Amsterdam Faces: Jerrau

The singular disc jockey Jerrau is a coveted face amongst the Amsterdam scene. He effortlessly explores his love of diverse musical auras through explosive and entertaining club sets, or experimental and more down to earth sets on radio show. Whether in charge of the programming or the deck, the DJ has been elevating every event he partakes in since 2017. Everything from breakbeats to video game soundtracks saturate his sacred USB. Considering his time behind the deck till now, Jerrau explores the impact of his earliest accomplishments as a DJ, his selection process, and the corners of the worldwide sonorous archive that excite him. Vulnerable and honest, our conversation with the seasoned DJ is sewn together with musical gratitude and the importance of resilience. 

Hi! How are you doing?

I’m good. I’m busy with a lot of cool stuff, but everything is just falling into place.

To start off, this was a big weekend for you – how did your first all-nighter go?

It was quite a lot, also to prepare because it’s six hours, and because I love such different music. I was trying to fit everything in those six hours. It’s like a pretty big puzzle to lay down. When I DJ, I approach my sets as a puzzle, so the question becomes—how am I going to lay this puzzle? It went really well, it was really cute. I saw a lot of friends, and there were really nice people over there. And obviously there’s fleeting thoughts of “I could have done this or this or that better”, but I think that’s the learning curve.

What was the selection process for Nachbar, and how does it broadly tie in to your selector approach?

I got too much shit that I wanted to show. My folders were like, for 300 songs. In the end, you only play like 80, maybe 100. Of course you have 20 or 30 songs that are in rotation. But I wanted to play a lot of stuff I never played. So I was digging and looking up music and buying a lot of new music. I made five separate folders for the all-nighter based on energy—one big folder with everything, separated it into five different folders based on the progression of the time. The  first hour, second hour, third hour, fourth hour, fifth hour—something in that lane. I then continued to progress and select tracks with the time of the night in mind.

Dancing at your all-nighter, I was very surprised and impressed with your blend of genres and tracks. Compared to tracklists you have posted on your instagram following a set or mix, riddled with tracks that I personally define using the term ADHD music—breaky, repetitive, and polyrhythmic—the portion of your set that I danced to was more harmonic, housy, and classic. Is this a recent switch or is it symptomatic of your mood, and the venue you are mixing at? 

This is  kind of personal. But I’m actually glad that you touched on that. In the past years, I was the “ADHD music” guy (I assume people mean higher energy, more experimental and bassy tunes). Sometimes I feel like over time, I have lost a bit of touch with that side of my selection. I have been expanding on  this more driving and harmonic techno mood. And for some reason, I often hesitate to then switch back to the more challenging tracks that you refer to, within the same mix. Musically it’s complex, because I do want to grow within new music territories, but I do not want to lose the specific sound that excited me in the first place.  It is definitely a challenge to combine this  more classic and harmonic sound with the experimental and bassy one. I’m still searching for the intersection.

More on the note of selecting and curating a track-list: do the venues you play at or the time of a set impact your selection process?

In terms of selecting and curating a tracklist, you need to plan out or try to place all of that in practice in the venue. I prefer to see the venues I will play at, or at least know how the interior looks—whether the ceilings are low or high, brighter or dimmer lighting. It is all crucial to the atmosphere curated during the set.

What’s your favourite venue you have played at?

My favorite venue that I played at has to be Muzieklokaal at De School.

You have previously expressed your attitude towards radio sets as one that is distinguished by play and experimentation, and have executed your vision with various sets that focus on video game soundtracks. Can you expand more on this?

On my radio shows, I approach it as an opportunity to slow down, and showcase music that wouldn’t necessarily be meant as club music, but could be. My first introduction to music was through video game soundtracks, so they have a very special place in my heart. What I often explore in regards to these video games’ soundtracks is their production process. They have  to be catchy, but not alienating, considering they are made as an ever-ending loop. That’s something I am really happy to dive in and experiment with my music curation on this platform.

Thinking about time and place, what impact has Amsterdam had on your artistic and sonic vision, and what are your thoughts on the Amsterdam music scene?

My close circle used to club at parties I didn’t connect with or enjoyed the sound that much. Somewhere in 2016, I started discovering parties that opened a new world of possibilities of what clubbing music could be. This inspired me to contribute to this sonic landscape, and my two friends Esmeralda, Jeremy, and I, started our own party.

With regards to your question on the  Amsterdam scene: there’s a lot of good stuff happening music-wise, sometimes too much if you ask me. We are lucky over here but also kind of spoiled with the amount of good events and line-ups happening every week ha-ha.

On the topic of parties, let’s talk about Lettuce!

Woah, you know the name?

I did my homework, ha-ha! Going all the way back to 2017–how did the title come about and how do you look back on Lettuce in regards to its impact on your career?

The title was from a random name generator, ha-ha. But through Lettuce I really got to discover myself, and what I wanted to do. I think it also showed our excitement, and how pure this excitement was. I got to showcase my personality. We were so young, and we had no idea how everything worked. We were so pure. Throughout the process we really learned all about the industry, and how to actually bring an idea, like Lettuce, to life. I look back at it fondly, there are so many memories from the parties.

You also said, after your time curating a line-up for Kanaal40, that you would want to curate and throw more parties! Is this something that still interests you, and do you have any insights into how this process would look like now?

I’m actually doing it now! I am curating a “Jerrau Selects” night  at SkateCafé on the 21st of February, and I’m super excited. I got to invite Surusinghe, who I am a huge fan of. In general, I also do programming as my day job, so I am much more comfortable and familiar with the process of organizing such an event now, compared to 2017.

What’s been the biggest challenge in your career? 

Learning that it’s okay to take your time. I think it’s crucial to trust the process.

Dream b2b?

Skee Mask, Anz, and Kush Jones.

And dream set to witness or dance to?

Dream set to dance to would’ve been SOPHIE (<3) in a basement while the morning light slowly shines through.

Looking ahead, what are your dreams for your music? Are there any new directions you’re excited to explore?

My dreams, it may sound corny but, find fulfillment in everything i’m doing. Of course, I would like to tour the world etc. But only when i can stay happy during the whole process.