Oliver Weiter is your artists name, what is the story behind the name?

As a child I always wanted to change my name into Olivier, I really don't know why haha! So when I started DJ-ing I thought about a name and fulfilled one of my dreams and started DJ-ing as my alter ego Olivier. Weiter stands for the influence of German electronic music, and also a synonym for the constantly moving electronic scene, never stop at one point but try to reach goal after goal.

How did you get into the electronic music scene and what have been your influences?

I started pretty early with going to underground parties here in Amsterdam. When I was sixteen I got in touch with this parties. The whole scene was so interesting and I loved the music they played there. After a while when I was old enough I started to go to bigger raves and got in touch with some DJ's who really inspired me. In the Netherlands it was "De Man Zonder Schaduw" (DMZS) who inspired me with his taste of music, and I was really inspired by Sven Vath, I like his charisma and selection of records. No boundaries, but a lot of different styles, melodic, techno, whatever. He just does the right thing at the right moment, and takes people on a journey. That's whats DJ-ing is all about in my opinion.

You are also the founder of the infamous Bar27 parties which also you occasionally do in Berlin as well. How did you start doing these events, and how did they evolve t Berlin?

Bar27 started in my old house, together with a couple of friends that also lived there and shared the same passion for music. We had an amazing basement where we had a lot of intimate after-hours with people from all over the scene. After a while we decided to do something with that vibe. Whenever there was something big going on in Amsterdam, the DJs in town always wanted to go to our basement afterwards.

By now, a couple of years later, Bar27 have their own club nights, host areas at some big festivals, are busy with a label, and of course there’s the “Wunderbar concept. Because of my solo career I don’t have much time left for Bar27, but I’m still really close with the crew. And there’s the Wunderbar parties of course, where Olivier Weiter & Bar27 will melt together in one big show. We did our first hosting in Kater Holzig a few weeks ago, that was a great success. I started playing in Bar25 3 years ago, because my friend Robin (Red Robin) invited me there. Since then we had a good connection with the scene there.

What has changed in the scene in Amsterdam in the past year? Any newcomers that have caught your eye?

A lot has changed. There are so many party organizations and DJ's around, so it's really hard to do something different. On the other hand, it's really inspiring and it gives me an extra boost to create my own unique sound and performance. I hope next year the government will do something about the club licenses, because now most of the time the clubs have to close at 5 AM, so there is little time for DJ's to do their thing. Long DJ-sets are important because you want to tell a story to the crowd, and 2 hours is simply to short to tell a story:) As for producers and DJs I really like Charles Davos, Arjuna Schiks, Miss Melera, but there are so many others that I maybe forget. But those people really have their own sound and not going with the masses, that's what I love about them.

As the year is coming to an end soon, what has been your highlights of 2011 so far and what can we expect from you in 2012?

I had many highlights in 2011. In February I played a 24-hour set at Salon zur Wilden Renate, together with Red Robin. That was a great experience, and so inspiring! Also Mysteryland festival in the Netherlands back 2 back with one of my favorite producers Rodriguez JR was awesome. Besides that I did the closing set at Cocoon on the Beach in the summer, and my closing set during Cocoon Amsterdam Dance Event main stage was the absolute highlight for me.

In 2012 I will just go with the flow and see what happens. There is already another 24-hour set confirmed in Berlin, I signed a new track and want to release more music. Together with my dutch-agency (We Are E) we are busy with some great shows in 2012, and I'm focusing on my international career.

www.olivierweiter.com

Artist of the Week: Olivier Weiter will air Tuesday November 22nd at 18:00, with repeats Wednesday at 12:00, and Saturday at 10:00.