CHAPTER 001: BEFORE TAM

I still have some of the flyers and posters from my first raves. Looking at them now brings back a time when I had absolutely no idea that music would one day become such a big part of my life beyond the dancefloor.

Back then, there was no agency, no record label, no events of my own. Just me, the music and a lot of nights out.

My connection to electronic music started long before I ever thought about working in the industry. Growing up, I was surrounded by different sounds: Goa, Hardcore, Hardstyle, Trance, Hard Trance and those unforgettable classic trance tracks from the 1990s.

I also remember DJ Antoine’s Houseworks Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. My taste was never limited to one particular genre. If something sounded good and made me want to dance, that was enough.

In the early 2000s, I started going to clubs, raves and festivals. Switzerland, different places across Europe, different people, different sounds.

Some nights were unforgettable. Others are probably better left as memories without too many details.

But one thing was always the same. I loved being part of it.

Over the years, my musical journey took a few turns. After spending so much time with harder electronic sounds, I found myself increasingly drawn to Deep House, Minimal and Techno.

For quite a few years, that became my world.

Then came the pandemic.

Even during those strange times, there were underground gatherings, including nights in bunkers where phones were put away and there was barely any reception. Just people, music and the moment.

And then, when things finally started opening up again, I came across a flyer for a HARDER party at EXIL in Zurich.

Something about that flyer caught my attention. It reminded me of the music I had grown up with, so I decided to go.

I went with two of my closest friends. One of them had been dancing alongside me in clubs since we were teenagers.

And what a night that turned out to be.

Old tracks mixed with new sounds. Hard Dance, Hardstyle, Trance, Bounce. All those familiar elements, but with a completely different energy.

It felt like rediscovering a part of myself that had been sitting quietly in the background for years.

That was also the night I discovered Pelin Vedis.

I remember watching her play and thinking to myself:

“One day, girl, you’re going to play at my party.”

A slightly ambitious thought, considering I didn’t even have a party to book her for.

But the thought stayed with me.

Looking back, I think that night marked a turning point. Not because I suddenly had some grand business plan or knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I didn’t.

I was still simply someone who loved music, loved the scene and loved being on the dancefloor.

But for the first time, I started imagining what it might be like to create something myself.

Of course, imagining something and actually making it happen are two very different things.

And I was about to find that out.

To be continued.

NEXT: CHAPTER 002 – THE FIRST STEP