FOLD Invites MARRØN
MARRØN understands the significance of history. In fact, his own ancestry is the underpinning behind his performing alias. A descendent of the Marron tribe, the Amsterdam-based DJ was inspired by the defiance of his lineage, who - after being captured and brought over from Africa in 1655 by Dutch slave masters to Suriname on the north-eastern coast of South America – resisted their abductors and escaped to the mountains. Over the years, this formidable, ritual-minded community developed their own liberated way of living, preserving their Ghanaian and Gambian mother tongues and defying the governing bodies who sought to overthrow their autonomy.
It was in the tenacity of his ancestors that MARRØN found the rhythmic disposition and style that he chose to evoke through his music. Rejecting the popularity of hard, industrial techno, he instead turned his focus to a more groove-focused offshoot that he had become inspired by when on the dancefloor himself. Coining this desire as a hunt for techno that “pushes the edge of power”, he found analogous curiosity in the rolling, epic storytelling of artists like Rødhåd, Freddy K, DVS1 and Ben Klock, taking the insight, making it his own, and eventually landing upon the distinctive sound that he has carried through from 2018 until today.
From dipping his toes into DJing as a hobbyist to eventually finding himself playing around the world every weekend, MARRØN has now settled into his rhythm, which comprises co-piloting his underground Eerste Communie event series and juggling it alongside a two-decade-long professional basketball career, busy tours, a history-dedicated podcast series and raising a young daughter with his wife back home. At the start of February, he joined us at FOLD for the very first time for Neighbourhood Extended; we caught up with him shortly after to find out how his life has been evolving, breaking down the formula behind a great event, and why arriving hours early for gigs allows him to perform at his best.
Hi MARRØN! Thanks for joining us. First off, we have to talk about your appearance at our Neighbourhood Extended. You were one of the most talked-about sets of the entire night. As one of closing acts, how did you find it?
I really loved it. I loved the crowd – it was very special. I’d never actually been to FOLD before, so this was my first time there. The sound was tremendously great. I’ve been to a couple of London shows and I can see how FOLD has a special crowd and vibe. I immediately felt so welcome and it was great that everyone was so receptive to what I played.
There were countless other sets who were incredible. I actually arrived at 3am - which was hours before I was due to go on – as I wanted to see my friends Blasha & Allatt play, alongside The Lady Machine, D. Dan and Tasha. So I thought, “fuck it, I might as well come early,” and they took me through a whole trip that eventually led into my own set. They all kept me up – I could have kept playing beyond the 2 hours!
Your set sat at the culmination of almost 16 hours of partying – how did you find that?
Oh, it’s normal for me. My own event is also at least 18 hours – to build a certain story over an extended period is something that I really strive for personally. It’s hard to do in shorter nights and when artists have less time to play, but at 2-4 hours you can really build something that connects with the crowd on another level. I’m super grateful I was able to do that at FOLD.
What was the story behind how Neighbourhood brought you on board?
I knew Steffi and Natasha [Blasha & Allatt] from playing at Meat Free. Tasha approached me through them, but it was at FOLD that I first met her properly after knowing who she was from online. She hit me up asking me to play, and I immediately thought “cool, let’s do it!”. When I finally met her at the event, I absolutely loved her – she is amazing. I was really vibing with her, especially at the afterparty. She has a great energy and the right mindset of this type of techno – especially in England. I connected really well with everyone who was there that night.
A while back you described your sound as “taking the percussive element of African music and pairing it with the Berlin sound”. What have you enjoyed about exploring and honing your sound in relation to the wider genre over the last few years?
With my sound, I was inspired back in the day with certain DJs who were playing up-tempo rhythms that I recognised to an extent in African music and in the Surinamese tribal music. I search for this when finding new tracks – rhythms that I can layer, which, although they may not sound the same, I find inspiration from. This was something that I felt that I needed to push forward in my sound and to actually keep this consistency of rolling, rhythmic techno.
When I first started playing, it took me about two years to discover this sound and decide that it was what I wanted to play. I believe I’ve actually played the same style for about 3 years now – but when I listen to my sets from 2018, 2020, it’s actually a bit different! I’d say I’m evolving my style without consciously doing so – it just happens that way. But my goal with music has never changed, which is to make sure that the music itself is timeless. For me, the music that I buy is timeless. It fits into any slot – from the opening to the middle to the last – as it’s entirely focused for the dancefloor.
What artists have you been inspired by recently when digging for tracks to play out?
There’s so many new, young, great artists that I really like.
Marcal - a Brazilian producer who creates super functional tracks. He’s exactly the style I look for.
Hayes, which is based from Portugal.
Rene Wise from the UK. He’s great friend and colleague as he is a resident of Eerste Communie too. He’s one of the leading artists in this new wave of techno.
Ignez with his label, Somov. He’s been getting a shine as a DJ but is also a tremendous producer.
Ketch, who is the label owner of Syxt in Berlin.
Setaoc Mass, who runs the incredible imprint SK11.
Since I’m not a producer, but a DJ only, I listen to music differently from artists who are also producers. I always listen with “how functional is it for me as a DJ?’ in mind. “How will it sound 10bpm higher? How will it sound when I layer it?” This is just how it works for me.
Let’s talk about your event series, Eerste Communie, which was named after one of the first Catholic rites. As Co-founder and Resident, you started off as an intimate party in Amsterdam, refusing to sell tickets in advance but instead, like UNFOLD, on the door on the night. How do you feel the way that you have run the night has benefitted the outcome over the years?
We started the concept with door-sale only so that we could control who was in the club and on the dancefloor. We knew that providing a safe space was paramount, and still remains one of the most important factors for the event. Also, we don’t present line-ups beforehand – only timetables inside the party itself.
We wanted to build a certain trust from our crowd that whoever is playing will have a certain sound that we want to represent. So we could have a 17-year-old kid from a small village near Amsterdam, or DVS1 – you don’t know who it is, but you know that the music is going to be good. That’s our focus and our model – we worked really hard for it as Holland is a place where big names equal big crowds. Everything in the industry there is very focused on having big names. We want to do things different and present a mysterious line-up where people don’t know who’s coming to play, but the quality is guaranteed.
Sometimes you can be so disappointed when you bring in an artist who plays a totally different set than expected which didn’t fit the potential of the night. Instead we turned our focus to an overarching theme; Eerste Communie represents rolling, up-tempo techno where there’s no “building up” to a headliner, but allowing every DJ the freedom to build their own story without thinking about who they’re “warming up” for. It’s up to as the promoter to build a timetable that honours each artist’s sound by fitting them into the best order where everyone compliments each other.
This can be super challenging as we always have just one stage – plus we need to find where to fit in our own residents and make the final product something that is musically cohesive and outstanding for the entire day.
We’ve flopped a couple of times. When we started out in clubs, nobody really knew who we were and we only had friends who came, so after two events we went the illegal route, and built a community from this more underground crowd. It was exactly the people that we wanted – with a few raves it has felt almost legendary with how it went down. People all over the globe were finally acknowledging us as something special, and are now seeing the concept and believing in it.
It was really tough, however, as we then had to go back indoors and go legal again. But we found this spot called Garage Noord, which is a 350-capacity square room with a great Funktion 1 system and not fancy at all, which works perfectly for us. It has the right industrial vibe, and our door-sale only policy allows us to keep the right crowd who are connected to our concept.
It’s great to see how artists and other organisations are respecting how we do things, and it’s beautiful to know that we can fill a club with the whole underground Amsterdam scene and people around the globe with real talent that doesn’t rely on big names. We proved that you don’t need that to have good music – it’s been our dream and something that we’ll cherish forever and keep pushing. We only bring in bigger artists when we are certain that they’ll fit with our wider concept.
We’ve experienced the same with UNFOLD and how it’s bloomed over time – the success of these nights relies on creating and sustaining a community who come together over common interests and values. Do you think that your event series has subsequently influenced the way Amsterdam looks at the way they programme parties, or do you think that this will remain an underground process?
I think it sits somewhere in the middle. Larger events and organisations are starting to realise and respect that there’s a new wave of talent coming up - this includes are other collectives like Orphic and other illegal raves that have popped up. There’s tonnes of talented DJs and producers that almost seem to have come out of nowhere. From this, the big players are actually coming round to showcasing us at some of their stages, which is beautiful to be a part of.
What I’m personally seeing overall is that talent and local DJs are getting more chances to do what they do, whether it’s on bigger stages or smaller ones, and it’s a great thing.
There seems to be a positive shift happening. The gap between the success of smaller and larger acts always seems to be getting wider and wider with underground artists being pushed out and worldwide headliners paid even more. But, post COVID, this formula you’ve explained is building something really amazing in response to that.
Another city that is finding its feet again after lockdown is Berlin. Do you have any upcoming gigs in the capital that you’re looking forward to?
I had a gig planned for last year that has been rescheduled due to its initial cancellation which is in April. The clubs re-opened on 4th March, and [at the time of interview] my big debut at Berghain is on the 6th. The club has inspired me constantly over the years so this has been a huge dream of mine to play, since it also champions longer hours, longer sets and artists who react to the crowd. I could be on that dancefloor and hear some music where I would happy to listen to it and dance for 20 hours. I’ve also seen moments where DJs would flip a certain sound and I would feel ready to leave… All of these little things when being on a dancefloor are so important to me because it defined me as a DJ and understanding what the crowds need at each point of the set.
It’s why I arrive early before I play. I like to catch the vibe - to be there on the dancefloor and feel what the people feel. From that, I can translate it to what I then play behind the decks.
You commented last year on how you juggle a professional basketball career alongside music and raising your young daughter. How have you found it balancing everything recently?
I have a wonderful wife. She’s holding everything down. I have my teammates that only play basketball who tell me that home life is demanding an increasing amount of attention. Being home for your kids and your family is important. My wife is doing such an amazing job – she’s honestly the only reason why I can do what I do right now. She sacrificed her job and much of her free time to allow me to be able to travel for my work. I’m booked almost every weekend for gigs, and I’m absolutely privileged to have two jobs in a what is a very difficult time for many. There are countless people with no jobs who are struggling financially and having a really hard time keeping their lives together, and I recognise the privilege of being able to pursue not just one but two of my passions.
Basketball has been a passion for 21 years - and DJing was something that happened to blow up and I was able to build a career from. It’s all hard work – especially with the time management around my little daughter – but I make sure I find the time to spend with my family during the week when I’m not away for gigs on the weekend. I’m deeply grateful that I’m able to combine everything I do at this stage of my life.
Words by Emily Rose