The Shoulders Of Giants

Quinten van den Berg hasn't been in the game very long. Not in proportion to his accomplishments, anyway. While only releasing his debut single Supersoniq on Sidney Samson's Samsobeats label in 2008, van den Berg's Quintino alias has already earned the respect of scene veterans like Laidback Luke, Swedish House Mafia and Tiesto. He's actually performed support duties for all three.

“I'm really excited. I've been playing all over the world lately – America, England, Europe – but I've never been to Australia. I'm really excited to get over there,” the DJ enthuses. “The first time I was invited to play by Tiesto was when he invited me to play with him in Ibiza and, really, that was the first time I'd played an Ibiza set and, yeah, I was a little bit nervous. Afterwards, he told me I had to come drinking with him, so I guess I did alright!

“You're right, though. Things have moved really fast since 2008. I made a decision, around 2010 or 2011, that I really wanted to break out into the international scene. So, I played some shows in America and played some shows in Asia and things just moved faster and faster,” he laughs. “The last eight-to-ten months have gone so fast. I mean, it's good, but it's also really crazy.”

His success could in part be explained by appropriate preparation. As a producer and international DJ, Quintino has only been on the scene for a little over four years. However, Quinten van den Berg has been practicing as a DJ since he was 15 years old. Laidback Luke discovered him DJing at age 18, back in 2003, and he's continued honing his craft ever since.

“I think the industry's really competitive. Much more than it used to be,” van den Berg muses. “Back in the days, a DJ was just a DJ. You had rappers, singers, pop stars. Now, the DJ has become really big in the world. Normally, everyone would want to be soccer players – but, now, everyone I speak to wants to be a DJ. All the young kids, I mean. They all want to be DJs.

“If I have to be honest, when I was a young kid – like, 12 or 14 – I was playing soccer on an above average level and I really wanted to be a professional soccer player. I didn't make it, though; I quit at like 15,” he laughs. “So, I decided to focus on music. I'd always loved it, I'd just really enjoyed being outside with a ball. When I was doing that, I realised there was only one other thing I wanted to be.”

Intriguingly, van den Berg has never worked towards stardom. It's never actually been the young DJ's goal. While Quintino's already been tied to bona fide pop crossover legends like Tiesto and Swedish House Mafia, he isn't actually looking for that kind of mainstream acceptance. There are no debut albums or pop star collaborations waiting in the wings. Strangely enough, van den Berg's priority is his show.

“Well, at some point, I'd love to be where those guys are now. It's not really about being a pop star, though,” he explains. “I really want to develop my own show. Like, my own live show with visuals and lighting and all that sort of stuff. That's mainly what I've been working towards over the past couple of years. I really want to put on a good show for people, you know?”

Qunitino will be playing the following dates:

Thursday 7 February - Electric Circus, Adelaide SA
Friday 8 February - The Met, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 9 February - Platinum Nightclub, Broadbeach QLD