Vato Gonzalez

Vato Gonzalez

Vato Gonzalez is a Netherlands-based house DJ and producer from Spijkenisse. He is widely identified with the Dutch “dirty house” movement, which he helps define and popularise both in the Netherlands and internationally. His work draws on house, Dutch house and a broad club sound shaped by UK garage, hip hop and dancehall.

Early life and approach

Raised in Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam’s industrial area, he spends much of his teenage years listening to club-oriented music and later uses his college years to learn graphic design and programming. He also uses the university student database to promote his own party, which grows into a popular student night. He remains active as a part-time software engineer and designs the artwork for his own events.

Dirty House

In 2007, Gonzalez releases the first Dirty House mixtape, which spreads widely online and gains more than 150,000 downloads. He follows it with four more mixtapes over the next three years, and the series together passes half a million downloads. From the mixtapes he develops Dirty House as both an event concept and a label identity, later extending it to a record label, publishing arm and booking agency under the name 010 Bookings. He also hosts Dirty House areas at larger events and becomes a regular festival attraction in the Netherlands.

MC Tjen and live shows

He works closely with MC Tjen, and the pair become known as a DJ/MC combination with a high-energy live style. Gonzalez is reported to average more than 350 shows a year, performing across Europe, including in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece and Hungary.

Badman Riddim and wider recognition

Gonzalez gains international recognition through Badman Riddim, a track he produces three years before it begins to spread in the UK in 2010. The record circulates through DIY file-sharing platforms, attracts attention from BBC Radio 1 specialist programmes and is then picked up by Levels Recordings and Ministry of Sound. It becomes one of the biggest instrumental club tracks of 2010 and is played by DJs including Annie Mac, Zane Lowe, Annie Nightingale, Pete Tong, MistaJam and Toddla T, as well as by a wide range of club DJs. Foreign Beggars later add vocals, turning the track into a summer anthem in 2011.

Crowd Control and later work

In 2011, Gonzalez launches Crowd Control, an event concept and record label intended as a more big-room, tech-house and progressive counterpart to Dirty House. He uses it as an imprint for his own releases and for music by other artists. His later work includes forthcoming releases and remixes on Southern Fried, Sony Music, Universal and Ministry of Sound, along with collaborations.