20 years on, Secret Cinema still strong

20 years on, Secret Cinema still strong

26 February, 2010 | 7.21AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Videos: dmom, gem records, secret cinema

Mahatma Ghandi once said, “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me.” Jeroen Verheij aka Secret Cinema hasn’t laid his life on the line for world peace, but he must know a thing or two about self-belief and dedication.

For 20 years, the Dutchman has worked tirelessly behind the European techno scene, and remained, for the most part, in the shadows, perfecting his craft.

His first release as Meng Syndicate in 1990 was a rave classic, and kick started a career of groundbreaking releases that includes 1994’s ‘Timeless Altitude’ (considered by many in the Dutch electronic music scene as one of the country’s finest club releases), and 1995’s breakbeat precursor ‘Watch Me Now’.

Its follow up, ‘Mary Go Wild’ netted Verheihj an award in 1997 for Best Dutch Producer and Best Dutch Single.

Yet more innovation came, with the launch of Verheij’s Secret Cinema live sets in 2000, an explosive club show that blew the Dutch club scene out of the water, captivating the masses wherever he performed.

His latest incarnation sees Secret Cinema performing only his own tracks on two laptops running Ableton and FL studio controlled by two Novation Zero SL midi controllers (see a snippet of his fist pumping live set below).

Even trance giant Ferry Corsten, who himself is not shy of blowing away main stages, said in Secret Cinema’s recent biography video (clip above), “When Secret Cinema is live, there could be an atomic bomb exploding next to him, and he would just continue.”

Verheij was the first Dutch artist to be invited to close the main stage of Awakenings Festival, an honour that had only been bestowed to techno greats like Richie Hawtin and Dave Clarke.

But despite all his accolades and achievements, Verheij’s hasn’t once brushed aside his Secret Cinema, Grooveyard, Point Blank, or Meng Syndicate aliases to reap the benefits for his own ego. He isn’t a glory seeker.

Nor is he in it for the money. It was only last year, that he launched his own label Gem Records, a rare case of financial self-negligence in an era when even bedroom DJs have their own imprints.

Typically, Secret Cinema has only used his label to explore new techno sounds without a care in the world for trends, or remixers du jour. Its mantra is to create timeless club music - gems - that retain their value for years to come.

For the label’s first release in December, Verheij signed underrated Dutch techno artist Egbert for an astoundingly raw techno EP ‘Dezelfde Weg’.

Moving through layers of radioactive basslines, throbbing vessels of melody, and blistering beats, it was one of the best techno releases of the last 12 months. And it went completely under the radar.

The label’s soon-to-be-released second EP ‘Bloody Hands’ will come from Peter Horrevorts, and promises to be just as awe-inspiring.

Secret Cinema continues to explore new techno worlds outside of his own label too.

His most recent EP ‘13000’ on Alex Bau’s Dmom imprint is a masterclass in dancefloor dynamism, and comes at a time when techno is in danger of being diluted by a stream of lackluster techno tracks from copycat producers trying to cash in on techno’s mainstream acceptance.

The tough grooves, shattering FX, and eternal loops ensure only the hardcore will appreciate ‘Reaktivate’.

Ultimately though, it is techno fans who are all the more better off for Secret Cinema’s service to new grooves. Two decades of abounding enthusiasm is a very rare thing in the world of techno, where the jaded automatically seem to inherit the clubs.

Secret Cinema, we salute you.

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