Dutch producer and DJ Eelke Kleijn had his first release in 2003. After producing records for labels such as Baroque and Lost Language, he signed with Global Underground in 2007 for the release of his artist album ‘Naturally Artificial’. In 2006 he launched his own label ‘Outside the Box Music‘.

It is difficult to describe Eelke’s sound in a few words though. His almost trancy cooperations with fellow Dutchman C-Jay indeed are very different from the dark and twisted grooves he has produced with Nick Hogendoorn and again different from the ambient and chilled-out songs he has written himself. The recent signing of ‘”Walkabout” on Ork Recordings with Nick is a perfect example, receiving critical acclaim from artists as diverse as Fish Go Deep, Nic Fanciulli and Anthony Pappa. Outside the Box Music, Eelke’s label launched in 2006 and part of the Groovecollection Music Management, reflects his taste in music like nothing else, with releases varying from techno-edged minimal to funky progressive house.As a DJ he has played most European countries and hosts a monthly radio show broadcasted on Proton and Frisky Radio.

What was your first big breakthrough as an act? What would you rate as the best experience that you’ve had in the music scene so far?
I reckon my track ‘8 Bit Era’ was the first big breakthrough I had, back in 2005, 2006. It got included on Nick Warren’s Global Underground Paris compilation and had a lot of great feedback and plays in general; after that I did an album for Global Underground in 2007 which was really amazing. I loved doing down tempo and electronica tracks for it, it’s easier to produce in a more experimental way for an album than you normally would do for a single.

What have been up to lately and what can we expect from you over the next couple of months?
The last couple of months have seen me remixing a lot. My remix for Miss Nine’s new single Nevertheless is out soon. Also, I finished a remix for Sebastian Davidson’s track ‘Ice Worlds’ and recently remixed Davis & May for Proton, one of my best so far I think. Up next is a new single called ‘Dopamine Theory’ for my own label Outside the Box Music, with remixes by Yvel & Tristan and Miss Nine. I also spent a lot of time travelling and playing in countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Russia, Slovenia and Serbia which has been a great experience. Especially my first visit to South America has been excellent!

What’s the biggest crowd you’ve played to?
That would have been my recent gig in Argentina at Moonpark, Buenos Aires. I warmed up for Hernan Cattaneo for a crowd of 7000, one of my best live experiences so far.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I would love to do the same thing I am doing now, though I would like to take my production to the next level and start producing for movies, series and the like. Some small steps in this direction have been taken so who knows. It would be a dream come true!

Is there a different reaction in clubs from different countries across the globe?
Yes definitely. I’ve had the best reactions in areas like Eastern Europe, Russia and South America. I’m not sure why this is, maybe the people are more expressive in general, or there are simply less events with international DJs. But you can definitely tell there is a big difference. It’s also easier to play what you want in front of those crowds. You can play 120bpm deep house, or 129 bpm techno, and they will love all of it. I think that’s one of the best things you can have as a DJ, gives you a lot of freedom to play your own sound.

Which is more appealing to you while DJing - to dig out a relatively old track, or play the newest release?
Some people are really focussed on playing only the new, unreleased stuff. Which has its charm of course. But I like to play older stuff as well. The kind of records that make people go ‘wow’, especially after they find out its some unknown gem from a couple of years back. After all, it’s about the music and not if you’re able to play a top 10 of unreleased tracks.

Are you afraid of piracy?
No seriously, I don’t really like it but there’s not much you can do about it. I think these days you have to think of it as part of the scene and as free promotion. Where you used to be able to live off of producing underground dance music alone, these days you have to be much more versatile and get your income from producing, DJing, and a variety of other things. I don’t like that music seems to have lost its value though, people are downloading hundreds of songs in a single day and throwing away 99% of it again. It’s not like the old days where you had a CD or record that you would really treasure and play all the time. MP3 just doesn’t really have that.

If you ever walk around the house in pants and slippers and what do you listen to?
A lot of different things, can be Enya, Jazzanova, MTV (which broadcast a lot of good music these days!), or simply some recorded live sets from other DJs. I listen to electronic music mainly I think, even if it’s down tempo or jazzy it’s still electronically influenced or produced. I just love the tight rhythms and beats. I do listen to some rock and stuff, but usually after a few songs I’ve heard it and want to listen to something else again.

How do you handle obsessive groupies? (The hot ones)
Whether they’re hot or not, I’m not really up for it. For one I have a very nice girl friend at home who means a lot to me. But also I want to really focus on playing. I don’t really like it when people are disturbing me all the time, takes you attention away from the set. For the same reason I don’t like too drink that much either, I do drink a bit, but I want to be sober and really focussed on my set. Actually I had a girl try to kiss me a couple of weeks back during a set. I held her off and told her I was not that interested, about a 100 people were standing near to the booth and witnessed it happen, pretty funny if I think of it now

Which is your personal favourite track that you’ve produced & why?
That would probably be 2 tracks with Nick Hogendoorn, ‘Luigi’s Magic Mushroom’ which has done really well for me (was included on the Global Underground Album) and ‘Walkabout’, which features a vocal sample that really still does it for me. Played both a lot and still play them occasionally!

What are your favourite production tools /gadgets?
Cubase 4 is my main production tool, can’t live without that. Been using Cubase for about 10 years and it’s always worked really well for me. Also some of my external gear I couldn’t really do without, Novation Supernova 2 and Nord lead are some of my favourite synthesizers. I use my Sherman Filterbank a lot too, excellent for that crunchy, distorted sound which you hear a lot in productions from for instance the Chemical Brothers.

What do you think about this whole minimal craze and do you support that?
I do support some of it, there are a lot of quality minimal tracks out there that I like to play. All though I do get the feeling that many producers are copying each other too often. It’s like I hear the same clicks and bleeps in a large number of tracks. I’ve always thought it was a good thing to have your own sound. I really admire guys like Gui Boratto who takes it to another level, not sticking in the ’standard’ genre but mixing it with progressive, tech house, etc.

Your favourite movie of all time?
Probably Lord of the Rings Trilogy, all though it has to share the first place with Pulp Fiction

Favourite actor
Johnny Depp! He’s brilliant in everything he does.

What are the top five most listened to tracks/songs on your iPod?
Checking it right now and that would be:
Massive Attack: Butterfly Caught, Safe from Harm, Karmacoma, Angel & Teardrop. But that’s mainly because I’ve been listening a lot to their Collected album…

Click Here for Eelke Kleijn releases on DJdownload

and Eelke’s latest top 10