Sherp Interview: Sander van Doorn

Prior to his performance at The Lalit this weekend, Sander van Doorn talks to The Sherp about his upcoming music, Martin Garrix, and how he’d like to collaborate with Moby.

We had the opportunity to have a chat with Sander van Doorn, the extraordinary Dutch DJ just in time for his concert at The Lalit on November 1. Sander spoke to us about his hit ‘Gold Skies’, his collaborations and the untarnished potential in the electronic music scene. Read more below!

Image Via: vebidoo.com

Hi, Sander. Your Indian fans are extremely excited to have you here. What can they expect from your show at the Lalit?

I’m really looking forward to the show as well! I always get such a great vibe from the crowd in India, I love playing here.

‘Gold Skies’ is one of our absolutely favourite tracks. How was it working on it with Martin Garrix and DVBBS?

It was fantastic to work with such talented young producers. The DVBBS brothers make great songs and I love their vocals, and Martin is just a genius in the studio. Probably the most talented boy I’ve met.

Consequently, if you had to collaborate with another electronic artist today, who would it be?

I still would like to do a collaboration with Moby. He’s always been my biggest inspiration since I was a little kid.

Image Via: thefuture.fm

We read somewhere that you changed your name to ‘van Doorn’ on a friend’s suggestion. What’s the story behind it? And what does ‘van Doorn’ mean?

Well the story is that I actually decided to go for a different name, which is pretty much impossible to pronounce in English or German, so I asked a few colleagues of mine if they knew of a Dutch name that would be easy to pronounce in English, and sounds better than Ketelaars. My friend came up with “van Doorn”, “van” actually means “from” so there’s a lot of Dutch names that use ”van” such as “van Buuren”, which actually means from the place called Buuren or Doorn so it’s a typical Dutch last name.

Social media plays a huge role in getting artists recognition worldwide. Was it harder to put yourself out there before platforms like Soundcloud and iTunes flourished, or was it somehow simpler?

Social media has definitely made it easier for me to connect with my fans on a daily basis. I try to post and interact with them as much as possible. It’s a great way to communicate and keep fans updated on new music, and where I have played and will be playing!

Are you working on any new material right now? If yes, what can you tell us about it so far?

My new track with Moti called ‘Lost’ is coming out November 6. The previews for ‘Lost’ are doing really well on social media, and already gets massive support from other DJs’ in their radio shows, so I expect a lot from this release.

There are many younger DJs that are doing really well today, Martin Garrix for example. Among the plethora of youthful talent in the electronic scene, who do you think has most potential?

There are a lot of young artists out there right now that are making great music. Martin Garrix is one of them for sure. It’s really difficult to pick one, but if I have to choose, I’ll choose Firebeatz. They are doing really well and have a lot of potential for the future.

The Festive Four: 

If you had to get married at a festival, which would it be and why?

Honestly, I don’t think I would ever want to get married at a festival. But if I have to pick one, probably Tomorrowland.

Who or what is your favourite festival buddy? Tell us why.

My sister and brother. They are coming along to a lot of my shows and it’s always fun having them around.

If you could take only three things to a festival, what would they be and why?

SD cards with music, good company and a positive mood.

Name a festival you would love to attend alone.

Actually, I would always want to attend a festival with some friends. That way we can share the experience and talk about the memories we made together afterwards.

Catch Sander van Doorn at The Lalit this weekend! Get your tickets here.