reading time: 16 min

The first installment of the AOTM series in 2022 takes us to Amsterdam. The city, whose vibrant underground music scene pushes the boundaries of electronic music into new uncharted territories, creates new trends, and, most important of all, nurtures an incredible number of talented DJs and producers. In the last twenty years, clubs like 11, Trouw, and De School served as safe places for artists and club-goers to express their creativity and share it with others.

Our guest today, JP Enfant, 'sharpened his tools' in the booths of the latter two, Trouw and De School. Being a resident DJ at those two landmark nightclubs allowed him to explore different corners of electronic music, whether through his all-nighters or Psychedelic Romance parties he curated. In 2021, the Psychedelic Romance saga got a new chapter; it also became a record label. The first release sees head honcho JP Enfant delivering a marvelous five-tracker, one of which we had a pleasure to premiere. The vinyl release is scheduled for next week, and in the light of it, we had an amazing chat with JP about his beginnings in electronic music, DJing, nerdy production equipment stuff, and his new record label.

Hi JP, it's a pleasure to have you here at Delayed. Where are you taking this interview, and what was the first track you listened to this morning?
Hi Gilles, the pleasure is all mine. I was listening to a track called Iridescence from Artefakt. It’s a beautiful ambient/electronica track from their Days Bygone EP. I’m a big fan of what Nick and Robin make; it’s always so on point and sonically pleasing and, in this case, perfect for listening on a quiet, early Monday morning.

Let's do a quick rewind and talk about your beginnings in electronic music. Your first introduction to electronic music starts around the age of 14, right? Who was your mentor at that time who explained to you do's and don'ts? 
Yes, I got my first set of turntables when I was 14. I was living in Breda at the time, which was back then also kind of known as the Dutch capital of Trance due to Tiësto, his label, and all the DJs around him, which were all based there. I spent endless amounts of time in his record store “Magik”. I didn’t really have mentors yet at that time, it was mainly digging records to explore the different genres. It was very inspirational and exciting at that age, that now big DJs like Fedde Le Grand, Funkerman, Bjorn Wolf, Cor Fijneman, and Tiësto’s tour manager, Ben Huijbregts were working at the time at that store. Gradually the guys working there gave me recommendations as they started to know my preferences. At that time I was really into Trance and also started collecting house records. When I was 15 I discovered Techno and fell in love with the freshness of the genre, which got me hooked really. 

It was only when I started playing in local bars and clubs that I got my first DJ mentor. His name is Yiva and he is a local legend in Breda, he also mentored DJs like Hardwell amongst others. Although of course DJs like Hardwell are in a completely different world than I am, it says a lot about Yiva’s technical and musical knowledge and the ability to read crowds like no other. It was a forming time really and without that, I wouldn’t be who I am as a DJ today. Later on, I learned a lot about the dos and don’t from Ian Pooley. Also DJ Bone taught me a lot, one of them being the Detroit star, haha!

On the producer side, it was Eric Vlasblom, my piano teacher, who was helping me a lot. He was also composer and pianist for famous Dutch cabaret artists and singers Robert Long and Toon Hermans. He was the first one to take Samplers and Synths into the Dutch Theaters. He loved that I was working with electronic instruments and he taught me a lot about music theory and production. He also gave me my first real hardware synth, a Yamaha DX7-II. It still holds a special place in my studio.

Can you pick out any pivotal records that influenced your taste in music? Can you identify certain phases for yourself as a DJ and producer?
I suppose I have to answer this with more than two records.
The first one is a mix-cd by Jeff Mills called The Exhibitionist. It was the first real techno mix I stumbled upon when I was 15. Fell asleep with that mix every night and was obsessed by the way Mills was mixing and with his selection. Alien sounding yet funky as hell with a lot of dynamic 3 deck vinyl mixing. Going from Octave Ones “Black Water” to “The Bells” in 15 minutes and it all made sense somehow. This really got me into Techno, it sounded so fresh!

The Second choice should definitely be “Songs In The Key Of Life” by Stevie Wonder. My father used to play it for me since I was four and I loved the music from the start. I loved it so much that I begged my parents to give me the CD for my 6th birthday. The album still means a lot to me, whenever I feel a bit down I put it on and I sing along. It’s a musical friend really. Recently, I finally bought it on vinyl.

You are one of the talents that emerged from the 'Trouw' era. It's invaluable for further development as a young DJ and producer to earn trust from arguably the best club in the Netherlands at that time. What's the most important thing residency at Trouw taught you? 
That a residency is of invaluable importance for your development as an artist. To be able to call a place like Trouw or De School home, where you get the freedom to experiment, make mistakes and meet and share with fellow artists, really forms you as an artist. I feel blessed that it enabled me to have that experience. For example, the label Psychedelic Romance we just set up is a continuation of a project I started at Trouw. I wanted to do something unconventional by combining Techno with UK bass-styled music. Beforehand, I didn’t expect Olaf Boswijk would ever say yes to the idea when we were meeting. Instead, he said yes immediately and gave me space to develop and to experiment together with the team there. That spirit and mentality is something that never left me.

How did residencies at 'Trouw' and later 'De School' define and refine your DJ style and how did your style behind the decks evolve from Trouw to De School? 
Trouw was a place that matured me in a musical sense, I was still very young when I became a resident there. It was the first time I played at a club of that caliber and was really a breeding ground to experiment with different styles of music and develop my style. I had the opportunity to play different times with different kinds of music varying from house to techno to ambient to Bass. That was really helpful. Later, De School being a full-fledged dark basement, I could mature that style even more leaning much more on the Techno side, although still versatile depending on the moment of the day/night. 

All-nighters are one of the ultimate recognitions as a DJ you can get from the nightclub, and you had a fair share of them at De School, right? How do you prepare for all-nighters, musically, physically, and mentally? Yes, I did an annual all-nighter both at Trouw and De School. Playing for 10-12hrs is always a really cool challenge to take and honestly, I love it. It takes a good bit of preparation and usually I take a week to prepare for it by taking extra care of my body (eat healthily and exercise daily, meditate) and making a selection. A set of that length is best to be approached with a plan, otherwise, you’re lost. I always roughly determine what kind of vibe I would like to bring at which moment in the night and start looking for records that fit that certain atmosphere. Normally I use a system of 3 or 4 different boxes that are tailored to the moment of the night. That being said, it’s absolutely essential to be fluid. Like everything in life, a DJ-set is cyclical. You ride the wave up and down and see where it takes you. Sometimes it means you deviate from your plan if necessary, only to get back on track an hour (or a few) later. The end is the beginning and the beginning is the end if that makes sense. That, for me, is the charm. If you have that mindset, combined with the musical preparations, it’s bound to be a winner nine times out of ten.

What came first, love for spinning or making beats?
Definitely, the love for spinning; making mixtapes from the radio was my hobby when I was 10 and I started a drive-in disco a year later. So yeah spinning came pretty much first haha. When I bought my decks I got into producing, as I wanted to make tracks myself that I could spin. From that moment on I was either playing records or behind my modest studio setup at the time. 

Let's talk about your work in the studio. In one of your previous interviews, I read about your approach when starting a new project, not having a particular idea in mind and following where jamming takes you, whether it's with making beats or melodies. I'm interested in the arrangement part. Do you make your arrangements 'from left to right,' or do you record your jams and then go back to them and fix/trim them?
It depends a bit on the sort of track. Especially when live jamming I try to stay true to the jam as much as possible, only editing the parts bit by bit to make it sound more flawless and musical. When I’m not jamming I normally start with a chord progression and melody and then the process of arranging is more linear. Then it becomes more of a puzzle where I add elements or take them out again if they are gimmicky or simply not working. 

Are you the perfectionist type in the studio, or do you prefer 'lucky accidents?
Good question haha! I’m pretty much a perfectionist, although it took me some years of experimenting and having lucky accidents to get me where I wanted to be. That being said I’m still learning and that will hopefully never stop. Sound and its behavior are intriguing and the manipulation of it is something that never bores me really. So yeah I would say it’s always a combination, but at the end of the day, I want it to sound as good as possible to let the music come across as much as it was intended to be. My credo there is that you have to master the technique to be fully able to be creative with it. If you combine that with an open mind, the “happy accidents” are extremely powerful.

What does your studio routine look like? Do you have designated days when you go to the studio and work on your music, or do you go when inspiration strikes? 
I’m lucky enough to have my studio at home so I can work whenever I want. Though the routine of having designated days really helps me move forward. For instance next month I planned a full month in the studio to finish some new EP’s. That routine brings you in the flow and that of course helps to finish tracks. Although creative work in the studio is not at all like a nine to five job, seeing it that way in terms of discipline really helps plan and move forward and, for example, to not get stuck on that one loop that sounds good but never gets finished into a song.

What's your DAW of choice, your favorite plug-in, and your favorite hardware? 
My DAW of choice is definitely Cubase, I’ve had a couple of years where I used Ableton a lot but somehow I always kept going back to Cubase. It feels more natural for me to work there. Somehow I experienced that the functionality suits my workflow better and that the sound engine sounds more honest. A lot of people will dispute that though, haha! The plugins I use the most at the moment are the Kush Audio plugs. They sound sooo good and give this high-end musical analog quality to the sound I haven’t heard in any other plugin yet. In terms of hardware, I have to go for my Macbeth Micromac-D monosynth. Its oscillators blast every other synth out of the water, but it’s not overly aggressive, it’s tone is surprisingly versatile, varying from beautiful mellow to deep growling bass that makes you shiver to light and pleasantly airy. Unfortunately, it’s out for repair at the moment, obviously, I can’t wait to have it back.

How did the whole pandemic situation affect your work in the studio? 
At the start, I went full pull techno and when it became clear that we wouldn’t be back in the clubs for a while I kinda calmed down. The studio enabled me to have a safe environment to truly express my feelings and I started using my music as more of an introspective journey. This resulted in more electronica and ambient styled music. I really took the time to finish tracks and work on them to perfection (perfectionist after all). Also, I started experimenting more and started to play the piano again, which then helped me with better compositions. Later on in the pandemic, I also started creating music in other genres like bebop, hip-hop, and drum and bass.  So in terms of studio and production, the pandemic and its lockdown were really beneficial, taking time to have a mental breather, reassess and improve my workflow, my musical, and technical skills.

Your latest EP and inaugural release on your Psychedelic Romance record label, 'Somewhere Else,' came out at the end of November and is seeing a vinyl release on February 25th. How long has 'Somewhere Else' EP' been in the making and did you find it challenging to work on tracks like 'Dreamwave' and 'Muzieklokaal' during the pandemic when there were no club nights for the most part, and inability to test them out in a 'natural habitat'? 
Somewhere else consists of tracks that I made during the first year of the pandemic. As said before, I made loads of music and I selected the tracks that I found most strong and fitting. And yes it was definitely a handicap during that time that I couldn’t test it in clubs. I am fortunate enough to work with a great team of people that provided me with loads of in-depth feedback on the tracks. That really helped me to move forward and squeeze everything out of it that I consider possible at this point. 

Tell me a bit more about the Psychedelic Romance record label, which you co-run with energy practitioner and artist Cuevawolf and artist and label manager Maren Brombeiss, and its plans for the future. Are there any events that combine different artistic approaches, meditations, and music on the horizon? 
Yes, we are looking at holding label nights at the moment. Also, we have releases lined up by Mary Lake and Arthur Robert as well as digital releases that are more focused on talent development and new musical projects. As for the other parts, like art, we are in full development at this point of the ideas we have to do it the right way. How that looks like I can’t tell much yet, keep an eye on our pages for that!

I learned that music released on the label would be produced at 432Hz, a frequency known to uplift emotional wellbeing. Is that a 'leitmotif' of the label? 
It’s one of the leitmotifs yes, together with quality tracks of course. The frequency is also known as the “brown note”; it is more soothing and more cerebral in a way. I also started experimenting with other tunings like C5=528hz for instance. It’s been a search for how to incorporate those frequencies in a musical way so that it all sits together harmoniously. And how cool would it be to elevate a dancefloor even more with these?

You also run the Psychedelic Romance radio show on Radio Radio. What's the idea behind it, and how do you choose your guests?
The idea is to make a radio show that is not strictly about doing another radio DJ-mix but also to have guests that are well connected in nightlife and culture. Varying from artists to the people behind the stage. When I have guests I always ask them to select 5 records that reflect the perfect nightclubbing for them. These tracks represent their perfect record for pre-drinks, opening, peak time, closing, and afterparty track. We also put these tracks in a playlist that you can listen to on Spotify. Worth checking out next to the regular shows!

As we mentioned earlier, the vinyl release of 'Somewhere Else' EP is set for February 25th. How important is vinyl as a medium for you, and do you see it surviving long term, especially after a hard pandemic hit? 
Vinyl has a ritualistic value to me. Having the object with your or others’ music on it is something that is irreplaceable by digital files. It has something magical to it and that magic lies in the fact that you can use your imagination when you’re seeing the object. It makes you curious about what’s on it and it stands the test of time. Besides that it also has a sentimental value, you tie memories and ideas much more easily to a physical object and the music there than to a virtual file. Also, an object can be “lived”. Time will leave its marks on the sleeve, and record itself. That something is beautiful and tells a story in itself.

What is your opinion about streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music? Are they sustainable with the current state of affairs? 
For artists I would say not really, especially the more niche artists bite the dust. There was a chance by Spotify to change things for the better, however, I got the impression that Spotify had a chance to make things more equal for artists, instead, it went completely the other way. The exploitation part and the unfair monetization over the back of artists who create the fundament of the very existence of the platform is unethical. I think that is something we could all agree on except Spotify itself.
If it’s sustainable, I’m not sure. We are living in a world where limitation becomes a luxury good, Spotify is not about limitation but about making everything accessible. At heart that is a beautiful thing as music gets more democratized and not just for a certain elite. I do believe blockchain could play a big part in making the distribution of music a more decentralized matter. I’m not necessarily talking about the buzzword NFT’s here, although it could be part of the ecosystem. The problem is now, that the initiatives that are blockchain-based are small and don’t have the firepower to blowback on the more conventional music consumption. This would only work in my opinion if there will be a platform that integrates the major labels, big indies, and publishers into a decentralized digital and trustless system that is the blockchain. There are many obstacles to being overthrown, one of them being the laws about publishing for instance. Here in Holland, those laws are highly outdated for modern times since the foundation was laid in the early 1900s. That being said, I know there are some initiatives from music industry head honchos to integrate more with Web 3.0.

Thank you for your time JP, for the end tell us which album eased your lockdown times? 
I’ve had several albums throughout the pandemic I’ve been listening to. One of them is Mezzanine by Massive Attack. It’s a classic, I know, but timeless and somehow really fitted my vibe during the period. Other artists I’ve been listening to a lot were Alice Coltrane, Madlib, Biosphere, Robert Henke, Autechre, Fever Ray, William Orbit, and lately the new album of Albert van Abbe, to name a few. I also kept coming back to one of the first albums of Forma on Spectrum Spools. Another album that got me hooked lately was “Let’s Get Killed” by David Holmes. To me, that album represents the “Life is like a road trip, but don’t be the Hitchhiker of your own life” spirit I hold very dearly.