Deniro is a DJ we had the pleasure to host at our events numerous times. This is because he never fails to impress. Deniro is a pure producer, and has a vast understanding of electronic music. His sound is always fresh, and because of this we wanted to see if he could bless us with a secret weapon.
You have been credited with coming up with the name Dekmantel, which obviously ended up working very well. Did you come up with your own DJ name?
No, sad to say I didn’t. It was actually one of the founders of Dekmantel who came up with it. He just called me Deniro all the time, I thought it was a good DJ name. We helped each other that way!
You’ve released music on Nina Kraviz’ трип, your own label, but also for Dekmantel and DTGL, when you produce new music, do you have a certain label in mind? Or does that not make a difference?
Usually not really. When a label approaches me – I dig through the music I made recently and select something that fits that label.
How do you approach producing? Do you just sit down and start? Or do you always have an idea in mind of what you want to make?
I always have a broad idea in mind when I start. But it usually doesn’t go deeper than deep, funky, electro, dub, melodic, happy, mean etc. Sometimes before I start producing, I listen to music by producers I like. It’s a really good way to get inspired. If I for example listen to 10 old Robert Hood tracks, I feel like making a track like that! But when I’m done, it usually ends up being very different.
Do you have anything exciting coming out on your own label anytime soon?
There’s new music coming out on my own label next year. For now I am busy with music for different labels. End of this year I will have a release on Stranger’s Selfreflection label which I’m very excited about :).
In your career as a DJ, you have been playing before bigger and bigger crowds, what was the first time you stepped up to a stage and the size of the crowd or venue seriously impressed you?
I think that was the Bravo tent at Lowlands. But, my first gig ever, in front of a hundred people was at least as exciting.
What’s your favourite club to play outside of The Netherlands, and why?
This might not come as a surprise, but I would have to say Berghain. The sound in the booth is just perfect, it’s very enjoyable when the you can hear the music inside the booth that well. Usually booth sound is fine to mix with, but not pure enough to lose yourself in it completely and listen to all the details. My set in Berghain was a four hour trip!
Tell us about your secret weapon.
A Secret Weapon to get the vibe right is Buck Fifty by Steve Stoll. It grooves like crazy. If you don’t move when this plays, you ate some bad food or have a bad cramp in your legs haha ;).