Releasing original material and remixes under his own name, the Mind Markers alias (with his friend Phynn), and his solo alias—Tresice—since 2002, Gerwin Koudijs is a talented producer whose skills have been recognized and respected by many in the electronic dance music scene. Gerwin likes to explore an eclectic mix of musical styles, including progressive house, trance, electro, and others.
Born in 1982 in The Netherlands, Gerwin always enjoyed music with cheesy synthesizers and big pads as a child and admits to a weakness for 80s music. By his early teens, Gerwin already had begun working on his producing skills, using trackers to make his own music.
In the late 1990s, the Internet provided a new wealth of possibilities for Gerwin to learn more production methods and techniques. It also exposed him to more music by other producers and enabled him to better promote his music and gain more exposure.
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Gerwin made his first significant mark in the dance community in 2002 when he joined forces with friend and fellow producer Phynn. Together, under the alias Mind Markers, they entered a Dutch remix contest that was sponsored by music production magazine Interface. The Mind Markers guys beat out hundreds of other entries to win second place in the contest.
Things continued to grow for Gerwin in 2003. He took the Michael W. Smith song “Let It Rain” and gave it his own special flavor. The bootleg remix that Gerwin produced received massive positive response on the Internet. That same year also saw Gerwin’s first appearance on vinyl. His remix of the Vizion track “Dream” was released on the Spanish label Blanco y Negro.
Through his participation in Osmotic Hype—the first release in the Osmotic series from Lowroof Records’ Deepsink label—in 2003, Gerwin teamed up with his friends, Mattijs Kneppers and Timo Rozendal in early 2004 to form the live-act Osmotic Live. The trio performed a 15-track multi-genre live set on February 13 and 14 as part of Andy Hunter’s Valentine Tour.
The first vinyl of original material by Gerwin came in 2004 when he and Phynn collaborated to produce a two-track Mind Markers release on the Basic Beat label. A stream of activity continued throughout 2004 as Gerwin’s remixes and original tracks appeared on numerous compilations and remix albums from several labels, including Deepsink and Demulcent Records, which were produced under Gerwin’s alias, Tresice.
While 2005 wasn’t a prolific year for new releases from Gerwin, the year was far from uneventful. In August, Osmotic Live came together for a second time and rocked the crowd at Flevo Festival 2005. Also, while working with Timo and Mattijs to prepare for Flevo, Gerwin was creating his remix of Deepsky and Marc Mitchell’s track “Lost in the Moment” for Proton Music’s remix contest. Later that fall, when Proton announced the winners of the contest, Gerwin’s name was in the top 10. In Gerwin’s “notable mention” write-up, Proton praised his abilities: “One of the great things about Proton Music remix competitions is their ability to unearth upcoming talent in the electronic music community. This go around, Gerwin Koudijs is that talent.”
It would seem that the praise was well deserved. In March of 2006, South American DJ Hernan Cattaneo charted Gerwin’s track “Next Chapter”, a progressive house track that was released on Proton’s Mono No Aware EP. Other big-name DJs have spun tracks by Gerwin, including Armin van Buuren, Lemon8, Steve May, and others.
The folks at Proton Radio were sufficiently impressed with Gerwin’s work that, in 2006, several of Gerwin’s original tracks and remixes were released digitally on the Proton label. Under his Tresice alias, Gerwin released his first full-length album, Can’t Fix It, on the Deepsink label. The 27-track enhanced CD includes a 13-track mixset of original material from Gerwin. The remainder of the disc contains 14 more original tracks in MP3 format.
As industry leaders have seen and acknowledged, Gerwin Koudijs is a gifted producer and an artist to keep an eye on as he continues to unleash his creativity and make his mark in the electronic dance music scene.
By John C. Baker, Pennsylvania, USA
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