DJ Ron: What are you working on in the studio right now?
Gielen: I'm working on my Johan Gielen album at the moment. I don't have much time to do it because my travel schedule is getting very, very busy. But every free day there is, I'm in the studio,
DJ Ron: The Amsterdam scene has inspired many great DJs and producers. What do you think about Amsterdam gets you guys into such great music?
Gielen: Well it's probably not only Amsterdam, I think it's all of Holland - the south, Amsterdam and the north. I think that a couple of years ago the typical Dutch trance sound made it happen for everybody and a lot of my colleagues like Ferry Corsten, Marco V, and Tiësto are doing very well. Tiësto is the number one DJ in the world and he's based in Holland. He's a good friend of mine and I think he has opened doors for everybody over here. I think it also has something to do with the sound created a couple of years ago, thinking back on the Airscape productions and System F "Out Of The Blue", these records were the turning point for a lot. So far, so good. We're still around and we're accepted all over the world right now. We're very happy for that.
DJ Ron: Where do you see the Amsterdam dance scene going?
Gielen: It's hard to say actually because it's not only in Amsterdam anymore, I'm traveling all over the world, Asia, America, Canada, and I see things are getting really big over there right now. It's hard to say which is going to stay big or not, but I think it's still growing. Maybe the music will change a bit because you always try to create something new. I think what's going to happen in the future is that certain music styles are going combine together and create a new stream for the future.
DJ Ron: How involved are you with the Amsterdam Dance Event?
Gielen: This year I will definitely be involved a lot since I am doing a few seminars. I will also be doing a club night during the event which I can invite all the people from all around the world to. I'm now on a point that it's time to do this. I'm creating now a brand for Johan Gielen that's called "Johan Gielen For You," and I definitely want to do one of these nights during the Amsterdam Dance Event.
DJ Ron: What effect do you think the Amsterdam Dance Event has had on the Amsterdam and Dutch dance scenes?
Gielen: A few people put their heads together and wanted to do an event showcasing our producers and DJs like the ones in Cannes, PopKomm in Germany or Winter Music Conference. We have had such great successes already with a lot of producers and DJs, I think Amsterdam was ready to put on an event to invite industry people and show them out home town and where it's happening. This is one of the reasons why the Amsterdam Dance Event was born and it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger every year. I think the upcoming Dance Event will be very good.
DJ Ron: You started DJing at age seventeen, what inspired you to start DJing?
Gielen: I was six years old when I first played the very small 45rpm records, I think I was born with it. I was not like "oh I want to be a DJ." It's a natural thing and I always had music in me. I started at a young age on an illegal radio station, then went to a local club and from there on I built it up. The big turning point for my career was in 1995 when I left Holland to be based in Tokyo, Japan. I learned a lot there and had a lot of time to think about my future. After a two year residency, I came back and was in contact with the A&R people from ID&T who are now a world famous label. The guys gave me an opportunity to play at one of their big parties, and from there it just built. It's still building, so I'm not there yet.
