Music makes
you stronger
ADE ’19 is here! The perfect moment to ask a few of ‘our DJs’ about their best ADE memories, fitness and guilty pleasures. We spoke to the Amsterdam based duo ANOTR, also known as Oguzhan Guney and Jesse van der Heijden, behind the decks since 2012.
Jesse and Oguzhan arrive at TrainMore Singel in Amsterdam both carrying a sports bag. They want to go for a workout immediately after the interview. Being efficient is necessary, because they’re pretty busy. In October, they’ve gigs in Frankfurt, Ibiza, LA and Torino. Despite this crazy schedule, the duo appears to be very relaxed and ready to talk about their career, ADE and fitness. So, here we go!
First gig: slamming success or epic failure?
Jesse: “My first gig was horrible. I started out organizing my own parties and because of that I was getting booked for other parties as well. In cities like Alkmaar or ‘Lutjebroek’, in the middle of nowhere really. I was young, didn’t drink any alcohol and mostly played mainstream house music. The people who were attracted to that isn’t exactly the kind of audience I prefer nowadays. It was pretty bad.”
Oguzhan: “For my first gig ever I didn’t get any money, but it was great! I surprised myself to be honest. It was in club Rain in Amsterdam and I had to fill in for a DJ that couldn’t make it that night. My first payed gig, however, didn’t go as planned. It was a school dance, I had to use a different and more advanced system than I was used to and fucked up all my transitions.”
Your best, weirdest, craziest ADE memory is..?
Both laughing: “Last year? At least, what we can remember of it.”
Oguzhan: “I only have good memories of ADE. I just love to stroll around in Amsterdam and bump into friends and people we know from all over the world. It’s cool to see them all in the same week in our city for once.”
Jesse: “For me, all my ADE memories became one big happy memory. But 2015 was special. We just changed our name to ANOTR, released our first EP and spoke to a lot of people that were really interested in what we were doing. We could feel that something was changing that year, something was about to happen.”
And now tell us more about last year, what was so funny?
Jesse: “Well, every year our booking company is hosting a party for all artists they represent and promotors from all over the world. At the bar you can get free shots all night.”
Oguzhan: “We drink one with every promoter we know, so that’s a recipe for disaster. I’m already looking forward to this year’s party!”
This years ADE must-go’s are..?
Jesse: “Loveland, Fuse on Sunday and SlapFunk on Monday.”
Oguzhan: “Yep, for me the same. We stick together.”
How do you stay healthy when you have to fly all over the world?
Oguzhan: “Well, we both want to be able to do this job for a long time so that means we have to stay fit. That’s why we can’t go totally crazy at every gig. I know it sounds as if we drink and party a lot, but we’re talking about the highlights, the exceptions. Most of the time we stop after one drink or do not drink any alcohol at all. And we always start the day with a healthy breakfast!”
Jesse: “And you have to sleep as much as possible. In airplanes, when waiting on airplanes. Just everywhere we can, we sleep. You have to listen to yourself and what your body is telling you. We want to enjoy everything we’re doing to the fullest, so it’s necessary to keep your head straight and avoid stress. Take rest, eat healthy and work out.”
Do you plan your workouts or is that impossible?
Jesse: “We basically work out every morning. Most hotels have a gym, so there’s no excuse. It helps us to beat our jetlags as well.”
Oguzhan: “Sometimes our schedule is too crazy, but we try to stay in our rhythm as much as possible.”
Your ultimate guilty pleasure is..?
Oguzhan: “Food or song?”
Jesse starts singing quietly: “We’re no strangers to love…” and Oguzhan starts laughing: “Rick Astley!”
Jesse: “Never gonna give you up from Rick Astley is a song that kind of represents our collaboration. We used it as our final track on a lot of festivals. But for me, a true guilty pleasure is pizza quattro formaggi. I never crave a bad song, but I crave pizza quattro formaggi!”
Oguzahn: “I’m gonna go for a cheese cake.”
You have to choose: never work out again or never get booked again?
Both: “Never work out again!”
Jesse: “Music comes first, even if I have to stop eating to stay in shape!”
Oguzhan: “Also, a gig can feel like a workout sometimes. One time, we were behind the decks for 10 hours straight and burned over 3000 calories.
Wow, when was that?
Jesse: At Lost Beach Club in Ecuador. We started outside, then moved to ‘the cave’ and kept on going until the next day. That’s top-level sport if you ask me!
At TrainMore we believe that music makes you stronger. With our own music channel TrainMore FM we motivate our members to get the most out of every workout. The DJ booths in our Black Label clubs are regularly taken over by musical talent. With their live sessions, ‘our DJs’ always take the vibe in our gyms to the next level. Need some motivation for your next workout? Check out our SoundCloud!