Last year Jeroen Verheij (a.k.a. Secret Cinema) celebrated a quarter-century of contributing to the realm of techno as a DJ, producer and proprietor of Gem Records by way of Secret Cinema – SILVER, a jaw-dropping box set containing his entire discography (over 250 tracks in total!), a DVD documentary, and all-new remixes from peers including Christian Smith & Wehbba, Enrico Sangiuliano, Heiko Laux, Pig&Dan, The Advent and Joris Voorn. The Dutch master spent much of the year supporting the release with a celebratory tour, gigging all over the place — except North America.
Fortunately for us techno fiends on the other side of the Atlantic, Verheij, who has also recorded as Point Blank and Grooveyard, has announced five select dates taking place in April in North America.
“Obviously you can expect loads of my own new productions! Everything depends on the crowd’s response to my type of techno which goes up and down like a rollercoaster,” Verheij tells Big Shot over email. “Most of the tracks I play lean on groove and spacey sounds to lose your mind to.”
Verheij says promoters have been asking him to play in the U.S. for ages but the timing wasn’t right Now that he’s taken all of the necessary legal steps to do so — you can’t be too careful in this current political climate, right? — he can’t wait to bring his sublime brand of techno stateside.
“I have had a lot of requests to play in the USA over the years, but never went through the process of applying for a visa,” he says. “So for me this is a new experience, and I think the timing could not be better since techno has become more upfront as of late. I can’t wait to meet the American crowd and see the way they get down to the sound I play!”
Secret Cinema plays Stereo in Montreal on April 14; Ethics Music Lounge in Austin on April 15; Treehouse in Miami on April 20; Schimanski in Brooklyn, NY on April 21 and CODA in Toronto on April 22.
