09.04 | SPOTLIGHT: AKEMIÖ GREY

Youssef Hartane, known artistically as Akemiö Grey, has been an active member in Amsterdam’s nightlife. Besides an artist, he is the head honcho of the concept ‘Dreamphase’, which he currently exposes in Oosterbar and through streams on Red Light Radio. On top of that you may know him from Veldwerk initiative where known musicians meet and uncover new artists by letting them take charge in an intimate, sound-loving setting.

Youssef has quite an ear-catching music presence as his style whirls around trance, techno & rougher, with selected tracks often having melancholic strings or pads, making one relate the sound of 90s classics. Make no mistake, modern audio finesse is also a part of his collection, which in combination with the latter creates a peculiar, ravy yet explosive feeling.

Youssef has performed under his alias Akemiö Grey in BRET several times, including a hardcore special & our latest party concept Daycare. His differently successful approach to electronic music left a grand impression in the hearts of our employees and crowd, naturally sustaining a good relationship ensuring his return for more appearances.

Ahead of navigating a live-stream in BRET today, we asked our dear guest a few questions to let you like the person behind these sets as much as we do.

(Akemiö Grey during the first edition of Daycare)

What would you consider to be among your biggest musical inspirations?

I get inspiration from DJs that I know personally. Its inspirational to see a journey someone goes to and to have background info. It is also comforting to have a chat about someones set afterwards and just have nerd talk about labels, DJs, nightclubs and general music history.

I have been a fan from Michiel Gardner quite a while. He is of course most know from his stream skills, but he is an excellent DJ too, with a very wide vision in sound. When I first heard a set he played at Rararadio with 90s acid trance and techno, I was surprised many tunes were in my collection too. I did not know people that had a similar taste in sound.

So for me a logical step was joining forces, the idea was already there but after 2 years Oosterbar asked us to host an event and Dreamphase was born!

How could you comment on BRET’s setting, having played different styles, from italo & funky to hardcore? Do you have a favorite moment in our venue?

BRET's setting has been surprising with different vibes every time I played there.

The hardcore special with DJ Promo was absolute madness. Did not know what to expect before the night started, but it turned out to be a sweaty mess from the start till the end.

I played after Gysele who started the night and the room was already packed with all my best friends in the front, it felt like I was raving myself rather than I was DJing!

Also the last Daycare was quite surprising. I got up early to have a champagne brunch with friends and around noon I was already tipsy and ready to party haha. A smooth blend of a after crowd and fresh daytime ravers. My goal was to play a deep space techno set, but after 45 minutes I just pushed the power button and I ended up playing clubtrance, eurohouse and happy rave, and I got a nice reaction from the crowd.

(Hear his set from Daycare)

What are your current initiatives and plans in the industry, taking in the tough times society is going through?

I take this happening from day to day, for now the safety of people is more important than anything else. I am also working as a health care taker, so i take the precautionary measures very seriously.

Our next Dreamphase was planned in June but I did not want to wait until the first of June if I might be able to rave again or not. So I pulled the plug on that one.

We planned another edition in October during ADE and one in December. A few gigs have been postponed to after the summer but let’s see what happens next!

I am still buying music on Discogs and happy to be playing at BRET's livestream, another one at the Crane (NDSM) next week, and making plans for own stream hostings. Hopefully more will follow soon!

Lastly, what mood can we expect you to set during Thursday’s live-stream?

I will play a nostalgia set with some spacy elements and a hint to the (Italian) eurodance heydays.