{"id":20879,"date":"2015-07-14T15:05:08","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T13:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/?p=20879"},"modified":"2015-07-14T15:05:08","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T13:05:08","slug":"promoter-interview-quintin-van-der-spek-outsiders-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/promoter-interview-quintin-van-der-spek-outsiders-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Promoter Interview: Quintin Van Der Spek (Outsiders Festival)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Outsiders Festival is now into its second year and with a heavy line up to boast it credentials its easy to see why its one of the most talked about events in Europe. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Quintin Van Der Spek<\/strong>, the director of the brand has had a somewhat eventful career to date, from illegal raves to festivals the late bloomer only went to his first house party 5 years ago. Now an owner and promoter we sit down with Quintin on the ever present Dutch music scene, his ethos for Outsiders Festival and the charismatic line up that will headline the 2015 show.<\/p>\n

“Holland has a rich history of clubbing and dance in general, which made it to a very vibrant scene. “<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

How did Outsiders first begin and what was the reason for its creation?<\/b>
\nOutsiders started out as a group of friends, throwing illegal parties in an old abandoned stone masonry as a response to the early closing times and lack of venues in our city Alkmaar. The people visiting our parties were all friends and connected to each other in some way because we chose to work with dedicated memberships, and that made it really special. Right after our first party a lot of people started talking about it. It didn’t take long before bigger and more professional event agencies in Amsterdam started noticing us. We were not thinking about making money or getting a career out of it, but one thing led to another and before I knew our parties got more successful and I even started working freelance for a lot of major organizations like Apenkooi (DGTL, STRAF_WERK, Amsterdam Open Air) and Chateau. Even though we organized quite some parties I must admit that he first parties were the most special ones. I’m very skeptical if those can ever be topped.<\/p>\n

What do you think makes The Netherlands so unique when it comes to running events and festivals<\/b>
\nThere’s a lot of stuff going on here, obviously. Holland has a rich history of clubbing and dance in general, which made it to a very vibrant scene. I believe we have around 900 festivals a year in Holland. It’s a very competitive market. I think this really sets the bar higher for promotors to deliver something unique every single year again and again. So many festivals here: when you come to think about it it’s crazy. The weather situation in The Netherlands is not that solid and predictable really, so in a way it’s like playing Russian Roulette. When it rains all bets are off!<\/p>\n

What is your earliest memory of electronic music and clubbing?<\/b>
\nI am late with a lot of things in my life and clubbing was no exception. I think it was only just 5 years ago when I went to my first houseparty. I was 24, an age that’s considered as the beginning of the grandpa-years in the clubbing world.\u00a0An old classmate of mine was dj-ing in Amsterdam under the name of Olivier Weiter and his lifestyle made me curious about the scene. I never knew how to get into it though, as all my friends in Alkmaar did not go out that much. I started going to some parties in Alkmaar and finally got to know some like-minded people. We went out in Amsterdam more and more and from then on my heart was sold. I went to Club Trouw almost every weekend for some years. That place really played a big role in so many ways, from my musical taste and identity to the people I know and the way how I approach things with my own parties. It was such an inspiring place to me.<\/p>\n

How did your relationship with Gerrit-Jan Witzel and Joey Muijlwijk come about\u00a0 and how long was it before they became involved with Outsiders?<\/b>
\nGerrit-Jan and Joey are involved since the beginning in 2012 when Outsiders just started.\u00a0They were the first that gave Outsiders a chance in the big city when they asked us to do a pre-party for their techno concept ‘Chateau’. A lot of heroes like Jeff Mills, Surgeon, Robert Hood, Blawan and many more have played for them. It really opened a lot of doors for us and I’m still very grateful to them for this. The guys are taking care of a big part of the productional side of the festival since the first edition of Outsiders previous year. It’s a great coalition. I’m puristic in a slightly neurotic and idealogical way and Gerrit-Jan and Joey are a little bit more sober and business-minded, something I really need. Combined together it has turned out to be a great formula for creating fun things without going bankrupt – at least, so far, haha.<\/p>\n

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How do you go about the booking process for this years festival?<\/b>
\nBooking for Outsiders (and all other festivals in Holland) is not easy, since we are in such an overcrowded market. A lot of festivals in Holland block artists up to six weeks prior and after the event. On the other hand it keeps promotors striving for a line-up that’s authentic to the rest and that’s a good thing. We also try to play our part in this. For example, previous year Solar (No Way Back, San Francisco) and Willie Burns (L.I.E.S., New York) had their Dutch festival debut at Outsiders. This year we also made sure that we can offer something extra to what there already is.<\/p>\n

Can we expect any special surprises at this years Outsiders Festival?<\/b>
\nAwesome Tapes From Africa, DJ Sprinkles and A Made Up Sound are definitely names that stand out. You won’t find them in a festival line-up anywhere else in Holland soon. And the venue is quite amazing. The festival takes place in an outdoor climbing park, with a 20 meter long climbing unit on the background. It’s pretty special.<\/p>\n

It seems that staging and effects become even more extravagant at festivals every year, is this something you like to work on or do you decide to keep it quite simplistic?<\/b>
\nHow festivals like Awakenings build their stages like castles is quite amazing, but it’s not the direction we want to go. We believe in interaction with the dj and as less hierarchy as possible. That means stage designs that allow you to dance around and behind the dj. A place where you can level with the artist. We want you to feel the music in an intimate way. I believe that this makes the experience much more intense than just looking at a dot that you only can assume it is the dj somewhere far above you.<\/p>\n

Looking back to last years Outsiders, is there one memory that stands out above the rest?<\/b>
\nThe sets of Hunee and Tom Trago were really amazing. So much funky disco! The combination of the sun, trees and the excellent curation of both artists did their job so good.\u00a0 Another great moment was Carl Craig taking the microphone, thanking his Dutch fans for all the support and screaming ‘Detroit Love’ before playing Octave One with ‘Black Water’ as his last track. That was a truly magical, you could feel the energy all around.<\/p>\n

Is there one artist that you are most excited to see play this year?<\/b>
\nAll artists that are playing at the festival are great of course, but personally I am really looking forward to the set of DJ Sprinkles in particular. Sprinkles is a true genius, I absolutely love him. His sets are so surprisingly versatile, really something else! It’s such an honor to have him as a part of our line-up, as he is not playing a lot of shows. He will make his Dutch festival debut at Outsiders too.<\/p>\n

What is the plan for Outsiders over the next few years, can we expect to see it grow?<\/b>
\nGrowth is the ultimate gratitude of your visitors saying you are doing something right, but having said that I must also say that it is not the main goal. I think it’s much more important that the current visitors stay happy and that the vibe stays as magical as how it was previous year. I’m not sure if we could hold on to that atmosphere with 10.000 people on our festival site.<\/p>\n

Event Page\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Outsiders_Lineup\"<\/p>\n

8 August | Outsiders Festival | Tickets<\/a> | Alkmaar, NL<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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