Menno plays in Calgary, Canada on February 20th at Tantra Nightclub, with 709's Matthew Belleghem opening.

If you’re a fan of melodic trance, you’ve likely heard the name Menno De Jong before. Hailing from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Menno has spent the past four years making a name for himself as one of the industry’s fastest rising stars. He’s had releases on some of the biggest labels in the business, including Above and Beyond’s Anjunabeats and Armin Van Buuren’s Armada Music, and he’s even started his own label, Intuition Records. In a scene where many seem content to crank out record after record, following the same static formula, Menno’s releases are like a breath of fresh air – dynamic and original, and each a cohesive musical work in it’s own right. He’s long had his finger on the pulse of electronic dance music, and he recently took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to catch up with Area709 and tell us how it is.

“Electronic Dance Music has always been changing,” Menno begins. “I think that is one of the remarkable characteristics of the music that makes it so great. There are some basic conceptions that characterize the genre, but within those boundaries anything can happen, as displayed by the massive range of artists out there - from Sven Vath to Daft Punk, Tiesto and Trentemoller for instance. Why is that so great? Well, it keeps things interesting. A hit rock record these days will still sound very similar to one made ten years ago. But there is no such thing as a typical dance hit record – it can change at any given rate.”

“Within the past few years Electro influences have conquered the scene,” he continues. “To be honest, I’m happy that this is currently fading, and everyone is back to doing their own things. As for myself and trance specifically, I think I have developed the ability to be more diverse over time. I can still play a slamming trance set when the time is right, but I can equally well fill a night with an eight hour set that goes through house, progressive, trance, tech trance, techno and anything else I can get my hands on. Whilst the focus is still on the former, the latter is something I find an enjoyable addition to my musical artillery!”

As one of the trance music community’s leading lights, Menno’s upstart label Intuition Records has provided a platform for a diverse array of artists to show off their latest creations. “We’ve been on a short three month break to reorganize,” explains Menno of the label’s recent pause in output. “We recently split with the mother label we were working with to go completely independent. In the meantime, we have built up a great range of new releases which will be out on Intuition Recordings, as well as a few exciting sub-labels, including Intuition Deep for progressive trance and deep trance, and Stellar Sounds for the techier/harder side of things. The two first releases that should see daylight in March are Kimito Lopez – Melkweg on Intuition Recordings and Menno de Jong ft. Mark Otten – Mad World (inc. a Marcus Schossow Remix!) on Intuition Deep.”

For as many clubs as Menno has played around the world, he makes no secret that the Guvernment in Toronto is by far his favourite. “Not only is it one of the coolest venues I’ve ever seen – and I always feel like I’m in a strange yet beautiful space ship in the main room of the Guvernment,” he says, “but the people there are truly wonderful. I’ve made friends there, and had the pleasure of meeting many cool trance enthusiasts. In the end the people make the party, that’s why it’s one of my favourite destinations!”

While some may see an artist of 23 as rather young for a professional music, the reality is that, ever since he was a child, music was in Menno’s blood. “I got started on dance music at a really young age,” he explains. “When I was only seven or eight years old, I was hooked on 2 Unlimited and similar more commercial acts - whatever I could get my hands on. I’ve spent most of my life living in The Netherlands, but during a brief stay of four years in Berlin, I discovered the likes of Moby, Underworld, Jam and Spoon, and once again a few commercial acts such as Robert Miles and Dune. Particular tunes that rocked my world were Jam & Spoon’s Stella and Dune’s Hardcore Vibes / Hand in Hand… but I could probably dig up a hundred more if I checked some of my old CDs! As a teenager I discovered the real trance sound when I started listening to artists such as Tiesto, Ferry Corsten, Push and Oliver Lieb etc. Any given work by those artists and many more inspired me to make the music I do today, whilst I continue to discover new music along the way.”

Something that may come as something as a surprise given his hectic professional and touring schedule is that Menno De Jong is very much a hard-working university student. “I’m one semester away from finishing university,” he explains. “In June or July, I will be a free man! Most importantly, I’ll be free to fully pursue music so far as I haven’t been doing so already.”

So what is it that Menno De Jong studies – music? Hardly. “I’m studying International Business at Tilburg University in The Netherlands,” he says. “If I were not into music I would probably try to get a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN or another NGO. The world has plenty of people trying to make as much money as possible; I’d be more concerned about trying to make it a better place, which is something I hope to do one way or another in life sooner or later.”