April 29, 2003: Queensnight. The night before the Dutch Queens' birthday,
and one of the most happening nights in Holland.
Queensnight always has been a great excuse for a party, but this year
promises to be legendary. It will see the launch of SWEATBOXER.
SWEATBOXER is a club experience contrived by Jochem Paap aka Speedy J and
the origin of how this came to be is quite remarkable. To make this clear,
it's probably better to let the man himself speak:
PAST:
After playing live over all over the world for 15 years, I assume I've
probably played under almost every kind of circumstances
From playing bubbling acid in murky loft parties on a 5 Watt karaoke
speaker, to playing banging techno for hours on huge dance events and
festivals with 100 rollercoasters, 40 stages and 512 DJs.
In most cases, these circumstances are far from ideal and it's impossible to
say upfront if the event you will be playing at will be good or bad.
Elements like sound, venue, lights and line-up are all an important part of
how a show will be experienced by the audience.
Over the years I've worked with sound engineers, light engineers, VJs etc.,
in order to get some grip on these conditions. But there are always things
you cannot control, ranging from a really bad P.A. , being dropped on the
wrong stage at the wrong time or all of a sudden there's a guy in front of
you doing his thing with balloons or torches while you're performing.
But if the circumstances are right, everything (and everybody) comes
together. On a moment like that, everybody has the same experience. The
music is surprising and inspiring to both audience and artists. Even the
slightest twist of the EQs will be noticed by the audience. In such an
environment, an artist is confident enough to experiment and take risks and
the event can evolve into a very special experience.
PRESENT:
Last year, during a period of heavy touring, the idea of taking matters in
my own hand started to develop. With the experience and contacts I acquired
over the course of the years, I wanted to try to put on my own event
according to my own ideas and views. A club night, without trimmings and
with special attention to the things that matter: inspiring music, great
venue and the most important item: a no- compromise sound system.
The perfect conditions for audience as well as artists.
Together with an experienced promoter (Mojo) I started looking for these
conditions. Now we believe we've found them. Together they are SWEATBOXER.
FUTURE:
And this is what we've come up with.
Inspiring music: a killer line up! Details below.
Venue: Las Palmas- Rotterdam. A perfect mix between a club and a warehouse.
NO-COMPROMISE SOUND SYSTEM!:
The goal was to create a new standard in sound. I wanted to work with people
who have the same passion for quality sound as I do. People who know that an
ultimate sound system is essential for experiencing music. After a lot of
research, I bumped into Funktion-One.
This sound system is designed by 2 legendary people in the world of audio:
Tony Andrews and John Newsham. Besides Funktion-one, Andrews and Newsham
designed and developed Turbosound. Newsham also has an enormous experience
as sound engineer for A.O., Pink Floyd, and is currently working as an
engineer for artists like Underworld and Massive Attack. They will fly over
from the UK to set up the best sound system ever to be heard in a club in
Holland.
Jochem Paap
15-02- 2003
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