The name Rank 1 may have started as a joke, but when the DJ duo from Holland put together the talents of rhythm man Piet Bervoets and classically trained Benno de Goeij, the hits were no laughing matter. Here Piet tells OUTinPerth’s Megan Smith what really happens on tour in Mexico…
OUTinPerth: How long have you been DJing?
Piet Bervoets: I have been DJing since I was twelve. I’m 36 now, so I’ve been doing it quite a long time. When I was first DJing, it was without pitch control and I used my fingers to keep two tracks in rhythm.
OiP: What changes have you noticed in electronic music?
Piet: Everybody used to played vinyl. Nowadays, I think most DJs use CDs, including me.
OiP: Is there anything you miss about using vinyl?
Piet: Not really. The CD is inside the CD player and the record is on top of the turntable, but you have the knobs to adjust things with your fingers. So, the feeling is the same.
OiP: How did you and Benno meet?
Piet: We met at a birthday party of a mutual friend. As soon as we sat together, we started talking about what we did. A couple of weeks later, we had our first appointment in the studio.
OiP: How do you work together?
Piet: Benno is more the melody because he is classically trained, and I’m more the DJ guy… my part is more rhythm and how to build up a track.
OiP: What do you start with to create a new track?
Piet: Sometimes you start with rhythm; sometimes you start with melody; and sometimes you play the keyboard and say, ‘hey this is nice’ and you record it. It’s not the same every time.
OiP: What’s it like to play to a really huge crowd?
Piet: To be honest, it is a bit the same if you are playing for 10,000 people or 40,000 people or 400 – I enjoy the people and make them dance and make sure they have a good time.
OiP: What is the secret to putting on a show where everyone has a good time?
Piet: If you are taking over from a trance DJ, it’s no big change to play trance. But if you start playing something totally different, then the people will notice the DJ has changed. That is what I try to do in the beginning of the set. As soon as I play 4 or 5 tracks, I find out if the people have a good time. If they don’t have a good time, then I change the music. ÂÂ
OiP: Within your show, how do you know when to slow it down and when to speed it up?
Piet: If I do a DJ set for 2 hours, I always try to give it a bit of flow. It is not possible for people to stand with their hands in the air for 2 hours and scream and shout at you. So, what I try to do is play two big time songs and then go a bit easy.
OiP: Rank 1 recently faced off against Armin Van Buuren. What was it like to work with him?
Piet: We have known Armin since he was a little boy. We don’t look at him and go ‘Oh my god, he’s number 2 in the world.’ Armin is Armin, and if he was number 1,000 or number 1, for us, there is no difference at all.
OiP: You look at the list of the top 50 DJs and so many of them are Dutch. Why is that?
Piet: It’s a very good question, but I can’t give you an answer. The reason why Tiesto is the most popular DJ in the world is because he believes in the music he loves. He was playing trance music before anybody else played it, and he is still the only one in the world who can fill up a football stadium in Holland.
The reason why all of a sudden now it is mainly Dutch DJs, I don’t know. A lot of people say to me, ‘I want to go to school [in Holland] to learn how to mix.’ But, we didn’t go to school for this. We just sat down and learned what to do with the sound. I think if you have good ideas, you will be able to do it, but you need to feel it.
OiP: Do you have any funny stories from your tours?
Piet: I’m really a down to earth guy, and sometimes it is difficult to understand that there are a lot of people screaming and shouting for your autograph and your picture… I got a lot of wedding proposals in Mexico. I think 4 girls came up to me, ‘Oh my god, I want to marry you.’ [laughs]
OiP: Did you say yes to any?
Piet: [stops laughing] No.
Rank 1 comes to Perth as part of the Godskitchen show at Metro City on September 28th. Tickets ($65 + bf) are available through www.ticketmaster.com.au (136 100), www.inthemix.com.au and selected retail outlets.
