1. What inspired you to become a dj?
Jan Oostdyk: First of all I would like to thank you and TranceSound.net for inviting me to do this interview, and off course thanks to everyone reading it!
When I was about seven years old, a classmate of mine had piano lessons. I thought it was very cool and wanted to do the same thing. When I told my parents they bought me a “traporgel” to try out. A “traporgel” is Dutch for an air driven organ. After while I proved I could stick to it and it wasn't a phase I was going through, so my parents decided to buy me a piano which I practiced for about twelve and a half years.
In these twelve and a half years I followed several computer courses because of a deal I had with my parents; if I would follow that course and pass the exam, I would get my own pc! So I followed the course, passed the exam, got that pc and guess what kind of program was installed first? Off course, a music program to make music. After that I bought myself a set of turntables and a bunch of records and that's about it.
2. Last year, you were named "Breakthrough DJ of the Year" by Sied van Riel and Ferry Corsten. How does this make you feel and has it created any new turn of events?
Jan Oostdyk: Yeah that's correct and it's amazing! To be honest it all came very out of the blue for me. After "Out Of The Box" I realized that my tracks were getting quite the attention, but I really didn't expect this to happen. After that episode of my career everything came with a blast so fast! A lot of people added me on Facebook and all the other social media, promoters and agencies started adding me to MSN and I got the opportunity to go to Asia. I'm not that much of a holiday man so I don't go for a vacation very often, let alone cross the European border. And now this.. awesome!! I'll be staying in Asia for about five weeks and will visit a lot of countries to share my music with my fans there. Best gift ever!
3. Since your debut of your monthly podcast, "The Basement" last summer; has this been a beneficial tool for you?
Jan Oostdyk: Yes it certainly has. "The Basement" is broadcasted on approximately 15 radio stations worldwide every month. As I have been told, we have about 5.000 listeners, a number that makes me very proud and extremely enthusiastic to work on it!
4. What are your goals for the show?
Jan Oostdyk: Well, first of all I want each episode to be better than the one before but that's also a job for the producers to make even better music than they already do. Besides that I'm planning to renew the show in the upcoming six months with a new intro, some better voice overs and even bigger names for the guestmixes, like Sied van Riel for example. And maybe, if the show proves to be big enough to handle it, make it a bi-weekly show instead of a monthly show.
5. Next month you will be touring Asia for the first time. Are you excited?
Jan Oostdyk: Yeah absolutely. My tour agent is still working on some venues but Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have been confirmed. We're still talking to India, Thailand and China. It appears that the public is interested in seeing me play and that's the most important thing to me. My music is not just for me, I made it for the fans. What's the point of making music without having people listening to it?
6. Do you plan on doing anything special in particular for the tour?
Jan Oostdyk: We're working on some very cool video material to use as visuals during my sets. Besides that I'll be playing the absolute best I have in my cd-wallet! And I have found some extremely cool introductions to start the set off.
7. Your latest track, "Heidi", is currently one of my favorites at the moment and it is no surprise since it is currently getting a lot of exposure. It seems to bring out a bit of both sides to trance, was this the idea behind it?
Jan Oostdyk: "Heidi" was inspired by love to be exact and as you can hear, it has that magical feeling of it like if you're in love. At least, that's what I think. It already got some massive support by Ferry Corsten, Judge Jules and Armin van Buuren just to name a few. Besides that it seems to be very popular amongst the listeners because I've heard the voting for "Heidi" was massive!
8. What are some of your New Year's resolutions that you have yet to begin working on?
Jan Oostdyk: Off course I'm a DJ with a plan. First of all I'll be working on lots of new material in the upcoming months and it will be a bit different then people are used to from me. I'm also planning to do some collaborations and remixes for big names and maybe, just maybe, if people are willing to give me their vote I'll aim to get in the DJ Mag Top 100.
My website will be updated with new graphics, video material and I want to present my new tracks in a short preview with a special Youtube clip. Sounds like a lot, and it is. I'm aiming for the highest things possible this year!
9. Is there anything that you would like to add for the readers at TranceSound.net?
Jan Oostdyk: People, just aim for what you really want in life, be honest with yourself and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Just believe in yourself, work hard and you'll get what you deserve!
Interview made by Abigail Duran aka VeraNationGirl (TranceSound.net PR forum moderator)
Links:
Jan Oostdyk official website
Jan Oostdyk @ MySpace
