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Grooveyard (NL)

Artist
Jeroen Verheij aka Secret Cinema started producing as Meng Syndicate in 1990. His first record 'Sonar System' came out on the Hithouse label in Belgium (ARS). Soon it became a big clubhit and through remixes by Speedy J aka Pullover the record became all the more successful. Because of the unfortunate death of Peter Slaghuis, the man behind the Hithouse project, the co-operation with ARS did not work out to Jeroen's satisfaction. The 90’s Verheij started producing as Meng Syndicate in 1990. His first release 'Sonar System' was an instant rave classic. In 1993 Michel de Hey recognized Jeroen's excellent producing skills and invited him to release his tracks on Immaculate Music. The melodic anthem ‘Meng’s Theme’ came within a year of signing in 1994. At this point ‘Secret Cinema’ was born to vent Jeroen’s more refined side as a producer. The first track he released under this alias was his second international hit for ’94, Timeless Altitude. It sold over 20.000 copies within six months and proved to be more timeless than anyone could have expected at the time as illustrated by its successful 2011 re-release on Gem. Verheij came up with yet another identity: Grooveyard. It was under this guise that he released Watch Me Now. This energetic track also made its way into musical history, sold ten thousands of copies and was licensed to dozens of compilations in ‘95. By now Verheij had become one of Holland’s most respected producers and started playing mainstage gigs for festivals like Mysteryland and Dance Valley. The follow-up Grooveyard release was Mary Go Wild which went on to top Dutch and Belgian charts and won Jeroen ‘Update’ Awards for Best Dutch Producer and Best Dutch Single in ’97. The 00’s 2000 saw the production of another massive Grooveyard hit in collaboration with Michel de Hey; ‘Compound’, which again sold ten thousands of copies and is still a popular track with many DJ’s. Verheij then went on to reinvent his Secret Cinema live set. A year later his first full album ‘White Men Can’t Funk’ was released. A string of techno classics like Volt, Saccades and Another Sweater followed and the albums ‘Revenge of a Nerd’ and ‘Skunk & Espresso’ were released. The techno scene was booming at the time and Secret Cinema headlined many festivals around the globe including most major Dutch festivals and events. One of the highlights was the closing set at the main stage of Awakenings Festival. A spot that only Secret Cinema, Richie Hawtin, Adam Beyer and Dave Clarke have filled. In 2009, after 16 years of releasing on Michel de Hey’s imprints, Verheij started to shop around for new labels that could accommodate more growth for the Secret Cinema brand. Cocoon Recordings picked up ‘Kurzweil’ and spawned one of Secret Cinema’s biggest hits since the turn of the millennium which was soon followed up by the even bigger Jazz Me EP from which Shake Ur Tech-Ass presided at the pole position of the Beatport techno charts for weeks. The late 00’s also saw the development of Secret Cinema as a business man, establishing his own brand for music, events and an agency: Gem Records, -Sessions and –Bookings. The 10’s With Gem becoming established as a strong brand in the field of electronic music, developing talents such as Egbert, Peter Horrevorts and Roger Martinez to name a few, Verheij’s profile continues to rise. New collaborations with artists such as Ramon Tapia, Psycatron, Christian Smith and Slam have been resulting in interesting projects and many weeks in the charts. Secret Cinema is rapidly becoming one of the most popular names in quality techno! On May 16th 2011 his double album ‘Minerals’ is due to be released. Some say this could be some of the best work from one of the Netherland’s top techno producers of the past 20 years!
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