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Fedde Le Grand

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The end of 2006 is near….Let us have a look at what has happened this past year, shall we? In the beginning of this year I was not widely known all over the world but I was not a rooky either. Being well known within the Dutch house scene where I have gained quite some credibility with my own club night ‘Sneakerz’ and being the resident and co-promoter you can imagine that we were absolutely thrilled that Sneakerz@Panama in Amsterdam was selected as the place to be in 2005. Things were going great and the beginning of 2006 looked promising. Now I can say that “promising” is the understatement of the year.

There were so many highlights that I have trouble to remember them all but I will give it a shot. It all began when I was making coffee in the kitchen and this bass line popped up in my head. While I was humming this bass line, I ran upstairs to the studio and I was finished about 3 days later. Only a couple of DJs such as Erick E, Roog and Laidback Luke had a copy of this record and they have turned this tune into a real hype. Forums on the Internet were overloaded with questions like “Who made that tune…Can somebody tell me where to buy it…” but it was not released yet. Because of the major interest on the internet forums Funkerman and I decided quickly to release ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ on our label Flamingo Recordings and it was booming business. With the tune on the Sneakerz album, released on the 20th of May, and with the release of my ‘Bad Ass’ EP a week later, I could only hope for the best and I was amazed that people outside the house scene were digging this tune. And did they dig this tune!

Soon after the release on Flamingo, UK label Cr2 recordings signed up the track. ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ was mentioned on Pete Tong’s radio show on the BBC Radio 1 as This week’s essential new tune. It became a “hot or not track” on one of biggest radio stations in The Netherlands ‘Radio 538’. The tune was announced to be HOT with 89.3% and it had the highest rate of that week! Then it became Dance Smash at radio 538, the same happened at Slam FM where the tune became Grand Slam. At the end of June, ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ entered as highest top charter at #15 in the Dutch top 40 and I did not even have a video! A week later it climbed the charts at #4 and it stayed in the top 10 for several weeks without any footage. Radio 538 mentioned ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ as the summer hit of 2006 and I believe they were right. This tune was #1 in every chart of every record shop in Ibiza. The M8 magazine readers of Ibiza have officially chosen for ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’, the #1 summer anthem of Ibiza 2006. Unfortunately I could not be there to receive the award in person - it was on such short notice and I was fully booked - but I am really honoured that I have won my first award: #1 summer anthem of Ibiza 2006.

Meanwhile, I had my first international release ‘Just Trippin’ on the UK label Toolroom Recordings at the end of July. I was also working on several remixes like Sharam ‘P.A.T.T’, Freeform 5 ‘No more conversation’, Tall Paul ‘Rock da house 2006’, Roog & Greg ‘Wicked world’, and Camille Jones ‘The Creeps’, a 2 year old tune which I really liked. Next to all the studio work I had loads of gigs coming up because it was summer, which is always a hectic period for a DJ because of all the outdoor events. Sneakerz@the beach was ace this year. Hot weather, cool water and everybody enjoying the party vibes from dusk ‘till dawn. ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ was widely represented by me and others, not only at the beach parties but also at events like Dance Valley and Sensation White. The tune became the track of Dance Valley in August. I personally think the coolest part is that CD1 of Sensation’s mega mix starts of with ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’. With a pile of new remixes to make and DJ-ing all over the Netherlands, foreign countries also found their way to approach me. My national career started to shift to an international career. D12 got hold of the track and two of the members just wrote a rap over the music. Before I knew it, the rap version was there. I did not ask for anything, it was just there! I was getting more bookings in foreign countries, interviews, remix requests and guest appearance at radio programmes as well.

In the beginning of September, I flew to England to shoot the video for ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ and at the end of September people could watch the video on the Internet. In the meantime, The Amsterdam Dance Event was coming up. Besides performing every night on this three-day-event, while being followed by the AT5 (Amsterdam’s local news) crew, I was giving a Logic Master class workshop. Last but not least, I was present at an open interview session with Ben Liebrand and Erick E. Those days were extremely busy and hectic but also very inspiring and successful. This and the upcoming weeks were pretty exciting for me because two days after the Amsterdam Dance Event my single and video got released in the UK.

And then the unthinkable happened…The day before the release, tabloid the Sun revealed that - and I quote: “Put your hands up for Detroit is being hailed as the year’s raunchiest video and it is already one of the most-watched clips on the internet. With more than 10.000 viewers, it is the Sun’s most-wanted clip.” Just a week later after the release it hit the official UK singles chart at #2. A week later it was a fact. ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ became #1 in the official UK singles chart on the 5th of November 2006! Wow….err, did that really happen? I still do not know exactly to be honest but I understand that it is pretty special. I am the 1st Dutch DJ who has a #1 spot in the UK with his own track and I am the 7th Dutch artist with a #1 spot in the UK which has happened for the 8th time. The Vengaboys managed to get a #1 position with ‘Boom, Boom, Boom’ and ‘Going to Ibiza’. JXL had a #1 position with the remix of Elvis Presley and The Vengaboys plus the rest are no DJs. So what can I say? ‘How does it feel’ is the one of the most asked questions in interviews. I can say it feels wicked and surreal at the same time. But the world goes on and so did my remix of Camille Jones ‘The Creeps’.

It became a “hot or not” track at ‘Radio 538’ last week! This tune was declared hot with 63.2%. On the 15th of November the Creeps became Dance Smash at Radio 538. My version is a dance version of the original, therefore the original video has been re-edited and next week it will appear on the Dutch music channels. The number is signed to France, Spain, the UK, USA, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy. The reactions are very positive so far and I am really looking forward to the development of this remix. It is December and I will be spinning in Germany, Dubai (UAE) and Istanbul this month. On New Year’s Eve I will be at 5 different venues all over The Netherlands. I know that the year ends here but to give you a little glimpse into the future, ‘Put your hands up for Detroit’ featuring King Gordy and Bizarre from D12 is going to be released early 2007. After the release I will be touring Australia and the USA. The kick off in the USA will be held at the “Winter Music Conference” in Miami. I also have loads of remixes coming up and my Artist album will be released in 2007. With 1 award in my pocket, the future looks bright, and I hope it will only get better.