ARTISTS

Joost Van Bellen

Amsterdam (NL)
dj

Joost Van Bellen has been a dj since 1985, always mad about music, starting illegal clubnights in squats in Amsterdam with 60's psychedelic garagepunk. He switched to acid house late '87, which made him one of the pioneers of electronic dance music in Europe, all at the legendary RoXY club, of which he has been artistic director from '91 to '96.

He still loves acid and raw. He started to make proper music with Richard Cameron under the name Cowgum in 2005, "Filthy & Raw" being a club hit in New York, Barcelona, L.A., Berlin, Amsterdam and some other funny places. They are working hard at their studio in Berlin and will most probably bring out an album later in 2007, with a new member, Mark Verbos, the techno and acid wizzard and man behind those great Tommie Sunshine productions.

Cowgum has done a remix of the opening choir of J.S. Bach's Matthaus Passsion too, an art project he started with visual artist 00Kaap, cooperating with several other producers and video artists. Some press hating them for actualizing the story about the last days of Jesus and touching one of the most respected art pieces ever made, but they could not care less, the result has been mind blowing to many.

He is behind a Dutch party organisation organizing great Rock&Rave in the Netherlands. Though he is over a hundred years old, he continues travelling the globe!

He is a member of De Nachtwacht, a group of 9 experts on culture and nightlife, from 2003 till 2006 we have been the first elected Night Mayors of Amsterdam, advising the city of Amsterdam and it's inhabitants on nightlife.

Together with Sanyi they do music for international fashion shows. Highlight of 2006 was the Lifeball in Vienna together with the likes of Nina Hagen, The Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Naomi Campbell and many more. He loves to do soundscores for fashionshows, and has always been supporting the young Dutch designers, from the first Viktor&Rolf presentation in Paris beginning nineties to all the new ones: his favourite now is Bas Kosters.

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