Wessel Dietrich van Diepen (born 12 November 1966) is a Dutch

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

host, music producer, voice actor and former TV presenter. Under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

DJ Delmundo, he is part of Danski & Delmundo, the production duo behind internationally famous acts like the

Vengaboys Vengaboys () are a Dutch Eurodance music group based in Rotterdam. The group was the creation of Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen (known as Danski and Delmundo). It consists of lead vocalist Kim Sasabone, female v ...

and

Alice Deejay Alice Deejay is a Dutch Eurodance-pop project founded and produced by Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebastiaan Molijn and Eelke Kalberg (Pronti & Kalmani), fronted by singer Judith Anna Pronk. They are best known for their 1999 s ...

. With a total of 10 UK top 10 hits including 2 UK number one hits, two ''Billboard'' Dance number one hits, a gold album in the US and multi-platinum selling singles worldwide, he is one of the most successful dance-pop music producers in Dutch history. Van Diepen is the station-voice for

Radio 538 Radio 538 () is a Dutch commercial radio station that was founded in Hilversum, Netherlands in 1992. It is the second-most listened to radio station in the Netherlands. Radio 538 refers to the wavelength on which Radio Veronica used to broadcas ...

and FOX Television NL and does movie trailer voiceover work. In spring 2019, Dutch online newspaper '' Nu.nl'' declared

as the most successful Dutch pop group in history.

Career

Born in Delft, South Holland,At age 15, van Diepen started a pirate radio station called "Radio Stad Delft". The station was taken down by the police numerous times. When he was 17 years old, during a holiday in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, U.S., he met a DJ at KKRD who gave van Diepen the opportunity to fill in for him. In 1986, van Diepen was noticed by 3FM DJ Rob Stenders in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and became a DJ at the

VARA Vara or VARA may refer to: Geography *Vara (river), in Liguria, Italy * Vara Parish, former municipality in Tartu County, Estonia * Vara, Estonia, village in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County, Estonia * Vara Municipality, municipality in western S ...

, which also broadcasts via national radio 3FM. As a fresh voice in Dutch radio, van Diepen was recruited by popular broadcasting organization Veronica for radio and TV programs. This included the Europe-wide broadcast pop music TV show ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'', broadcast on Sky Channel and Super Channel, which brought him to international fame. In the 1990s, television moguls

Erik de Zwart Erik de Zwart (born 16 June 1957 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch broadcaster, former D.J., former Music Box, The Music Factory and MTV V.J. and media entrepreneur. He was co-founder and shareholder of Radio 538 (1992) and The Music Factory (1995). P ...

and Lex Harding left Veronica and started

and van Diepen was asked to join them. From his daily drive-time show he went on to create the radio show "Van Diepen's Dance Department" where DJs such as

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...

and

Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

would spin their vinyl live in the studio. When Dutch music video channel TMF (The Music Factory) was launched in 1995, van Diepen took up a VJ role in a show called ''Wessels Woelige Wereld'' (translated: "''Wessels Wild World''"), which he hosted until 1999. Van Diepen also started a run of dance music productions in the 1990s. Together with Peran van Dijk and later Dennis van Den Driesschen ('Danski'), he produced acts such as

L.A. Style L.A. Style was a Dutch electronic dance music group, consisting of founder, producer and radio DJ Wessel van Diepen (who later also created Nakatomi and the successful Vengaboys), composer Denzil Slemming (a.k.a. Michiel Van Der Kuy of Laser ...

, known for "

James Brown Is Dead "James Brown Is Dead" is a song by Dutch electronic dance music duo L.A. Style, produced by Wessel van Diepen and Denzil Slemming. It was released in August 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''L.A. Style'' (1993). The song was a m ...

" (with van Diepen doing the trademark megaphone catchphrase). "James Brown Is Dead" was their first song to hit the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. They also found success with Nakatomi,

and

. The Vengaboys alone sold over 15 million singles and 4.5 million albums. The group went platinum in 73 countries and performed in more than 130 different countries. The Vengaboys split in 2000, but van Diepen co-wrote and produced their comeback release "

Rocket to Uranus "Rocket to Uranus" is the 2010 comeback song for the Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. It was released on 4 June 2010 in the Netherlands. In the UK the track was released only as a remix on dance compilation album Clubland 17 initially. It was late ...

" in 2010. In 2013, Protocol Recordings released the EDM track "WTF!?" which was also co-written by van Diepen and produced by

Nicky Romero Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde le ...

and Peran van Dijk. Van Diepen resigned as a radio presenter in 2006 to focus more on artist development and music production, but he returned to Radio 538 in 2013 with Global Dance Chart, a weekly beat-mixed chart-show with the 40 biggest dance hits worldwide. The show was officially opened by

Martin Garrix Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix and also as Ytram and GRX, is a Dutch disc jockey and music producer who was ranked number one on ''DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—201 ...

smashing a bottle of champagne on van Diepen's head.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diepen, Wessel van 1966 births Living people Dutch radio personalities Dutch record producers People from Delft Happy hardcore musicians Eurodance musicians