DJ Chuckie interview

(Chuckie) Before we start I want to say a big Thank you for the massive support you guys have been giving me! I love you guys!

(HollandClubbing) Awe thanks Chuckie!

People who have seen you play will say; Oh he’s crazy! But in your words: who are you?

Well I’m Chuckie and I’m trying to have fun with this whole music thing, I’m a DJ with a lot of passion. Production came along with it and then my sound spread worldwide.  It’s just about having fun with music and I’m happy people are enjoying it with me. The Dutch have been creating good music for years and now, not only do we have the global support and recognition on the trance side of things but also on the house side which is great for me and I’m just enjoying the moment.

The first time we saw you play was at ADE in 2008 with David Guetta, and at the time you weren’t recognised yet in the UK but you were massive in Holland. You then won a TMF award which is a huge acclamation in Holland. Not long after, we received a YouTube clip of Chris Moyle’s doing the “Chuckie dance”, and that was your first UK break through. So how did Chris Moyle’s end up doing the Chuckie dance?

Yeah that was crazy! I never expected this to happen in my career, I mean this was the biggest radio presenter in the UK, who picked up my track and started doing this funny dance to it! What happened was I woke up one morning and received this email with the YouTube video of Chris doing the dance to my track, and I thought “wow” “haha”, he personally sent it to me and it’s just not something you expect to receive in your inbox! It was so funny. And to see that I was getting that kind of support was huge for me. I had fun with that track and he obviously did too and that’s important to me. There are a lot of serious characters in this whole dance scene and I’m probably one of the few that just goes crazy when playing a set.

And you were also voted for first time in 2009 in the Top 100 DJ mag list?

Yeah I entered number 72 and I had a good year on a global scale and things just got better and better for me. Hopefully this year will be just as successful. At the end of the day though that is just a ranking and I’m doing my thing. What really matters it that I enjoy what I’m doing and that the fans enjoy it too

You’ve also been working with some amazing artists. So what has been your best collaboration so far?

Well I’m working on my album right now. First of all I’m working on my dance album and after that a pop album and I’ll be collaborating with some massive artists on those albums so you’ll have to wait to find out. I’m really excited about it.

What do you think about being compared to Sidney Samson?

It’s all good. I mean people can compare whatever they want. It’s up to the public and I don’t really mind.  I love Sidney and I love his productions, he’s a great guy and an incredible DJ.

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future? Or maybe you are already collaborating with them on your new album?

Haha! Well I would definitely like to work with Jay-Z on a pop album. That’s one of my ultimate goals. In the meantime I enjoy crazy collaborations. The other day I met this guy called Gregori Klosman, he’s from France and from the first time I met him we became friends. I had to do a new remix, I was on tour, and he was in the studio, so we said ok let’s do this remix together. So we bounced ideas back and forth over the net, and we did the remix called Nervo- irresistible. There’s a bit of him, me and the Nervo girls, which I find really exciting because it’s this unexpected collaboration. That’s the kind of thing I like to do.

Often DJs can get great acclamation from one single but then this can die down, so what have you got planned to stay on top?

Well I do a lot of remixes that stand out. For instance with David Guetta when I did “The sexy B****” remix which really took off. In L.A. it became one of the biggest club tracks of the year and I won an award for best remix for that one too. So that’s the kind of thing I try to do.  I’m basically doing a lot of club stuff and records for the dance floor and I’m working on my album which should be a huge bomb like “Let the bass kick”.

And what do you have to say about your swearing (on twitter for example)?

Well twitter is a webpage where you can say what you want and it’s my freedom to do this as I like. I just want to be myself and not play a certain type of image. I like to speak my mind whenever and with whatever I may have to say. I don’t want to be fake. If I’ve got a bad hangover or if I’m in a bad mood I am just going to express that and I believe that’s the beauty in web pages like Twitter where you can just express yourself. The thing is I don’t want to only read on Twitter; “Oh I’m having a great time” “This is the best party ever” I want to read everything not only the good things but everything that happens to you, you know the “F***** up s***” I want to know why are you “p***** off today”?  That’s what I’m interested in; reality! I’m also interested in the person behind the DJ or the artist not just what we’re supposed to portray of ourselves and what is expected of us, but simply just who we actually are as a human being. We should always say whatever we want to say and just be ourselves. I have bad days and good days like everyone else.

Your Tweets are often quite funny though. Food seems to be quite present in your tweets?

Well I have this thing for Asian food, so everywhere I go I try to compare the Asian food, and like I was saying, I just talk about random stuff that happens to me and what I’m currently doing. If you follow me on twitter then you just kind of know what kind of person I really am. I’m a guy who likes to have a laugh and enjoy myself. I don’t like to take things too seriously. I travel a lot so I like to share my different experiences.

Do you have any special requirements about food when on tour?

Not really. Everywhere I go I try to have the traditional dish to get to know and understand the culture. I never have mad requirements like “oh I want blue M&M’s and Starbucks coffee!” I’m an easy going guy! The only thing I ask for is five clean towels, water, beer and that’s it!

So what food do you have in the UK?

I always have fish and chips! I go to the best pub on the corner of the road and just try to enjoy the regular life and experience simply the British lifestyle. I’ve been going to the UK since 1996 so I have some good friends there. I’ve always been charmed by the UK music scene, break beat, drum and bass which has had influence on me. I always follow the UK scene. I’m a big fan of the UK and as a kid I would travel there to buy records.

What’s the craziest thing that has happened to you so far?

Well my tour with Paul Oakenfold has been pretty mental!  He’s a legend and I felt honoured to tour with him. All the crazy stuff that happens to me is usually on Twitter!

You’re always wearing a baseball cap, so how many have you got?

I reckon about 200! I buy most of them in the US. It’s the hip hop in me!

Tell us about your event Dirty Dutch?

Well I launched Dirty Dutch vs the World which took off like a storm. What I was trying to do was to reunite all my collaborations and Dutch colleagues. This year it’s on the 18 December and it’s going to be massive!

And you do this in Holland?

Yeah well that’s the home of Dirty Dutch. It’s like Heineken; Holland is the home of Heineken and Dirty Dutch and will always be. Holland is where I started this movement and where I keep developing this movement.

Where do you live in Holland?

I live in The Hague. It’s not the capital but it’s where we have the government and the Queen. It’s a lovely city much calmer than Amsterdam

What’s your favourite festival in Holland?

That’s a hard one because there’s so many! Next to Sensation I really like Mystery land. It’s like a big melting pot of different genres. Every year you see new and refreshing names, so I try to play there and have a Dirty Dutch stage.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Still travelling around the world and making great music. What I mean by that is great music to my opinion.

Do you think fame can rise to your head?

Not for me. You can ask my friends I haven’t changed I’m still the same man as 10 years ago. I will never change. My agenda has changed but not me.

And on the girlfriend side of things?

I have a lovely wife here; I believe that if you travel a lot you need a place to come home to, I like to have a place you can call home with the wife and the kids. Family values are important to me.

Oh you have children?

Yeah!! I have two lovely kids. One is 3 and one is 10. I love being a dad.

Do you play your music to them?

They play my music! It’s funny and hopefully they are my biggest fans.

(Interview EB/Holland Clubbing)

For more information on Chuckie, please visit:

www.djchuckie.com
www.myspace.com/djchuckie
www.facebook.com/djchuckie
http://twitter.com/djchuckie
http://www.cr2records.co.uk/ / http://www.spinnin-records.com/