TRAILBLAZER
Sander Van Doorn creates his ‘identity’ with his music
To say Sander Van Doorn has made a mark in electronic dance music is an understatement. Since 1995, the Dutch musician has had his hand in remixes from some big artists such as Lady Gaga, Sia, The Killers, Martin Garrix and more.
And that’s not even mentioning his dozens of singles and two full-length albums.
“Producing for me started out as a hobby,” he says during a recent interview. “In the beginning, I had no clue what I was doing and through tweaking and seeing what happens I kind of taught myself how to produce. Nowadays I like the combination of old day analogue sounds combined with the new sounds.”
Van Doorn will perform a set at 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at The Stage at Santa Ana Star Casino.
The 37-year-old has managed to navigate his career through the dozens of technological changes.
He says as a producer he is dependent on the possibilities of the equipment and technology used.
“I always try to find my own path and evolve my sound a lot, while keeping the general basics the same,” he says.
Van Doorn has played from edge to edge of the world.
From festivals to nightclub, Van Doorn is always aware of his audience and plans his sets accordingly.
“My festival sets are usually more suited for a wider audience than my nightclub gigs,” he says. “When you play in a club
you know the people are going exclusively to see you, so you can experiment a bit more with your set. During a festival the crowd is there to see other artists too, so I try to keep it a bit more mainstream.”
While he’s worked with some of the biggest artists in music, he still has a short list of people he would love to work with.
“I would love to collaborate with Moby,” he says. “I did a remix for his track ‘Natural Blues’ last year and I’ve been a long-time fan of him. In my opinion he’s one of the musical geniuses in the last 20 years and I think producing a track with him would work really well.”
In addition to remixes, collaborations and his own music, Van Doorn also hosts his own radio show called, “Identity.”
“It takes a lot of time trying to keep up with everything that’s going on, but I’ve managed to keep a good balance,” he says. “The great thing is that I love every aspect and try to pay as much attention to detail to everything, as I’d like to have it all perfect. I’m releasing an album in March and some other exiting stuff is coming up. I love what I’m doing right now so my goal is to keep on doing this for as long as possible.”