems happen at temporary venues or festival stages where everything has been built specifically for that event. There are so many details that need to be taken into consideration.”
Sometimes, she explains, a single overlooked detail can compromise an entire performance. “If the DJ booth is physically connected to the table holding the turntables, every movement is transmitted to the decks. Someone walks, the table vibrates, the needle skips… and suddenly you have a serious problem.”
Then there is acoustic feedback.“If the booth isn’t isolated properly, or if the problematic frequencies can’t be removed, you can end up playing a two-hour set with constant feedback.”
Needles are another recurring issue. “My technical rider is actually two pages long. One of the things I specifically ask for is a brand-new pair of needles. But sometimes I’m told they’re new even though another DJ has already used them before me. They might technically be new, but they can already be damaged.”
And these are only a handful of examples.
“Those are maybe three things, but there are probably ten that need to be checked before a vinyl set.”
At Dour Festival, however, those concerns never materialised. The Balzaal’s technical setup was thoughtfully prepared, allowing artists to focus entirely on their performance. Technical artist support was overseen by Raphaël Klaps, himself an active figure within the electronic music scene and head of a booking agency. That dual perspective made a noticeable difference. Beyond technical expertise, he understood the practical expectations of performing artists, ensuring the setup was carefully prepared and creating an environment where vinyl DJs could perform with complete confidence.
The real challenge begins once something actually goes wrong.Unlike a technical crew, the DJ cannot stop everything to troubleshoot. The music has to continue.“That’s the difficult part. You have to keep playing while trying to identify the problem, often together with the sound engineer, if there’s a sound engineer there at all. When I was younger and started playing bigger stages, these situations created a lot of stress. Now I’ve learned to stay calm and work together with whoever is there because, in the end, you’re trying to solve the same problem.”
Years of troubleshooting have also taught her an unexpected secondary profession.
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve become half a sound engineer myself. Whenever something happens, I write it down afterwards. I try to understand exactly what caused it so that next time I immediately think: maybe it’s this… maybe it’s that. Over the years, you almost become an expert at solving problems.”
That learning process has recently taken on another dimension. One that has nothing to do with cartridges, turntables or sound systems. Heat. After several outdoor festivals this summer, Marie-Julie has become increasingly concerned about the impact rising temperatures are having on live performances.
“At the last few festivals I played, the heat became another technical challenge altogether. Mixers get hot. Turntables get hot. All the equipment starts overheating. Our records can literally start to warp or melt, stage designers really have to start taking climate change into account. A lot of stages look beautiful, but they’re built in direct sunlight with no shade. Even for digital DJs that’s difficult. For vinyl DJs it becomes a completely different problem.”
Whenever she encounters these situations, she makes a point of sharing feedback with promoters and production teams. Not as criticism. As preparation for the future.
“I genuinely think this has to change. Otherwise there will be moments where you simply won’t be able to play vinyl outdoors anymore.” For her, the issue goes beyond vinyl itself. It reflects a broader shift within festival culture.“I really like beautiful stages. Of course I do! But music should always come first. With Instagram and everything around visuals, I sometimes feel we’ve started caring more about how a stage looks than how it sounds.If a DJ can’t actually perform properly because the booth wasn’t designed with the technical realities in mind, then we have a real problem.”
Marie-Julie is also aware that audiences often misread what they’re seeing from the dancefloor.
“Normally I’m always smiling, dancing and interacting with people because I genuinely love performing. If you ever see me standing still and not moving, you can almost be certain that something is wrong. Maybe the stage is vibrating. Maybe the records are skipping. Maybe something technical happened and I need to focus completely. DJing is about connecting with people. If I didn’t want that connection, I could simply stay at home and play records in my studio.” Technical problems interrupt something much more valuable than a mix.“When I lose that connection because I’m dealing with technical issues, I really feel it. People came to have a good time. Instead they sometimes see me struggling. I also feel sorry because I can’t give them one hundred percent of myself.”
There are evenings that leave her questioning everything.“Sometimes I come home thinking: maybe I should just stop. Whenever I share those experiences, I receive so many messages from people telling me not to give up. People tell me they saw what happened. They appreciated that I stayed professional and kept going. It’s reassuring because it means people understand that sometimes what they’re seeing isn’t a DJ having a bad night. It’s someone doing everything they can to keep the music going.”
Preparation, however, can only go so far. Marie-Julie and her agency, Mutual Obsession, do everything they can before every booking.
“I have a two-page technical rider, and my agent always makes sure to emphasise how important it is.”
The document makes one thing particularly clear.
“I don’t travel with USB sticks. If the turntables aren’t working properly, I simply can’t perform.”
Even then, there are limits to what a rider can guarantee.“Festivals usually work with external production companies. The promoter sends them the rider, but after that there are many different people involved.” Those crews often combine experienced technicians with freelancers hired specifically for the event. “Some people might work in television or radio. They’re excellent audio engineers, but they’ve never had to deal with a vinyl setup at a festival, older sound engineers are sometimes more familiar with turntables because that’s what they grew up with.”
Then she immediately nuances her point. “But honestly, it’s not really about age.” Some of the best technicians she’s worked with have been much younger. “I’ve met young engineers who came to me before the show and said: ‘I play vinyl too.’ They immediately understand the potential issues because they’ve experienced them themselves. No matter how detailed your rider is, you never know exactly who will be working that day. When something happens, all you can do is work together and try to solve it as quickly as possible.”
If she could change one thing, it would be surprisingly simple.“Invest a little more in experienced technical crews.” For Marie-Julie, it’s one of the best investments a festival can make. “Sometimes spending just a little more on an experienced sound engineer prevents all these problems before they even reach the artist. Fewer technical issues, happier artists, and happier audience.”
And in the end, that’s what everything she has spoken about throughout this conversation comes back to. Not bigger stages. Not better visuals. Not even vinyl itself. Simply creating the conditions for the music to speak first.
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