As DGTL Amsterdam gets closer by the day and we recently unveiled our 8th stage – Resonance – in the iconic crane on the NDSM Docklands, we sat down with some of the artists performing on this unique stage.
With this many artists performing during DGTL Amsterdam this year, we can imagine that it’s difficult to navigate our extensive line-up. That’s why we have done some work for you, our dear DGTL family.
We had a conversation with a handful of upcoming artists residing at Heesterveld Creative Community, that will performing at DGTL for the first time ever. We did our interview with DJ Beukeboom, a producer from Amsterdam who has a special place in his heart for Brazilian music, “I make beats sampling Brazilian music, 90’s rave or anything else I like”, he said. We also interviewed Chinnamasta, the Hindu goddess of death, rebirth, change and contradictions. As well as DJ duo Spiritual Embassy, who livestreamed their sets online via a number of platforms during the lockdown to keep everyone dancing; and Raziyah, who is an artist, researcher, curious cat, curator and programmer.
We asked the artists what the electronic music scene & its community means to them. “Electronic music for me is a way to express and experience ideas and feelings. Doing that together with others is super powerful”, DJ Beukeboom says. To Spiritual Embassy, the DIY attitude that parties demand, where everyone is a participant and actually contributes to the vibe, is also of great importance. He says “I first encountered this at squatter punk parties in my teenage years in Maastricht. Then in my twenties, Cruquius Gilde and Kondo are great examples of places that were run by absolute gearheads, you could really notice this compared to regular clubs that the vibe was at a different level. But also, for example the Giegling takeover in De School where they got complete artistic freedom to do what they wanted and it resulted in this super immersive multi-disciplinary experience.”
When we asked them to describe the essence of the scene in five words, Raziyah told us about expression, release, inspiration, connection and creation. “Diverse, Subversive, Experimental, Intimate, Fluid” were the words of Spiritual Embassy and if you ask DJ Beukeboom, the scene is all about sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing and sharing.
Finally, we asked the artists about how they came to live at Heesterveld Creative Community at Heesterveld Creative Community and if they were looking forward to performing at DGTL Amsterdam. A question to which Spiritual Embassy told us that this was their first time that they will be joining forces. “We are super stoked that HCC reached out to us and we cannot wait to add to their program at DGTL!”, Spiritual Embassy said.
Where on the other hand we had Raziyah that told us she is a resident of Heesterveld Creative Community. A few of her friends have lived there over the years, so when it was her time to find a more secure living spot, while still being in proximity to her primary space of work, she applied for it. Afterwards she told us “Hell yea! As much as I am nervous, am I equally excited to experience that moment.”
Dj Beukeboom told us “Five years ago, I was around at Heesterveld to visit friends. Then there was an opportunity to live there and luckily for me it happened that i could move in. Still thankful for that!”. He is looking forward to playing at DGTL Amsterdam and that he will be bringing some new music into set in the crane.
Find the line-up of our Resonance stage here and make sure to get to the crane early; the capacity of the stage is limited. If you haven’t secured your tickets already, make sure to do this now via our ticketshop.
The program of the crane is powered by ABN AMRO.