Spotlight: Daniel de Vries

“It was 2021 and I was inspired by the upcoming wave of DIY, tongue-in-cheek rave-y music. I saw the fun in playing again.”

Welcome to another episode of the Birdcage Radio Spotlight series and for our last interview of 2025, we’ve got Daniel sharing his story with us. Just through his opening words, I’ve picked up some interesting Utrecht-related terms. For instance, Daniel tells me he’s “born in Utrecht, raised across the river in Culifornia (aka Culemborg), and remigrated back to the Dom city again in 2009.”

Little did Daniel know at this point what was to come

When asked on how his musical journey began, he shares that it started 14 years ago with the purchase of a Traktor S2. This initially left me a little puzzled and wondering how a toy tractor might propel one's interest of the musical kind - boy, am I glad I looked it up. Anyway, the way he put it made it sound almost ceremonial, like the first step into a lifelong habit. But as he pointed out, “The shaping of tastes happened long before that,” in reference to the various styles discovered and scenes he dabbled in - which somehow feels like both a confession and a warning.

As with most DJs, the early parties he went to like Dum Dum, Rauw, Strafwerk, Soenda, and Smeerboel sparked something in him to start digging, collecting and mixing. Before he even owned a controller, he was throwing a gallery party with thrift-store speakers and a single PC running Electro House playlists on WinAmp. “It really whips the llama’s ass,” he said, referencing the app’s old catchphrase. He didn’t yet know how to read a crowd, but he knew how to throw a party, and sometimes that’s enough to get things rolling. Also, who else really misses those WinAmp visualizers eh? They knew exactly what they were doing alright.

The palpable joy with Rachelle's record players

The Traktor S2 was his gateway into DJing, but his move toward vinyl came through a familiar name in Birdcage circles: Rachelle Grooten – who we also recently interviewed for this Spotlight series. The two met years ago, bumping into each other at Utrecht haunts like 't Gras van de Buren. In 2013, she decided to sell her old record players. “Like a carrion bird, I swooped in on them,” he said while I quietly appreciated the bird pun.

At Gras van de Buren during the Nachbarn era

That was the start of something. And through the years, his sound evolved constantly, from Electro House to proggy House, then to Electro, Nü Disco, and Italo Disco. Along the way, he dipped into Techno, IDM, and breakbeat, and came out the other side comfortable in his variety. “I’ve decided to just embrace it and try to approach my sets semi-eclectically, to sum it up snobbily.”

His early influences reach far beyond dance music. “Besides electronic music, for me it’s hip-hop, rock and metal, chill-out, trip-hop and jazz.” He credits his dad’s 70s records like Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, and JJ Cale, and his mum’s love for a Papiamentu radio show called Tambú, made for the Dutch Antillean community. “I’d mess around with my dad’s busted guitar on the attic while listening to that show.”

That early mix of sounds shaped how he listens to everything now. “It influenced me to enjoy the weirder sides of electronic music and find humour and groove in abstractions of sounds.” An affirmation of my suspicions that Daniel was a nice blend of being both, a bit analytical and always curious.

There was a time when the music faded into the background for him though. “I missed a few opportunities by being under the weather,” he admitted. “Faulty USB sticks, corrupted files, being late.” DJ life can be chaotic when the party side overtakes the music side, he shares reflectively . He shifted gears, focusing on a job in IT, which eventually led him to his current work with the Dutch public broadcaster, developing an audio app for radio and podcasts.

Then came the life-changing pandemic. “I decided to get new decks, new sticks, and start reorganizing my music thoroughly,” he said. “It was 2021 and I was inspired by the upcoming wave of DIY, tongue-in-cheek rave-y music. I saw the fun in playing again.” That reset brought him back to Birdcage through Rachelle, on the hosting and the programming side. “In 2023 it came full circle again.”

One of Daniel's earlier gigs at the old Birdcage Radio studio

Daniel doesn’t do music full-time, and he seems completely fine with that. “I’ve got time to invest in my hobbies and volunteering for Birdcage Radio,” he said. One might get the sense that Daniel isn’t chasing fame or followers. He’s just making room for music in the life he already enjoys.

“There’s no real tangible dream. I’m usually collecting sounds and creating sets as scores for various imagined settings in certain places, which sometimes materialize, thankfully.”

Right now, he’s been working on two projects: Wings of Wax and SAGE. “Wings of Wax started as an initiative to provide medium-to-low-threshold live bar gigs for vinyl DJs within Birdcage,” he explained. It began as a way to give other DJs a space to experiment, inspired by his old vinyl nights at bars like Klein Berlijn, ‘t Gras and Het Hart. “It’s been lots of fun being on the organizing end of such an event and seeing it grow. “It’s nice to contribute to the growing ties between Kabul and Birdcage” he added.

SAGE, meanwhile, began as a way to explore genres and get more comfortable speaking on air. “I was a bit shy to speak during live shows, so I went towards the fear.” The series ran for one season, with friends and colleagues joining as guests, and he’s now focusing on his new show called Parastraño, a wordplay on Papiamentu for “Weird Birds” and Spanish for “For Strangers.” “It’s a place for all aural oddities in their eclectic, genre-bending glory.”

That’s the thing about Daniel. He never sounds like he’s trying to prove anything. He’s motivated by curiosity, not competition. “Just keep doing what feels right to you,” he said. “Try not to focus so much on what your IG timeline says your next step should be.”

He finds inspiration in discovering obscure mixes and artists (like Legowelt’s various Memphis Rap Mixes, or TAFKAMPs Soundcloud song uploads) who keep it raw. “They ooze fun and inspiration and are blissfully devoid of commercialism,” he said. “In short, they’re real!”

Daniel with Boye as Palaver at Warmoes

His proudest moment came at Birdcage’s Rooted in Time event, playing a peak-time slot in the Abu room at Kabul with his friend Boye, under their duo name Palaver. “It went super well and I’ve never experienced such crowd reactions. Definitely got me chasing the dragon.”

Daniel’s journey with Birdcage has evolved from showing up to spin a few tracks to helping shape its creative direction. “I can really see Birdcage growing, not only as a community and creative platform, but also as an organization. Even though I’m stepping down as a programmer as of 2026, I’m super curious to see where it goes and happy to still be part of it.”

When asked what he’s learned from the Birdcage community, he said, “I’ve learned to think outside the box, to be less afraid to do what feels right. And I get to work with more creative people than I usually would in my full-time job. That really enriches my own creative itch. Most of all, it has allowed me to shape my musical identity; I’ve been able to find my sound at Birdcage Radio.” If he could go back and tell his younger self anything, it would be this: “Go towards the fear and act on some of those ideas you’ve got. And get organized. Your future self will thank you."

Reading through our exchange, I realised Daniel’s story isn’t just about finding music. It’s about finding pace. The kind that doesn’t rush, doesn’t chase, just flows. The kind of rhythm that feels real. Ah, another inspiring interview for the books.

Wanna keep updated on what he's up to? You can follow Daniel on his socials below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diezeddv

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/diezeddv

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Diezeddv