Lock ‘n Load as we know and love today, consists of two Dutch producers: Niels Pijpers and Gabriel Vezzola.
Niels Pijpers
Born in 1970 in Vlaardingen, a 'suburb' of Rotterdam, he can’t imagine a time in his life he wasn’t involved in music. At a young age, he started 'mixing' with tapes for various local radio stations and started two drive-in shows, which entertained school parties, soccer club gatherings, weddings and birthday parties. Not long after that, he discovered hip-hop and Teddy Riley’s new jack swing sound and started as a resident hip hop DJ in a small black club in the vicinity of Rotterdam. After hearing the legendary Frankie Knuckles track 'Tears' back in 1991 on a radio show, he got totally infected with house, put his scratching skills in the closet and started playing early house music, garage and hip house stuff on various parties and clubs. In 1993, he met his soon-to-be production partner Frank van Rooijen when Niels was working in a record store. Together, they delivered productions under many various a.k.a.’s of which Lock ‘n Load proved to be the most successful. After nine years of working as the Head of A&R at Dutch company Mid-Town Records, Niels started his own record company in March 2008: Selekted Music.
Their Lock ‘n Load moniker achieved global success when their debut release “Blow Ya Mind” was unleashed. It quickly became a record which landed on the 1 spot of dance charts all over Europe. Through no. 1 positions in both the UK Club and UK Dance Chart, it had an amazing entry at 6 in the UK Single Charts. After 4 weeks of being firmly in the top 10, “Blow ya mind” reached the silver status as the record sold over 250.000 copies in the UK only. In Scandinavia, “Blow Ya Mind” even reached the gold status. The follow up “House Some More” proved it wasn’t a lucky shot, as it had an entry on the 18th place in the UK Single Charts. Both records were to be found on millions of compilations worldwide. In 2007, Frank left Lock ‘n Load and Dutch mega talent Gabriel Vezzola took his place to become the new Lock ‘n Load producer.
Gabriel Vezzola
Gabriel Vezzola, currently living in Voorburg, The Netherlands, is active as a (fulltime) producer since 2002. After graduating cum laude from the Dutch Sound Academy, he became the in-house producer for various companies such as DancePlanet Recordings (a sub label of Dutch record company Digidance), Media Records Italy and Mid-Town Records. Since December 2007, he operates as a fully independent producer / remixer, working from his own studio and producing tracks and remixes on a daily basis for various labels, artists and projects. As a producer, Gabriel Vezzola always tries to find a way to put his own signature in his productions and let his own taste be the judge, instead of whatever the current hype may be. Not influenced and intimidated by any musical boundaries, he focuses himself on the production itself, not on contemporary hypes in the music industry. Loving and embracing each style of music, you'll never know what Gabriel may, or may not try.
Gabriel is the executive producer and (partially) owner of some high profile projects such as Lush 7 (minimal / tech house) and Gabriel & Castellon (house / electro). Besides music, Gabriel also has his own (post)production company where he takes care of commercials, mastering, surround sound, remixes and productions for others. A very talented and versatile producer, blessed with an undisputed feel for quality music combined with highly skilled studio techniques, makes Gabriel Vezzola a man to watch for the coming years!
Since January 2007, Gabriel is part of the Lock ‘n Load project as well collaborating with Niels Pijpers on productions and remixes on a weekly basis. After the global hit records “Blow Ya Mind” and “House Some More”, Lock ‘n Load changed musical directions into a more tech / electro sound by releasing the single “Who Else Could It Be”, a release which received global recognition from both press and DJ’s. “Who Else Could It Be” got rewarded with 5-star reviews in leading magazines as IDJ Magazine - where it became “TopTune” -, Mixmag and DJ Mag. Lock ‘n Load also remixed for the likes of Dutch DJ Jochen Miller and UK’s fast rising star Ali Wilson. Next to Lock n Load’s releases and remixes, some collaborations are scheduled for 2008 and 2009 with (amongst others) Jochen Miller, to be released through Niels’ company Selekted Music.
REVIEW DJ MAG - UK - SEPTEMBER 2007
TOPTUNE AT IDJ MAGAZINE - UK - OCTOBER 2007
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