In conversation with Jarreau Vandal

Fusing global influences for his performance at The Corner, powered by Zalando

Welcome to The Corner, Zalando’s tribute to Amsterdam’s street culture, coming to life at the Dappermarkt on September 12th and 13th. For two days, the market becomes a stage for heritage, creativity, and community – from barrel organ melodies to reinvented poffertjes, and collaborations between the city’s next-gen creatives and local icons.

A highlight of the program is an unexpected crossover – DJ and producer Jarreau Vandal performing alongside barrel organ talent Zico van Pareen. Born and raised in Amsterdam, Vandal lives up to his name – his deconstructive approach to tracks has caused a stir in the scene. Always energetic and true to his ear, he has carved out a distinctive sound blending R&B, hip-hop, and global influences – from Surinamese Kawina to Moroccan Gnawa – turning every set into a warm, playful, and forcefully hip-turning experience.

In partnership with Zalando, Jarreau embodies the spirit of The Corner: rooted in local culture but fearless in experimentation. Whether flipping a classic or dropping a rare cut, he turns every space into a dancefloor and reminds us that music, like street culture, thrives where heritage meets innovation. We sat down ahead of his set for Glamcult TV to talk about his musical influences, the importance of research, and what we can expect from this one-of-a-kind performance at the block party at The Corner, Saturday September 13th, between 15:00-17:00.

Hey Jarreau, excited to hear your mix! How have you prepared for it?
I tried to add a lot of unreleased stuff in there from my forthcoming project. It’s more catered to my sound, which is global bass/electronic music sound. I love to take different, more niche and obscure genres from around the world that deserve to be heard, and then add the parts that I like. I did a song with Moroccan Gnawa music, for example. I took the gembri, and then I turned it into somewhat of a club electronic track, but it could still be played elsewhere. 

Nice! You’re jumping ahead, I actually had the exact question about Moroccan Gnawa. But broadly speaking, how do you approach working with global sounds?
When it comes to working with different genres from around the world, it definitely deserves proper research. A lot of music has a rich history, and there’s a reason certain patterns are the way they are. Certain instruments are used, for example, in Gnawa. There are these, for lack of better words, castanet-like instruments called karkaba. They’re metal, and when you play them, it sounds like chains, because Gnawa came from slavery. There are a lot of songs that are either religious or spiritual. So I decided not to remix anything and make my own song, to not disrespect anyone. Those are things you really have to consider. I love the research because it’s not like you just copy and paste a loop and that’s it. There’s a thought behind it.

It’s definitely imperative to learn the origins of a sound. To wind back a bit, what are some of the most formative memories that fostered your love for music?
I guess the way a certain song would make me feel when I was younger and had no resources to immediately find that song, and then finding it and having it on repeat. It’s almost like a drug. I guess a lot of people can relate. When you discover a song that you really like, you use it up. You play it so much that you don’t even feel that same feeling anymore. Then later down the line, you might rediscover it, and you have a bit of that feeling. I think that’s very special.

And where do you dig for your samples and inspirations?
A lot of it comes from travelling. I’m very grateful I get to travel for my work. But also a lot of it just comes from diving into YouTube rabbit holes or Spotify radio. Also going to the club when I don’t have to work and experiencing the music as a consumer. It’s important to discover new stuff just to understand how it works again.  Sometimes when I have to prep a set, I ask,”How do you DJ again? What’s the essence?”. Sometimes you have to visit the club to see how it’s done again. 

I suppose you can get to a point of doing things on autopilot, especially if you have a lot going on.
Exactly. Everything just moves so fast, it’s crazy. If I were to live under a rock for a year and come back, it’d be a whole different world. Especially now with the internet and social media. Most music doesn’t really have the opportunity to grow within a certain bubble. It’s out there, and everybody has access to it, which is great. But it rises fast, and a lot of it crashes fast. I noticed that with promoting music, the way people appreciate it. It’s not that people don’t appreciate it, but it’s more the effort and the work that goes into music. Especially in the time when people still bought records, it was a whole different process. The money that went into the whole project is just elsewhere now. It’s fine, it’s interesting, and you just have to navigate that.

It’s a tough balance. I imagine there was indeed more effort awarded to certain aspects, but also artists were so much more dependent on labels.
True. For example, I’m independent and I have a lot of autonomy over what I do with my music. But there were also a lot of artists who collaborated with labels or battled with labels. Like Prince, he did a great job in being very stubborn in his sound. 

And in your own practice, producing your own music and playing came first before DJing?
Music production and playing music came first. Because of the kind of music I was interested in, I gravitated towards DJing. I did a DJ workshop, and I’ve been a DJ ever since.

But would you say producing your own music informs your DJing practice or vice versa in any way?
It definitely does. And it actually only recently started kind of coming together. Before, I was making music that was more laid-back, slow, and R&B-inspired. Of course, I tried to integrate that sound in my sets, but it was just a very energetic, up-tempo set. And then some people came to me like, “Hey, why don’t you play your own song?”. And I was like, “Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense if I played that here”. Now,  I’ve been gravitating more towards catering my music to my sets. I like to challenge myself, and I think it’s very logical to play what you make. That’s why I actually started doing remixes and edits, as an answer to not having songs that fit.

Do you ever miss or see yourself going back to that slower sound?
Yeah, I still make soulful and dreamy music. I think that will always be there. But my identity is just very diverse, it’s a blessing and a curse. I like so much stuff, and I have to choose. But I just can’t. If you go to the average person’s playlist, their likes, most likely, are very eclectic. It’s house music, and then old school hip-hop, it’s R&B, it’s Charli XCX. Brazilian music, Ethiopian music. So why can’t I just make everything? You don’t have to do one thing for people. It might still be a bit weird, but I think nowadays there are a lot of people who do lots of different stuff. If you package it the right way, it doesn’t matter.

That’s true. I feel like the music industry still puts so much pressure on artists to embody a specific and coherent sound or style just because it’s so much easier to market.
Yeah, I have to admit, for me, it’s also easy. Sometimes I’m going to listen to this artist because they stand for this sound specifically. That’s just what they do, right? But then again, you could also argue that the diversity can be the identity. If someone feels like, “Hey, I don’t know what I feel like, I want to listen to a lot of different stuff” That’s when they can listen to someone like me. Because I even now notice the people who do one thing, and while they appreciate the way I do it, they have made a decision to stick to their thing. I don’t think I’d be happy if I had to do the same thing. I’d get bored.

Yeah, exactly. And as consumers, we should stop being so lazy and welcome surprises a bit better. Speaking of challenges and not getting bored, I want to talk more about your performance alongside the street organ (draaiorgel) player Zico van Pareen for The Corner. This is such an unexpected crossover – how did the idea for this collaboration first come about?
The whole campaign is to celebrate the Dappermarkt, a market on the east side of Amsterdam. The idea is to combine market OGs with young creatives from the city. So, for example, they combined Tom Leeflang from Ome Tom’s poffertjes, to make poffertjes with a Vietnamese chef to create fusion dishes. And then there’s Henry van der Horst who designs the labels and signs for the market stalls, who works together with Eben Badu, Co-Founder of The New Originalsfrom The New Originals, who does fashion. And then it’s me, combined with Zico van Pareen, who is an organist. He has a Draaiorgel, which is an organ that traditionally starts playing when you turn this handle. But he has a motorised one, a little box where you can play MIDI files from it. When you have notes written down, you can translate them into little blocks on a computer screen. You can then upload a MIDI file, for example, and the organ just starts playing it. So we decided to use that technology to have the organ play lots of stuff. Then I produce something around it. We’re still in the process, and it’s an experiment. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but we’re preparing for it to be as perfect as possible.

So curious to see it. Have there been any challenges within that? I imagine it’s quite different from the usual type of sound that you work with.
It’s quite a characteristic sound. Very loud and not very dynamic. Every sound has the same loudness. So I had to work around that. Also, the tempo of the organ and the start point. When I start, it has to be in sync. So how do we solve that? We have to start with the organ. Luckily, because the organ is motorised and there’s a computer on board, the organ’s notes are just on the grid. So that works when I play the song. The solution was to play the drums from the organ first. I have to cue it at the right moment and then adjust the tempo on the DJ gear. That was one of the biggest challenges in the beginning.

It must also be so satisfying to find a solution. Like solving a math problem.
Definitely. Because on the day that we were shooting for the video, they filmed that process where I had to get it on the tempo. And we were struggling. And I was like, “Why don’t we just loop the drums an extra few bars?”. Then I knew exactly where to start. That gave a little rush. Like, “Oh yes, we did it.”.

Nice! What do you hope the audience experiences when you perform the piece?
In this case, it’s very experimental. It’s very unique. The audience will have to take it as it comes. 

And can you tell me a bit more about the Amsterdam creative community? How has it grown within your career, and how have you grown within it?
There has always been a lot of space for creatives to grow. And with the internet and social media, it has become a lot easier for collectives to do their thing. I think we’re very privileged here. If you compare us with, for example, the UK, where the government is dialling back on the number of clubs. I live in a creative community. I got to live here for a very low rent, and that really helped me. I didn’t have to worry about money. Which is, in a lot of things, the biggest hurdle. I’ve noticed that a lot of people came out of their own bubble and started collaborating more.  Amsterdam is a small city, but it has the attitude of a big city. People tend to be too cool for school sometimes. I guess that has its charms, but at the same time, it prevents people who are talented from being in the right spot. Still, if you stay consistent and put a lot of effort into your craft, you’ll find your own space regardless.

What are some of your non-musical inspirations at the moment?
I guess it’s always been travelling. Also food. I really love food. 

Maybe that’s too vague of a question, but do you see a parallel between food and music in a way?
Oh, yeah, I do. For example, I recently mixed Cumbia with Gnawa because of the similarities in timing of the drums. You can just put them together, and they work. I have a friend whom I always cook and go to restaurants with, he’s my food homie. I played him this song, and he said, “You know what would be dope? If we were to make a dish that fits the identity of the song. So Moroccan food with Mexican or Argentinian food.” I do see a correlation. Also, just listening to music while you’re having food is great. 

Engaging all the senses! Also much like the blend of poffertjes and Vietnamese cuisine at The Corner.
Yeah, exactly.

I want to talk more about Vandalized! Can you tell me more about the mission behind it and how it came to life and where it is now?
I used to release edit packs, and called them Vandalized Edits because of my name. Jarreau is my second name, and Vandal comes from being a vandal; writing graffiti is what I used to do a lot back in the day. I guess what I do is vandalise the songs also. It started to become very popular, back in 2015. I don’t release edit packs anymore, but I still do parties called Vandalized that I build around that sound, which is leftfield and experimental electronic music, but not too abstract. Still danceable and sexy. We try to evolve with the times and bring sounds that people haven’t heard. We were one of the first to bring a lot of artists to Amsterdam, like DJ Travella. It’s something I’m very proud of. I hope it’s going to outlast a lot of phases. We’re always trying to be one step ahead, which is definitely a challenge. But it’s fun.

What does being one step ahead mean to you?
I think it comes from being a music junkie and not wanting to be bored. I’m always looking for that thing in music that gives me that hit of like, “Oh, I haven’t heard this. I need more of this.” There’s just so much joy in discovering new music, I just want to share that. That’s kind of the idea behind it.

Do you have any prophecies or anything that you think is going to be the next big thing?
Right now, it’s really hard to tell. It comes in phases. There are phases where I dig a lot of music, where I kind of see it happening. I saw that happening with Dutch Caribbean music, Surinamese music, and music from the African diaspora. Like Bouyon, those kinds of sounds. Those are the things that we saw coming, and that’s how we programmed. But at this moment, honestly, I just can’t tell you. Not that I don’t want to.

Gatekeeping!
No, I’m not trying to gatekeep. I don’t like gatekeeping. I do see Cumbia and Latin music mixed with electronic music making an uprise. And I do think that the fusion of sounds is definitely the future. That’s what I’ve just always been doing. I think that inspires people. Honestly, I don’t think there are many more genres to be discovered than to start existing. I think it’s just a matter of working with what we got.

Definitely. And in your personal experience, has music been a way for you to connect with your heritage as well?
Yeah, definitely. So my dad’s from Suriname, but he’s Indonesian and Jewish. And my mom is Dutch and African-American. So it’s… Everything. And I’ve especially been drawn to Surinamese music. You always know about the genres from the culture that you’re from, but you don’t necessarily know the whole story behind it. I started finding the stories, like I said, I love to do research. But it was a year of experimenting before I actually released the project.  I thought, “Hey, I’m at the right place now to make something that makes sense, and that does pay homage to the actual sound.”

On a final note, when you look back on your journey, what story or message do you hope resonates most with your audience?
I do find myself in a certain cycle where I really stand behind what I do. I really fuck with it. And I’m happy. Like, “Oh yes, this is the shit!”. Then I go down in the cycle. I’m like, ”Oh, is this good enough? Is this really gonna work?”  I’ve had so many instances where I doubted myself. But then I had reassurance and a confirmation. Like, “Hey, you’re on the right track. You’re doing good.” I just stuck to what I like and what I really wanted to do. And that, for me, is a recurring message. So that’s my message for my fellow creatives. Just do it. You’ll always have moments of doubt. But you’ll always come back up. You’re the shit. Just keep going. You can’t stay on that same high. You kind of need that to appreciate what it is that you’re doing. And where you are. It sounds very cliché, but it’s the truth.

Visit The Corner at Dappermarkt (near Pieter Vlamingstraat), September 12-13, to see the performance, enjoy a playful food collaboration between chef Tessa Yến Nguyễn and poffertjes legend Ome Tom, and see a limited-edition piece by Eben Badu (The New Originals), created in collaboration with legendary Amsterdam sign painter Henry van der Horst.