Grammy-winning DJ Paul Van Dyk, who was instrumental in bringing trance music to Berlin, has now moved on to EDM. S Mallik catches up with him
So you are a DJ by accident. How did it happenIJ
I did not really want to be a DJ. Back then, in Berlin, it was all about the hard Detroit techno. I enjoyed the energy but felt that I was missing out on some kind of song structure. There were a lot of those records, so I made tapes for me and my friends and they passed it to promoters because they wanted to hear that kind of music as well and suddenly I got my first job as a DJ.
When did you realise that music was your callingIJ
My music was so different from anything else in Berlin that all the small magazines were asking, “Who’s this guyIJ” I started giving interviews and met people who worked in studios. I was invited in the studio where I played around a little and Visions of Shiva came out of it, which became big in Europe. I realised that it was what I wanted to do and started to learn how to engineer, arrange, program and write the song and lead — everything to the point where it was actually possible to play it all out.
How have things changed since your first album The Politics of DancingIJ
Music is always evolving. There are a lot of new artistes on the block. It’s exciting! When I released The Politics of Dancing for the first time, EDM had just started to rise. By the time I came up with the next edition of the album, the music had already changed. So, the music there was very different from the first. Similarly, the third edition of the album will be completely different from the previous two.
You now chose to describe your music as electronic and not trance. Why is it soIJ
What I do, what I play and what I produce is not just what people call trance music, it’s much more. Whenever people see me playing and whenever people hear me, they agree with me as well. Throughout the years, I was one of the founders of progressive house music. At one point and I was also one of Europe’s leading tech-house DJs. I was all of that at one point in my career. It is electronic music and you will hear me playing a minimal techno record by Dave Clarke as much as a big trance anthem by Above and Beyond.
What are the instruments that you useIJ
I’ve done everything from playing guitar to producing a rock band and playing with classical orchestra. I can also play anything that can be played with keys. I composed some of the songs of my new album while I was sitting in my garden with my guitar and strumming on the chords.
How do you look at the evolution of musicIJ
Well what I call electronic music is still the most progressive kind of music and I am very optimistic because there is so much fantastic music coming out. Other things that, maybe, you refer to as electronic music I don’t even consider that. For me it is pop music that sounds a bit foot tapping.
Are you also into social workIJ
I am fighting poverty by supporting social programmes to help disadvantaged people in India, New York and Berlin.