Secret Cinema

Legendary techno producer Secret Cinema has more than 25 years in the game. Originally hailing from the Netherlands, this producer (born as Jeroen Verheij) is not only a key player in the Dutch techno scene but an artist that’s revered worldwide.

As a kid growing up in the dawn of the 90s in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Verheij recalls a pivotal moment when he decided to stop playing video games and start making music on his Amiga 500 computer. In 1991, under the moniker Meng Syndicate, he released his first track “Sonar System” to Hithouse Records. It became an instant hit in the rave scene. A true bedroom producer, Verheij says he made most of his hits from the nineties from the side of his bed. There wasn’t even room for a second chair in the room. His first release as Secret Cinema, “Timeless Altitude” in 1994, was also a hit, celebrated by Carl Cox and Sven Väth.

For the majority of his career, Secret Cinema has been an adamantly purist producer. He only ever wanted to perform his own music live on stage, no DJing. This made Secret Cinema a pioneer of live electronic acts as we now know them. Iconic sets in Berghain, Space Ibiza, Womb Tokio, Watergate, and his frequent Elrow gigs only solidified his standing. It would be 15 years before he decided to branch out and begin the Secret Cinema DJ career. As he began searching for obscure, unplayed talent, Gem Records was born.

His ventures with Gem have now grown to include his record label (one of the fastest growing global techno labels), Gem Events and Bookings, and his weekly radio show Gem FM.

His passion and enthusiasm for dance music have stayed the same, even if the current landscape is vastly different than when he started. Over the last 30 years, Secret Cinema has defined an iconic sound for the clubbers of his era. Yet somehow, his music still feels timeless.