Audio: Introducing JP Enfant’s stirring techno sound

For an introduction to Amsterdam’s techno scene, few are better suited than Jan Pieter Kind (aka JP Enfant). The young DJ and producer has built links with some of the city’s most coveted clubs for his talents behind the decks over recent years, holding residencies at De School and the now-defunct Trouw. Though he’s best known as a DJ, Kind has helped grow Amsterdam’s electronic landscape as one of the figures behind LET, the acclaimed party series and label where he works as promoter and head of A&R. With a string of recent releases on LET and a gig schedule spanning across Europe, Kind seems more primed than ever for his career to develop, and his recent relocation to Berlin to go full-time in music should help his growth. This weekend he ticks off a bucket list gig opening up for Jeff Mills in Room One, so he sent us a highly stirring and atmospheric techno mix to show us the roots of his sound. Audio: JP Enfant fabric Promo Mix What’s the theme of this mix? As March 31st will be my first time at fabric and in London, I wanted to do a mix that represents my playing style. You could see it as an introduction to JP Enfant, if you want. I always like to be diverse during a set, without losing progression and storytelling. I tried to bring that across in this mix. From where did you source most of the records? Some records are tracks from friends that I think deserve support, but most of the records are collected from Bandcamp. I really like that platform to find new music, alongside the traditional record stores. Their strongest point is that you are in contact with the label directly and that there isn’t an algorithm that tries to push you into certain directions. That makes the platform quite democratic and you can go dig deeper more easily. There are also some new promos in the mix and one of the tracks from Hiver’s LET release at the start of this year. Can you tell us about the philosophy behind LET? When we started promoting, the club scene in Amsterdam was one-sided and mostly leaning towards minimal and swingimal. It was also a bit carnavalesque, which made it feel a bit decadent and nihilistic. As a counter reaction to that, we started LET to centralize the dance floor experience; meaning no gimmicks, no bullshit but an optimal comfort zone to dance in. You could see it as a pure form of partying where the space is ideally designed to give you the best dancing experience possible. We were the first party in Amsterdam to set up a Funktion One sound system, at a one-off location, to deliver the best sound. We also always have a minimalistic but high impact light plan and we try to design our spaces in such a way that there’s a comforting organic feel to it, but without the audience noticing – it has to be subconscious. We believe that if you do all of this, people will start to interact more easily and in a more pleasing manner which gives a high sense of well-being to a party. For us the ideal music to support the dance floor experience is cutting edge house and techno, serious music yet highly danceable. How does being A&R for LET cross over with your DJing? That’s an interesting one. I think there’s much influence between the two. Both are ultimately about selection. You always have to be aware of what to bring during a DJ-set, and what is the next step in the story you are about to tell. The same goes for the label. What is the next step, and how do you translate that with the tracks you received from an artist to compile a new EP? On a more practical level, you learn a lot about what does and doesn’t work on a dance floor as a DJ. This can be useful if the next step you’re about to take is releasing a full-on dance floor EP for instance. Do you remember when you first discovered Jeff Mills? Yes, I will never forget it! I had just bought my first pair of turntables when I was about 14 years old and a classmate came up to me with a CD from his brother. It was The Exhibitionist by Jeff Mills. He thought I might like it, as I was interested in electronic music. From the first time I listened to it I was hooked. It was deep, funky, minimalistic, tribal, hard and melodious all at the same time, and because of that above all very dynamic. As I’m from the same small city as Tiësto and Hardwell where trance was the prevalent genre, this was something completely new and exciting. From that moment I was grabbed by the techno virus, which has never lost its grip on me! I listened to that mix over and over and over and over and sometimes I still do. It was very inspiring and, without wanting to sound too dramatic, I think I could say life changing. What are you up to throughout the rest of the year? Last week I moved to Berlin for a couple of months, to have a change of scenery and to work on new projects. I also just quit my day job to fully focus on music, so I am super excited to go and do that for the coming year. I also have some new music coming out, I would suggest keeping an eye out!