Catching Up with Edwin Oosterwal
(photo by Eva Maria)
Verboten Presents Rejected vs Saved @ Good Units, Midtown Manhattan: A longtime partner to Joris both behind the mixing board as Rejected the act and behind the balance sheets handling Rejected the label, the lanky Dutch DJ/Producer is now ready to flesh out his solo career. Introducing: Edwin Oosterwal.
TTL: So, how are you doing?
E: I’m good. I just finished playing, I just came from Miami, very nice weather, all relaxed, so yeah.
TTL: Seriously, though, on a scale of 1 to 10, how tired are you?
E: [Laughs] That’s a good one. I think this is my fourth party in a row, so I’m pretty tired. But it’s good, you know? It’s good energy just seeing all the DJs playing records. I don’t feel tired at all– I should feel tired, but I don’t feel tired… I arrived [in Miami on Tuesday] the 22nd and I went to the Saved party at Set. Then Joris and I had our [Rejected] party at Set on Wednesday, and yesterday I went to the Ovum party with Josh Wink and Steve Bug, and now here I am, so, yeah, four parties in a row. I’m staying in New York for one more day, and I’m flying back to Amsterdam on Sunday.
TTL: You were telling me before that Joris was in a difficult situation with his flight to this party. [Editor’s Note: Joris Voorn, the headliner of the night, was probably still in the air at the time of the interview. The interview started at about 1:50 AM; his delayed flight was scheduled to land at 2:30AM]
E: On Wednesday night, there was a big fire at Miami International Airport… and they’re having problems getting fuel to the planes. I was on a Delta flight, which was fine, but Joris was on an American Airlines flight. He was on the plane, waiting for the fuel, and I think he’s actually flying right now, he’s supposed to land in about half an hour, so he said he’s going to jump into a cab and come straight to the club.
TTL: It seems like you are releasing more solo work than before. How’s that been for you?
E: It’s been really good. Joris and I started making music together as Rejected, but Rejected is on the back burner right now. We wanted to focus more on our solo careers. We’re still doing the labels, but Rejected the act is on the back burner. It’s good to work on your own.
TTL: So should we expect more things from Edwin?
E: Yes, hopefully! It’s just alot of work, and I’m trying to get as much studio time as possible, and I definitely want to release more music.
TTL: Is there anything else in the works on Rejected Records and Green Records that we should know about?
E: Yeah, there’s alot of stuff coming up, actually. We have [Joris Voorn’s] ‘UnTITLED DUB VOL. 1’, and then we’re working on an old Rejected track called ‘For The People,’ which has been remixed by Ben Klock and DVS1. Then we also have an EP coming out from Nick Fanciulli and his brother Mark Fanciulli, which is also really good, and then on Green we’re doing an album from our friend Pitto. He did a release on Rejected before, and now his album is finished and it’s going to be released in mid-May, and before there will be a single on Green also from Pitto’s album, and it’s got a good Minilogue remix on it. And there’s alot more in the pipeline.
We just released another track on Rejected, ‘Incident (Miyagi).’ It’s an old one from Joris, which was released in 2004. We’re re-releasing it now with a different version, and all the benefits of the revenue are going to Japan. ‘Incident’ has always been a big track in Japan, and Japan has always been very supportive of Joris, so we really wanted to give something back as an artist as a label.
TTL: It’s really great how technology is being used to help those in need when they are struck with tragedy.
E: Yeah, and you also notice in the electronic music scene– because Japan has been very supportive of alot of European artists– [that] alot of initiatives and people are doing stuff to support in their way, which is really good.
TTL: I recently looked at your chart, and I saw The Martinez Brothers, a Deetron remix, etc… Are there any other artists or tracks that you’re digging at the moment?
E: DVS1… he’s making this kind of fresh, minimal, techno, which I really like. He’s also really inspiring me, in just the way he makes music. It’s really nice to have a remix by him on our label. So he’s definitely one of the artists who I’m really excited about.
TTL: Tell me a bit more about your New York experiences. For how long were you here and what were you doing here?
E: I lived in New York for about 5 years. The idea was to try and do music here, but the scene in New York is not like Europe, It’s very hard… In the end it didn’t happen, so that’s why I moved back [to Holland] and by that time Joris was really successful, and that’s when we started Rejected.
TTL: It is really difficult to do underground [electronic dance music] in America, so my hat’s off to you, then.
E: I tried with a friend of mine, who was also living in New York. We tried to do parties, and in the end you’re basically throwing parties for your friends, you know? But when I see a party like tonight’s I think that that’s definitely a good sign, and there’s probably much more going on. But still, it’s not like Europe. But I really hope that it’s going to change, because it’s such a big market. I really hope that underground music will become much bigger and be supported by more people.
TTL: What was your favorite experience or place in the city?
E: One of the general things I liked about New York is… there’s like a certain energy or something. I just noticed it when I got off the plane and was on the cab, there’s a certain energy. It’s such a big city, and there’s always so much going on. What I like about New York as well is the amount of restaurants, and they’re always open late, because in Holland restaurants close really early– it’s hard to get a good dinner after 9 o’clock, and even now I just landed and was able to get really good sushi at 11 o’clock at night. That’s definitely what I liked about New York: It is the city that never sleeps.
TTL: What neighborhood did you live in?
E: First, I lived in Williamsburg… I know, I know. I’m sorry! [Laughter] I was actually living on the south side. This was back in the early 2000’s, and the south side was not as gentrified as it is now. I was actually just speaking to a two friends of mine, they said that now the whole waterfront of Williamsburg is all luxury apartments and condos. I haven’t been back for a while, so I don’t know, but I heard that it has really changed. And then later on, I moved to Greenpoint, so both times I lived in Brooklyn.
TTL: A curveball: when was the last time you fought with Joris, and what was it about?
E: The thing is, we don’t fight that much, actually. We’re kind of similar. Sometimes I even think it would be good to fight, maybe. I guess we’re both just very reasonable guys, and we just talk about things, but no, I can’t remember our last fight. I’m sorry, no scoop there. [Laughter]
TTL: If you could write a message in the sky to the city of New York, what would it be? It could be anything.
E: I guess it would be, “New York, wake up. Support underground music.”
TTL: Thank you very much.
E: Thank you very much. It was my pleasure.
TTL: Have a good night, and I hope Joris makes it here in one piece.
Joris Voorn’s ‘Incident (Miyagi)’ is available for download exclusively on Beatport. All profits will go to Red Cross Japan.
