Bastienne - Mascotte
‘The Experts’ is a group of creatives who distinguish themselves in various disciplines. Basje Feenstra (1993) is better known as house and techno DJ Bastienne. We spoke to her at Ploegendienst festival, where she opened the festival with her sturdy set. You will find her this summer at Wildeburg, Mysteryland and Awakenings, among others.
BASTIENNE
“I worked as a psychiatric nurse, but when I found myself sitting at home due to a burnout, I had so much stress to deal with and music was the perfect way to release that stress. I’ve been passionate about techno music for years, but I only started deejaying around 2019. Before that, I organised illegal rave parties in Amersfoort. During one of those parties, I absolutely loved the choice of tracks played by this DJ – who has become a great friend – and this fuelled the fire in me to learn deejaying myself.
"I found someone willing to teach me the basics of how to use the turntable and, after that, one thing led to another very quickly. Amersfoort has an extensive creative scene and so I soon got offered places to practise, like creative hub “Volmolen” and at the “Lepeltje Lepeltje” festival. You may think that it all came naturally, and I definitely got help and support from the right people, but I also worked really hard to get where I am now."
"I spent hours and hours, from 10 in the morning till 1 o’clock at night, looking for new tracks. Complete hyperfocus."
"And without getting paid, of course – playing for an audience once every few months, perhaps."
"I still search on sites like Bandcamp, platforms such as Spotify, or my favourite record labels to find and listen to new releases. And I use every moment I can find, whether it’s on the train or while getting my groceries. My sound is a constant work in progress and what I play today already differs greatly to what I played six months ago. It depends on how I feel and where I play. One week, I feel like going bombastic whereas, at other moments, I may go for vocal lines and more cheerful melodies. But I also enjoy deep, spherical records with minimalistic percussions."
"I’m always inspired by artists with a strongly personal sound and whose sets truly resonate a particular vibe."
"This is also what I try to develop. My tip for novice DJs would be: stay authentic and true to yourself – however cliché this may sound. Have fun doing what you do, feel the passion. I sometimes meet people who want to become a DJ mostly because of the fame it may bring. But this can make them copy other people’s styles. That’s not how it works."
"I try not to give a fig about what other people think of me. Another thing I not seldom hear men say these days is “that I’m booked more often because festivals and events now all want to include female DJs in their line-up.” Such comments really ride roughshod over all the hard work I put in."
"Of course, insecurity creeps in every now and then. I’m my own worst critic. But that also drives me to push myself. Once I get started, I’m like a bulldog and I constantly raise my own bar. Besides that, I can always rely on my friends to bounce off ideas and put things into perspective whenever insecurity becomes obstructive. The biggest challenge I have overcome is that I don’t get stuck within myself. And that I keep on going. I have ADHD and I started so many other projects that I never managed to finish. It is my dream to keep on doing this work on a structural basis.”