Double interview De Sluwe Vos & Vieze Vedi

While preparations are being made in the auditorium for a meeting of the municipality of Deventer, Vedran and Robert are slumped on a couch in the changing room of the Civic Orphanage. Donnie, Vedran's dachshund, hops around happily. 'I'm often found here, 'says Vedran, 'too often.' To Robert: “The other day, too, when you played here during Night Parliament. Then I'll just sit here. During parties that I organize myself, I quickly feel burdened and I'm mainly at the top of the room. '

As a DJ Vieze Vedi, Vedran organizes Vediland and Pop Up, among others. Put Vedi behind the controls and everything comes by: hip-hop, house, r&b, lazers, dinos and karaoke. In the announcement of VediLand XXL during Liberation Night: “Has that little girl just a little too busy Dirty Vedi ever disappointed us with his parties?”

“After that, I was never called up for a game in Go Ahead's first”

At the age of thirteen, Vedran knew he wanted to become a DJ. “The first single I bought was Is It Good To You by Teddy Riley. When I was a teenager, I watched Yo! MTV Raps and I listened to Dutch Masters on the radio. ' When he finally had the money to buy two record players and a mixer at the age of nineteen, he started playing. Vedran became a DJ with the Deventer hip-hop group FATA and toured with rapper Kraantje Pappie. He also helped Jonathan Tan aka Wantigga organize BRRLNT, a dance party at the Citizen Orphanage.

And then there was another adventure with Go Ahead Eagles. As a football player, that is. “A nice few years,” he says, laughing indefinitely. 'I came in on an amateur basis in the second. After a few months, I was allowed to train with the first one and during the winter break, I received a contract for a year and a half. Not long after, I was approached by Jan van Staa, the then head coach, in the catacombs. “What do I hear,” he said, “do you shoot pictures at the weekend?” I thought he was genuinely interested and started talking. But he didn't listen and kept going. After that, I was never called up for a game in the first of Go Ahead. '

Sputnik and 9:23

Vedran is a native of Deventer, wanted to become a DJ at a young age and has been organizing parties at the Burgerweeshuis for years. It is therefore logical that he is joining us for this nightlife interview. In the case of Robert, who has an international career as a techno DJ as De Sluwe Vos, that is different. He grew up in Twello and went to school in Apeldoorn. He is now inextricably linked to the Deventer nightlife, but things could have turned out differently.

Robert is about thirteen years old when he is scouting through older members. L'Amour Toujours hears from Gigi D'Agostino. 'I thought: yo, what the hell is this then? A beat in music, I had never heard that before. My Dutch teacher then gave me a CD with techno and minimal, including dominoes by Oxia and White Elephant by H.O.S.H.. I asked where he found that music and he showed me the way. At 3voor12, I then heard a DJ set by Jesse Voorn. It turned out to be organizing his own parties in the Civic Orphanage: Sputnik. My parents had read about that in the newspaper. “Don't you want to go there?” they asked. '

“In the dance scene, I felt at home. Because of the mysterious music, the raw locations and the open people'

This is how Robert ends up in a parallel world in Deventer at a young age. At illegal raves in cellars in the Van Twickelostraat, he takes a seat behind the decks and will help organize 9.23, famous club nights that will later be placed in the Citizen Orphanage. Robert: “Like everyone else at that age, I was looking for where I belonged. In the dance scene, I felt at home. Because of the mysterious music, the raw locations and the open people. I quickly decided: I want to stay active in music forever. '

Citizen Stock Exchange

A leap in time. 2015. Robert studied at the Herman Brood Academy, his first record is finished. He now lives in Amsterdam and will present at the 5 DAYS OFF festival. Kontra in the Milky Way. At Robert's invitation, there are many old acquaintances in the room, including a delegation from the Civic Orphanage. “That performance didn't go well, there was no shape at all, the light looked like nothing and it went in all directions. Burger then said: we see the potential, but it needs guidance. Then I received a Citizen Grant. I was allowed to rehearse here, got two tour managers, a light and sound set and worked with a choreographer. '

Barely five months later, he's in the Bravo at Lowlands, the festival's second largest tent. From that moment on, De Sluwe Vos has been released: Pukkelpop, Lowlands again, Glastonbury, Fuse, Ministry of Sound, DGTL and Awakenings. Robert, now accompanied by Donnie on his lap: “Crazy isn't it? I went to school in Twello, no one at school in Apeldoorn was busy with Deventer. By chance, I discovered the nightlife here. What if that had not happened? Deventer and Burger in particular shaped me musically and made me who I am today as an artist. It can be inside you, but it also has to come out. '

Marcel Dettmann, Helena Hauff and Stingray

The appreciation appears to be mutual. After periods in Amsterdam and Haarlem, Robert is now living again in Deventer, where the nightlife has developed considerably in his absence. With VroegZat, Vediland, Boogie Nights and Night Parliament, among others, the Citizen Orphanage offers something for everyone. Robert: “The night is alive in Deventer. Personally, I feel the most kinship with Night Parliament. Their programming is insane. Marcel Dettmann plays here in front of five hundred people, just like Helena Hauff. ' Points to the couch where Vedran is sitting: 'I was still chilling with DJ Stingray there. That's not normal, right? I'm always happy when I end up in Burger after a gig somewhere at home or abroad. '

'As a DJ, you're here among the people, you can smell everyone'

The charm of the Civic Orphanage as a place to go out, according to Vedran? “It's very intimate here in front of such a large venue. With my own parties, I always try something different in terms of decor and set-up, it always works out. As a DJ, you're here among the people, you can smell everyone. ' Robert: “Burger is the essence of a hall: a stage in a black box with a bar in the corner. Everything is naked, it is what it is. Evenings then quickly become pure. '

In terms of room capacity, the DJs still have wishes. Robert: “The step from the Walhalla Youth Center to this is quite a big one for a club night. Filling a large hall means appealing to a large audience, while sub-movements are also very interesting. ' Vedran: “Deventer actually lacks a hall for 150, 200 visitors. That's just a little bit safer, it invites more. '

Stroom, a creative powerhouse

They saw it all in front of themselves when the Citizen Orphanage presented plans to move to Burgerhaven. The Citizen Orphanage temporarily used the former factory building in the Havenkwartier during the corona pandemic. Vedran works opposite Burnside, which opened a café last year. In addition to Burgerhaven, the Burgerweeshuis developed Stroom, the “creative powerhouse” where Robert, like other Deventer musicians, has had a studio for a year. The building houses a large rehearsal room where bands from all over the country can reside and knowledge and inspiration nights are organized.

'Places like Citizens are not invented, they are made'

Vedran lets out a big sigh: 'I still have silent hopes. The picture is just right. Deventer is a diverse city with different target groups. It's nice to have your own place where you're not bothering anyone, and also so close to the center. ' Robert: “The essence of going out is being able to change your mind, escape from everyday reality. And get together. When I think how much that has meant to me, when I see what has blossomed from a place like the Civic Orphanage — how much that has meant to Deventer. '

A silence fills the locker room. Donnie barks and walks to the door, he has to pee. Then Vedran says: “It will be fine. Deventer is home to many creatives. Someone will always stand up and create something new. Places like Burger are not invented, they are created. If it's not in the port, then somewhere else. '

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Photography: Isabelle Renate la Poutre

Interview: Job Hulsman

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