CURLEY SCHOOP AKA ESOTERIC
Born in Leidschendam Holland 16 April 1973 Curley Schoop spent his childhood years in Curacao (Netherlands Antilles). After moving back to Holland with the family in his teenage years his love for music came into true fruition. At the age of sixteen he released his first record on the DJAX label (D.I.C.E. - rubba dice stylin).
In 1994 he was to travel to Berlin with R.A.F. who were his friends Joep, Katja, and Chiel as well as with his friends Sazz and Ratski where they played on a party of Acid Orange.
By now the entire Spiral Circus had descended on invitation to stay at the 'Blauwe Aanslag' squat in Den Haag, Holland. This is where the infamous Acid Planet parties from Jan, Unit Moebius, Siuli and Guy where happening and where Sebastian (69db) and Simon (Crystal Distortion) from Spiral Tribe together with Unit Moebius were beginning to inspire a whole generation. These happenings were to change everything for Curley as they did for so many from this period.
After returning to Holland the 'Hardcore Peace Generation' was formed. Holland was by now in full party flow, parties and sound systems were springing up all over the place. Curley moved to Den Haag from the south to be in the midst of it all. Time was filled squatting and organizing parties and tekno café’s big and small all over the place. It was in this period Curley was making music together with Jan, Sebastian and Simon. Together a sound was made: that sound would become legendary: 'the Spiral Sound'.
Born in Leidschendam Holland 16 April 1973 Curley Schoop spent his childhood years in Curacao (Netherlands Antilles). After moving back to Holland with the family in his teenage years his love for music came into true fruition. At the age of sixteen he released his first record on the DJAX label (D.I.C.E. - rubba dice stylin).
In 1994 he was to travel to Berlin with R.A.F. who were his friends Joep, Katja, and Chiel as well as with his friends Sazz and Ratski where they played on a party of Acid Orange.
By now the entire Spiral Circus had descended on invitation to stay at the 'Blauwe Aanslag' squat in Den Haag, Holland. This is where the infamous Acid Planet parties from Jan, Unit Moebius, Siuli and Guy where happening and where Sebastian (69db) and Simon (Crystal Distortion) from Spiral Tribe together with Unit Moebius were beginning to inspire a whole generation. These happenings were to change everything for Curley as they did for so many from this period.
After returning to Holland the 'Hardcore Peace Generation' was formed. Holland was by now in full party flow, parties and sound systems were springing up all over the place. Curley moved to Den Haag from the south to be in the midst of it all. Time was filled squatting and organizing parties and tekno café’s big and small all over the place. It was in this period Curley was making music together with Jan, Sebastian and Simon. Together a sound was made: that sound would become legendary: 'the Spiral Sound'.
It was somewhere around this time Curley met Barbara who he was to be with for the rest of his life. Holland had much to offer for a young inspiring musician and DJ with its full flow party mayhem from the likes of his friends from Cyb-X and Mononom Soundsytems for whom he would play his legendary mental mix of acid, hardcore and tekno many times.
In 1995 he made the move to London. Barbara was English and Curley was always up for new adventures. Although a far cry from what he knew from the free party scene in Europe Curley would flourish in the diversity of the music in London. New influences were creeping into his Dj sets, breakbeats, drum and bass, the London style. I don't think there are too many recordings from his DJ sets from these times, in fact I don't think you could capture it on a tape, you just had to be there, those that were there know exactly what I am talking about, some things you just can’t capture in a recording.
Curley had the utter ability to ignite a dead party, to whip up a dance floor into free flow mayhem. He never looked the part, a black guy in a predominately white hardcore scene in a funny hat and flared trousers, but he was still somehow the coolest geezer in the building, everybody wanted to talk to him, everybody wanted him on the decks, to hang out with him. Probably some of his finest moments DJ'ing was in those warehouses in London, there he would create his voodoo magic on the wheels of steel.
A lot of people who had not been out to Europe could not understand what he was playing but they loved it. It was a combination of the Spiral sound, the Dutch sound and the London sound all mixed in and mashed up, it was truly unique.
It was in London he would meet Ben and Brett from the Fear Teachers: he would play a lot at their parties together with the Mainline Soundsystem. The Fear Teachers and the surrounding people would be a big influence on Curley. They had been to Europe, they did know what was going on but they had their own sound, their influences were also from electro and more distorted and messed up beats. Curley thrived of these new ways and sounds; he would revel in the London ways of music. Drum and bass were to seriously influence his DJ sets where he would play out together with his friend Beven (Dj Terroreyes) with their three deck mash ups. At this time he releases on Ben and Brett’s Audio Illusion label and made his other classic releases on the Club Craft, Utmostfear and Crowd Control labels.
In 1997, Curley now just twenty four years of age was a proud father happily in love and with his music seriously taking off. By now his DJ gigs were constant, playing out in London and back home in Holland as well as Italy, Germany and France; his records were also now starting to come out in a steady stream. After always releasing on other peoples labels and as he was always wanting to push forwards he decided together with Barbara to start their own label Kibra Hacha. The first release on this label was to be his final one in his lifetime.
After spending Christmas together in London with his new family, Curley & Barbara set off to drive to a big party in Rome Italy for the New Year of 1998. This was to be Curley's final set. In the early hours of the third of January whilst still out in Rome Italy Curley died suddenly in bed of a heart condition he never knew he had. It shocked us all and sent tremors throughout the party scene in Europe. Many tributes were made and several huge memorial parties were made in his honor, in Holland, England and Italy. One of the finest had been taken away in the prime of his life with everything to live for.
Some stars light up the night sky brighter than others, they give off more energy, sometimes those stars will burn out quicker because of this, but those are the stars you remember. In the end it's not how many years you have lived that are important but what you did in those years and Curley lived every minute of his life to the full. I think the following written by his friend Brett after Curley's death says it all:
"Within our creative dance culture there are few people with the active energy and dedicated commitment necessary to keep the scene fresh, vibrant and at the cutting edge. Curley possessed all these powers and spread them like a virus, infecting all who crossed his path with a positive feeling and uniting us all in confidence for the future" (Brett Youngs R.I.P)
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