About his ADE show and upcoming album

Amsterdam Dance Event is going to offer some of the most talented artists from around the world, and on Saturday, Joris will bring some of his favorites. ‘It’s a beautiful line-up with a wide variety of artists, ranging from deep to more solid tunes. I’ve been following ARTBAT for a while now, and ever since they started their career, I’ve been playing their music. I’m super excited that they’re here. They’re both up-and-coming and established at the same time. Agoria is one of my long-standing friends who always brings out the best performance by playing great music of supreme quality. He just plays whatever he wants to play, maintaining his place at the top of the music world.’

‘AMÊ is an always inspiring live act and is super energetic. Last winter, at Awakenings in Eindhoven, he ran a set before I was up. His tunes were surprisingly solid, with a good pace and soulful ambiences. I love having him with us at ADE. Toman is the perfect way start to a magical evening, as he displays the full extent of the unrestrictive complexity of electronic music. Boris Brejcha, one of the bigger names in the progressive scene in Germany, was with us last year too. He brings a lot of heat and an enormous following – proof of his quality. And of course, I also get to spin the wheels a little.’

Of the many artists that are performing at ADE, some are definitely lookout material. ‘ARTBAT is definitely an act to look out for. I’ve never seen them play, but I love playing their music. It’s very accessible, with a classic sound, yet enormously progressive and at the same time so down to earth. All without making it sound complicated. Another artist to watch is Avision. Solid, warm techno with a very fresh sound, a good new name. It’s the kind of music I enjoy playing a lot.’

It seems obvious that an artist needs to keep developing, as the music does too. It sometimes may seem like it’s something that comes effortlessly, but there’s a lot of work involved. ‘You have to always keep an open vision, to broaden your musical scope as much as possible. I cannot stress how important it is to keep looking around and learn from your peers. Because before you know it, you’re focusing on yourself too much, which can result in you failing horribly just because the industry went in a completely different direction than you did. Stay updated with the essentials and what is actual – but find your own style within that spectrum. Just following everyone isn’t going to cut it. But you do have to be open for all those influences, while keeping your own flow alive.’

As said before, Joris is well known at the Gashouder. He’s experienced many things with Awakenings for the first time and grew with us in this journey. ‘I mean, it might sound cliché, but my favorite Awakenings moment to date is about three years ago, when I closed the W. stage at the festival. The crowd was going wild, everything just came together. It was all so immensely impressive!’ Performing at an event isn’t just about focusing on your own performance. In a way, it’s a team effort. This time, Kölsch played before Joris closed at the V. stage. ‘We always do our own thing and in the end it always connects. We do talk about it, take yesterday for instance. We hung out and spoke about music over a cup of coffee at my place. We don’t really go into depth on the subject of who’s going to play what though. I’ve got my own playlist and I kind of adapt that to his closing track. I know what I’ll start with, whatever follows just comes naturally.’

Joris Voorn’s next studio album is dropping on November 15, containing various projects. It’s his way of portraying a broader sound. ‘I guess it’s more like a collection of tracks that I’ve played a lot over the last couple of years. There’s also a number of solid peak time records that really rock the dance floor. I’m not just talking about music for the main stage of Awakenings, I’m also talking about sounds for deeper clubs where tracks can be a bit more euphoric. Or tracks with a more introverted sound that leave out the drums and go a bit deeper.’ ‘This time, I focused more on producing. Obviously, I did get involved in the development of the artwork, but I didn’t shoot it myself. We’ve brought in Jos Kottmann, a very talented photographer who also did the Spectrum photos. We had an amazing shoot. Creating music is always something very personal, and it’s always something I’ve put my heart and soul into. I really hope that people can appreciate that.