Next up on the EPM Podcast we welcome a lady whose techno oozes soul and depth as Dutch DJ/producer Estroe takes us on an atmospheric and emotional journey through EevoNext’s label catalogue. Featuring the subtle and melodic depths that the label so often represents Estroe takes us on a textured ride through the label’s history as Dan Grain, Terrace, Justin Berkovi, Duplex, The Moderator, Sounds Conversions, Art Bleek and Estroe herself blend into an ethereal, nocturnal mix.

Together with the likes of Anja Schneider, Mistress Barbara and Monika Kruse, Estroe belongs to an elite club of female DJs that made it to the top. Born in Zutphen as Esther Roozendaal, raised near Amsterdam and currently living in Rotterdam, she has been DJing since 1998.

Whether it’s behind the turntables of the famous Fuse club in Brussels, Watergate in Berlin or an underground club in Romania, Estroe knows how to tune in and drop the right beats. She likes to play versatile, techno infused sets with room for deep undercurrents as well as pure dancefloor work. Her style is warm, subtle but at the same time very energetic.

Things really took off when Estroe started producing her own tracks back in 2003. In hindsight it was an unconscious response to the skull breaking beats of those days. "I missed the soul in much techno back then and felt the need to make something myself." She then learned everything there was to know about hard- and software.

In her first productions Estroe went back to the early days of Detroit techno. Back when people like Carl Craig, Kenny Larkin and the The Black Dog found the soul in their machines. With her sophisticated, warm and elegant style she soon appeared on the radar of DJs like Laurent Garnier, Ripperton and John Digweed. The latter was blown away by Estroe's minimalist masterpiece ‘Driven’ and promptly asked her for a remix on his Bedrock label. Another strong supporter is techno don Dave Clarke who has booked her for his White Noise parties on more than one occasion.

In 2009 she released her debut album ‘Elemental Assets’ (Connaisseur) which featured Miss Kittin on vocals and recently Estroe has been rediscovering the darker sides of techno in her DJ sets, something which will no doubt translate in her future productions.

With her ability to mould sounds into beautiful shapes, Estroe has become an in demand remixer in recent years. Some of her best work was done for others, like Tim Wolff, Art Bleek and Rocco Caine, whose Fathorn 50 made it to M.A.N.D.Y.'s ‘Body Language’ compilation.

Together with Stefan ‘Terrace’ Robbers, Estroe runs EevoNext (the next generation of Eevo Lute Muzique) one of the oldest dance labels in the Netherlands, spanning over twenty years of Dutch techno. EevoNext releases classics from the Dutch techno vaults but also breaks new talent. That’s where Estroe comes in. “I like to scout and coach new talent”, she admits. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know the pitfalls.”

Another promising project is Estafête, a ‘girls only DJ team’ consisting of Monica Electronica, Lin and Estroe. “No I’m not a fanatic feminist but I do miss the femininity in the DJ world sometimes”, she states. It’s not only more fun with two other women behind the mixer, it’s also very inspiring.” With Estafête we constantly challenge each other, which translates in better DJ sets.”

With a filled agenda and an inbox full of remix requests, chances are high you’ll be dancing to an Estroe tune this weekend. Asked if she has any regrets since she gave up her day job years ago, she fiercely shakes her head. “This is what I always wanted: to make good music and to play it out."



Q&A with Estroe

1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?

I wanted to pick the tracks that I didn’t use before in other EevoNext-only mixes and wanted to give some attention to the last releases. But it had to fit in the flow and had to be mixable. It’s always difficult to make a special EevoNext mix because of the tempo and style differences and because all the tracks are melodic. But of course they are also a selection of my personal taste.

2. How did you come to be running EevoNext alongside Stefan Robbers? Were you already a long time fan of Eevo Lute?

To be honest I wasn’t a long time fan of Eevo Lute, I have bought some of the older stuff but I started DJing in 97/98 so I wasn’t really familiar with the early works. I remember that I liked Stefan’s (Terrace) music on FWD: Stefan and I knew each other from walking around in the same scene and at one point we got to know each other better and he asked my help with modernising the label somewhat. That’s when we started EevoNext.

3. In your own productions you stated that you like to target peoples’ ‘emotional spot’. Do you feel the same way about your DJing?

In DJing it’s more about sharing, I like to share what I find good music and I like to present it in a way that builds up tension. When I say ‘I want to take people on a journey’ it sounds so cliché but in a way it’s true. I’m in my happy element when I see a crowd in unity because they are all enjoying the same thing and forgetting about their daily sorrows. But music is always emotional in my opinion so in that way DJing is also about hitting an emotional spot.

4. How did the challenge of making your debut album ‘Elemental Assets’ (2009) compare to making an EP release?

Working on an album takes so much more time! I’m not really a conceptual worker, I make what comes out of me and for an EP I make a selection with the label that wants to sign it. For the album I had to think more about artwork, remixers, singers and it had to be a consistent package so that was a long process.

5. What qualities are you looking for when signing new music or artists to EevoNext?

Originality, a good balance between old and new sounds and a certain dedication and presentation by the artist. But the style can vary from ambient to techno as long as it’s good. For 2012 we already made a strategy with the artists we signed so we are a bit laidback with demos at the moment.

6. As one third of Estafête, a ‘girls only DJ team’ consisting of Monica Electronica, Lin and yourself you say that you miss the femininity in the DJ world sometimes. How does this female DJ tag team differ from your normal DJ experiences and are the reactions from men and women different in any way?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the world’s biggest feminist, I’ve always liked the dance scene to work in and have fun with my male colleagues. But there are situations when it’s nice that you work together with women. To share experiences about that cocky promoter, or simply discuss what to wear to a gig. ☺ The team differs from my solo experience in music choice. With Estafete I play a little less deep, more party. And solo I’m a bit reserved but with the three of us I loosen up more. The reactions from men and women are not far away from each other in my opinion although I have the impression that women like it slightly more, they just find it cool to see three DJ women working together. Men are more visually and focused about the technique so I get questions after our set about how we work.

7. Apparently you are completely self-taught on software production and now even give workshops on Ableton. How important was it for you to develop your production skills from scratch?

That was just a combination between how things went and my character. I was interested in the question whether or not I would be able to produce something. It was a challenge for me to find things out and the first year I was just fascinated by all the sounds that came out of the keyboard and plugins. Luckily I started producing when digital producing just came up so I didn’t have to invest a lot of money in studio equipment, a good computer, keyboard and sequencer helped me start up quite easily.

I did spent time in the studio with others and did get some explanation about Cubase, soundcards and all technical stuff and I always had people who I could ask questions when problems arose. But I realised that it’s better to just try and learn from errors. When Ableton Live came out it all become much easier for me, suddenly I was able to work faster and I finished some tracks that were signed by labels.

What’s important to me is that I can say that I make my music myself, it’s really a reflection from what I am and what I have to say. It wouldn’t be fun to have success with something someone else produced would it? At least not for me. About Ableton workshops: I’m not the technique nerd that explains thoroughly how a filter works but I do like to explain the creative process, how to arrange a track, how to do a remix, or how to create deepness, tension. And I found out that I prefer to explain that in a more intimate way so I started giving private lessons.

8. From the outside the Dutch dance music scene looks to be in a very healthy state – from the underground vanguard like yourselves, Clone, Rush Hour, Delsin etc to the more commercial side like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Fedde Le Grande and so forth. Is this the case?

Yes, production wise we are doing well, Dutch music is one of the largest export products for Holland I’ve heard. But for people like ourselves, trying to bring good quality music for a small niche it’s very difficult. If we weren’t so idealistic and determined we would have stopped with the label, we don’t earn any money with it (also the illegal downloads doesn’t help). As a producer and DJ I have to earn my paycheck by getting gigs but the recession in Europe is very noticeable. It’s almost impossible to live from music only.

9. What plans do you currently have for your music production?

Nothing special, just to improve myself, I am enjoying remixing a lot but have to focus more on my own productions too. Furthermore I would like to become a Certified Ableton trainer so I hope to develop in that direction soon.

10. Please give us your top 10 all-time favourite Dutch techno tracks:
(In no order)

Speedy J – G-Spot (album)
Steve Rachmad – Secret lives of machines (album)
Quazar – Cycle drops
Gerd – Arkest’s Blaze
Stefan Robbers – Pathfinder
Duplex – Motion Blur
Joris Voorn – Let’s go juno
Egbert – This feels new
Jerome – Overtones
Gideon – Continental Flight
Dexter – I don’t care (electro but one of my favourites so…)



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