Riaan Wolmarans
PREVIEW OFTHEWEEK
There is one dance tune guaranteed to send people running towards the dance floor to groove to its pumping rhythm and beautiful melody. This tune is For an Angel, probably the biggest hit that top German DJ Paul van Dyk – who is playing in Cape Town and Johannesburg on June 2 and 3 – has had in South Africa.
Van Dyk has come a long way from his first ventures on the decks in 1991 to being appointed best international DJ of 1999 at the Muzik awards – one of several awards he won in the past three years. Last year he was also chosen as Mixmag’s man of the year and DJ Magazine voted him best international producer.
He’s certainly proven his mastery of mixing with an impressive list of mixes and original tracks, and his latest full- length album, Out There and Back, is being released in the next month. “It is a logical progression from my previous albums,” he says. “I care more about making music and about how people behave. The album is more mature, more personal and very intensive.”
Another recent single, Tell Me Why (The Riddle), a collaboration with London dance/pop outfit Saint Etienne, is roaring into the top 10 in several countries.
“It’s a dream come true,” Van Dyk says about working with Saint Etienne. “They are one of my favourite bands and I’m very pleased and satisfied about having worked with them. The single’s actual success does not matter to me.”
Looking back at For an Angel, Van Dyk says he didn’t think it would be successful at all when he wrote it in 1994. He remixed it in 1998 for a re- release, when a 12″ was needed to be promoted. “I wasn’t even keen on releasing it in Germany – I’m not keen on releasing old stuff.” For an Angel became a huge dance hit internationally.
Critics have been calling his music trance, but Van Dyk is not at all happy about that. “I make electronic dance music, not just trance. I include trancy elements, but also elements of breakbeat, techno, house and more. A reviewer once said that it’s ‘poor journalism’ to describe my music as trance.”
When asked which of these elements South Africans will get to hear, Van Dyk explains how he doesn’t really plan much for a set. “I work on the interaction between the people and me. I have a clear idea about the sound I want to bring across, and I have a few records I want to play, but that’s as far as it goes.
“I don’t know much about what’s going on in the South African dance scene anyway, so I can’t play according to that.” He thinks that this is what earned him the title of best international DJ. “They honoured and recognised the fact that I don’t go and play a pre-planned set,” he says.
Looking at the international dance scene, he avoids making predictions about the future of dance music, since he doesn’t care much about trends. “As long as the music I make satisfies me, that’s all that matters. I won’t make house music because house is trendy.”
But dance music is trendy, and attracts thousands to dance events. Recent proposals in the United States have ravers up in arms. These suggest that events should be strictly regulated and licensed, to curb drug abuse and enforce safety regulations. Strict fines for DJs and organisers at “unlicenced” events are also mentioned. Van Dyk feels that there are “lots of possibilities in making it legal. People should realise that these parties have become a big part of youth culture, and that it is not necessary to do it in illegal ways any more.”
Legal or not, don’t miss this opportunity to see the master of the turntables in action and to witness why he’s become one of the biggest names in the dance industry.
See Paul van Dyk in action at the Three Arts Theatre in Cape Town on June 2 and at the Theatre on the Track outside Johannesburg on June 3. Tickets are available at Ticketweb (www.ticketweb.co.za or Tel: 0861 400500). For more info on Van Dyk, have a look at www. paul-van-dyk.de.