Defining your own style with Sander Baan

Photo: Sander Baan

There's no point arguing over the importance of the Berlin club scene. Responsible for shaping techno as we know it, it would be foolhardy to ignore the fact that the city lays down the gauntlet for the rest of Europe, a hotbed of the freshest innovations in the wonderful world of technology music.

Amongst its temples of techno lies Club der Visionaere, a notoriously chilled out centre of sonic goodness, unpretentious and totally dedicated to electronic music, both from the owners and its myriad of regular attendees.

Sander Baan has been involved with the club for the past eight years, and since 2011 has been running two nights there - Rotate and Die Holländer, which have both gone on to become two of the clubs flagship nights, famed for their feel good vibes and top notch, underground tech house and techno.

Sander heads to Liverpool's MODU:LAR on November 15th (check out his mix for them above) which comes a day after his first ever gig on British soil, so it seemed like the ideal time to grill him about his work at Club der Visionare, what it takes to run two successful club nights for so long, and making at as a DJ without first becoming a producer.

Hi Sander! You’ll be leaving Berlin to head to Liverpool for MODU:LAR on November 15th. Have you played in the city before? 

No, I've never played in the UK! The night before I will play in Aberdeen together with tINI - that will be my UK debut. 

Can you let us in on any of the records you might be dropping in Liverpool? 

I am not really a set planner, I usually pack my bags the night before and decide last minute what I bring or not but one new record I will definitely pack is Lerosa's new EP 'Shoot The Owner'

You've played alongside tINI a few times before, how has that been? How would you describe the sort of atmosphere her parties create?

I booked tINI for the first time at events I was doing in Rotterdam back in 2010 while I was still living in Holland and that's also where we first met, the vibe she put there that night was amazing. As I remember I was sitting behind with a friend and kept wondering the longer she played how she can top the record she played before - it only got better (it was a 10 hour set by the way!).

After that I had her play two times on my birthday parties in Berlin and I played a few times for her tINI & The Gang events and each single time it was just amazing!

You’ve not just one but two successful nights running at Club der Visionaere - Rotate and Die Holländer. How did those nights come about and what philosophy is behind each one?

Die Holländer is something I have been doing together with Makcim and EL-P since the first time I played in Club der Visionaere back in 2006, we had a 48 hour nonstop party and basically from that year on we came back every year to at least play once a year.

Since I moved to Berlin in 2011 we made it into a bi-monthly party and to be honest it's my favourite party to play, so much fun, so much good music and a good crowd!

Rotate is also a bi-monthly party and has been running since 2012 and here we put all the artist from the Rotate agency roster. Both parties run in Club der Visionaere in the summer and Hoppetosse (CDV winter boat) in the winter.

What has been the secret to running these nights at such an iconic club? There must be a lot of pressure involved, but is it more enjoyable than hard work?

Nothing secret about it really, Club der Visionaere is all about passion for music and it attracts artists which are equally as passionate... Everything is easy going at Club der Visionaere and I really do not see it as work, it's pure joy every minute of playing there.

You’re one of the few DJs that have made it without first being a producer. It seems certainly in today’s clubbing environment that this rarely occurs. Is it the case that less capable DJs are getting higher profile gigs purely based on their production work? What are your thoughts on this shift?

Yes I never put any real effort into producing simply because I did not have the time for it, I guess I am still one of the lucky ones.

If you have productions out it for sure makes it easier for you to get gigs as a DJ but it does not make you a better DJ. There is a lot of work going into the art of DJing mainly in digging for old and new music and I think this makes you a good DJ since you can totally shape and define your own unique style.

Its all about the music taste in my opinion, if that's right then the rest comes automatically with enough practice.

You've been heavily involved in the scene for sometime now, what have been some of the biggest changes since you started out, and how healthy would you say the scene is right now?

I would say the biggest change for me was the moment I decided to move to Berlin, it was for a job(which I am currently still doing) and it turned out so good with all the projects I started (and are starting now) here. Everything just fell in its place. I feel at home from day one and it helped me grow musically even further.

As a DJ, who have been some producers that have caught your attention recently?

Ion Ludwig is always good (listen to 'Polarized Colors' above), Malin Genie, Mandar, Makcim and Levi Verspeek to name a few.

OK final question, you have the power to throw the ultimate edition of, lets say, Rotate. You can be joined by any DJs from the past or present (alive or dead). Who would you invite, where would you have it, and what track would you play to define the night?

That's a trick questions since Rotate nights usually consists of Rotate artists only, but if it would be my all time favourite lineup it will be: ZIP, Margaret Dygas, Federico Molinari, tINI, Ion Ludwig LIVE and Die Holländer!

Thank you Sander! Catch him alongside tINI for MODU:LAR on November 15th. Grab your tickets here.

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