Egbert Interview

With the support of labels such as Drumcode, Cocoon and Armada, Egbert is now established as one of the leading names in Dutch techno. But it wasn't that long ago that he was taken under the wing of Secret Cinema, who discovered the then bedroom producer with a handy backlog of ten years worth of self-schooled home productions.

While the two now often perform back to back sets at festivals, such as at this year's Awakenings (which you can listen to here), Egbert will be bringing his solo live show to Familia this Saturday December 10th, joining Julian Jeweil, Fabio Florido and more. Arriving with an arsenal of techno weapons, like the wonky, reverb-filled 'Straktrekken' and the moody melodies of 'Elektriciteit', we spoke to Egbert, aka Egbert Van Der Gugten, and found out about early beginnings, his live set-up and biking on the beach at night...

Get tickets for Familia here.

Your name is Egbert and you're playing at Egg. It's the perfect match. We take it that the Dutch word for egg is different?

Ha ha, yes, what a match. The word in dutch is 'ei' and it's not really a compliment if you say it to someone!

Can you tell us a little about Rotterdam, which has a rich techno history. Who, what or where was it that led to you starting off producing in your bedroom?

I was about seven years old, I visited my nephew and saw him behind his computer working on a song. It was just four beats, but I was amazed and I really had the need to try doing it. Then I got a diskette and started making very basic songs. The program didnt even support a mouse back then. It was not programming, but it was close to that.

In your bio, it credits Secret Cinema with discovering you. How did he get to hear your music? 

When I was 22, I had spent half my life making music already. Then I realised this might be something unique and put my tracks on the internet. The weeks following were amazing. I met all my heroes, including the biggest of them all Secret Cinema. It all came together like a dream.

You've since collaborated, most recently on Gem Records. What's your relationship like, in the studio and out of it? Do you have more tracks that you've worked on together?

I think it would make sense if we found out that we have the same DNA! We have spent a lot of studio time together, but now we work more solo in the studio. We send tracks back and forth to each other. For us, it's the most effective way of doing it.

Can you tell us a little about your live set-up? What hardware and software does it involve?

It is very simple. There are thousands of loops I can trigger on one setup; everything loops constantly with eight channels in total. And on the other side I have a sequencer running together with Ableton Push, and an iPad or the Kaosscilator to add some noise effects.

Are there any plans to follow up your 2013 debut 'Warm' with another album?

There are a lot of tracks I've made that have never been heard by the public. I'm thinking of making an album from that.

Tell us three thing that your fans won't already know about you.

1. I do sports everyday.

2. I only make music from 9am-5pm. I noticed I make better music in the morning.

3. I like to mountain bike in the middle of the night on the beach!

You've invited your friends around to you house for dinner. What's likely to be on the stereo early in the evening and then later on?

At home I listen to online radio stations. Deep Mix Moscow has been my fav for many years. It's perfect to listen to at home.

What's next in terms of releases and life in general?

I'm doing more work with Secret Cinema, we're working on a Drumcode release together. I just moved into another house at the beach and soon I'll have that house renovated. I'm really happy living at the beach now! 

Thanks a lot for the support, I've seen Egg grow so much over the last eight years. It's a great honour and pleasure to have come back so many times.