Interview with Sander van Doorn about his alter ego Purple Haze

Hi Sander! Thanks for talking with us. 

Who is Sander van Doorn? 

Sander van Doorn entered the musical scene in 1995, aged just sixteen. He has created his own inimitable sound and style. He is a producer at heart, and started DJing to create exposure for his productions. It’s basically impossible to appoint one specific genre to him; his music gets influenced by a very broad spectrum of factors. 2017 sees him launch his exciting new alias Purple Haze, dedicated to a “sharper, darker, rougher” sound that what he’s currently known for. With two full-length albums, numerous hit-singles, remixes of the world’s biggest artists, sold-out gigs in all major venues and festivals worldwide, his own successful record label and a weekly radio show named Identity, Sander van Doorn continues his musical journey into the heart of fans around the world.

When your career started, what were the things that were on your bucket list? 

Well, I just loved making music and that’s what I wanted to do. But then all of a sudden I got asked to play abroad, which was totally new for me then. I had played a few café’s and clubs in my hometown before, but I had never thought that it was going to be my profession and that people would actually know my name outside of the country. So now I’m still lucky enough to make music every day.

Each time you could tick off something, did you do something special to celebrate it? Example? 

Yes of course! I’m very grateful for everything that happened to me. And I think that you need to celebrate it when all hard work pays off!

in terms of goals, targets etc. What is the biggest achievement you had in your career so far? Take us along...

Oh that’s a tough one… Riff was something I was really proud of (so I decided to release it again as a remix next week). And also hearing Tiësto play my bootleg of Message In A Bottle at my first festival. I’m also really excited on making the decision to make something great out of my Purple Haze project right now.

With who would you like to work in the future? 

I would love to work together with Moby someday. His music has always been a great inspiration to me. I listened to him loads when I first started DJing and it was such an honour to remix the beautiful Moby track Natural Blues last year.

Can we already expect something?

There is a lot of new music coming on DOORN Records. I have been working on some new tracks as Sander van Doorn and Purple Haze with some really cool collaborations. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about that yet. But I can tell that there is a remix in the making of Riff which will come out shortly, stay tuned!  (At the end of the article you can find his latest release) 

What is right now still on your bucket list? 

• Roadtrip the entire Route 66
• Visit one or more of the world wonders
• See the Antarctic!

Is there anything else on your bucket list, outside your DJ life? 

I think the most important thing is that my family and I stay healthy and I hope to start my own family one day with my beautiful wife.

Is there something new coming up? 

I just released my third artist album SPECTRVM under my guise Purple Haze. I started this project to explore a different side of myself and I hope you like it!