Esther Duijn
DJ | Producer | Booker
Esther Duijn is a producer, DJ and resident DJ of Tresor, Berlin. Based between Berlin and her native Amsterdam, Esther works full-time as producer and DJ and is currently adjusting to the new regime and huge hit that the music industry has taken since COVID-19 made an unwelcome arrival in Europe.
Having begun mixing vinyl in her teens, Esther has a built up a considerable collection of records from the dustiest corners of electronic music right up to recent releases from new names on the circuit. Her set up is usually four CDJS and two Technics which enables her to make the most out of her collection and give her audience an aural assault of straight-up techno for hours at a time.
Esther’s sound mostly consists of fast and furious rhythms which have trickled down into her own productions. Releases on her own imprint, Another Earth, as well as Gegen Records, The Meaning of Rave & more are all stripped-back bangers which aptly display what Esther is sonically all about.
Heaving crowds and packed clubs were once a very familiar scene to Esther so the below memory illustrates everything she is currently missing and looking forward to getting back once life resumes to some degree of normality…
Where was this photo taken and why did you pick it?
I went through my archives and it was so hard to select one, it can only be one then eh? I have so many fond memories of gigs I played, people who I met, artists who became dear friends, tours I did etc. So I decided to pick one that is made in Berlin. It’s a picture of the dance floor at Gegen in KitKat, I am playing but you barely see me.
Why I picked this is just that I cannot wait to play again for all the amazing people in this kind of setting. I miss my homes away from home. I miss the nightlife and the clubs and crews I play for regularly, I miss playing in front of a crowd, I miss my friends in Berlin and the rest of the world, I miss it all.
What are you listening to at the moment if you’re working from home?
I am working every day on new music so I am basically listening endlessly to my machines and DAW playing. I still have a few deadlines. Like last week I finished a remix for a label TBA and I mixed a new podcast that came out yesterday on Voight-Kampff . I have been asked for a few streams so I am quite busy. I am trying to go through my whole record collection cuz I want to clean it out. So I have been getting rid of stuff and discovering some amazing old gems again.
What's lockdown like for you over in Berlin/Amsterdam at the moment?
I am in Amsterdam. Unfortunately all my gigs have been cancelled until further notice so I had to go back to Amsterdam for the time being. I was really shook up the first weeks after they announced the closing of the clubs and festivals and everything got cancelled but now I am ok. Just getting into the new reality we live in ATM, taking it day by day. I do miss my Berlin life, friends and such, like crazy. But I am busy here in my studio and I see my bestie, Darkraum, once a week. He is a performance artist and aspiring yoga teacher so we do yoga and I help him shoot new looks and costumes he creates for his performances and VJ visuals. We go on walks through the neighbourhood and we started a new photo project called ‘but is it art?’…basically asking ourselves if it might be art or not. This could be anything from the trash everyone puts on the street to daily things like drainpipes and mailboxes or broken windows or random stuff outside. It’s pitch dark humour. I like pitch dark humour.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, do you have a go-to track or style of music that significantly lifts your spirits?
Oddly enough I always tend to listen to electro-based music, often but not always with strong lyrics, always with heavy emotional melodies when I feel intensely. These are good examples:
Marshall Applewhite
LOVE WE TELL US APART (Joy Division cover)
GOLD ZEBRA
Kalson
Digital Baroque (Dominance Electricity)
Logic System
How do you intend on celebrating once we’re out the other side?
GIRL, WE ARE GONNA RAVE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW FOR DAYS ON END, NEVER-ENDING RAVE LOL. I can’t wait to get behind the wheels of steel again and play my heart out for everyone, give them what they yearned for, for months. I wanna see all my friends all at once. I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT.
Any tips on how to look after your mind and body during this slightly stressful time?
Take it easy, no pressure. If you need to relax, relax. Most of us got a massive blow one way or another so yeah. Take your time but keep your body moving. Exercise is really good against depression. And when you are ready find out what your passion is and do something with it. Just have fun with the things you are passionate about.
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