DJ & Producer · Berlin, Germany
Peter Van Hoesen
Peter Van Hoesen is a Belgian techno producer from Antwerp who runs Time To Express, released Life Performance on Tresor and moved to Berlin in 2010.
quick facts
- Real name
- Peter Van Hoesen
- Also known as
- Object, RM (with Jeroen Baekelandt), Sendai (with Yves De Mey)
- Born
- 19 July 1970
- Birthplace
- Schoten, near Antwerp, Belgium
- Nationality
- Belgian
- Active since
- 1993
- Labels
- Time To Express, Foton, Archives Interieures, Tresor, Ostgut Ton, Hotflush, Meakusma
- Genres
- Techno, Abstract Techno, Experimental Electronic
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, tresorberlin.com, ra.co, ra.co
Peter Van Hoesen is the Belgian techno producer that the genre's connoisseurs name when the conversation moves past the arena acts. Born near Antwerp and formed in the Brussels scene of the 1990s, he makes abstract, bass-heavy techno with a psychedelic streak, runs his own label, Time To Express, and has spent more than three decades in club music. He is one of the best-documented "underground" counterparts to Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens in RTS.FM's guide to Belgian techno.
From Schoten to Brussels
According to Wikipedia, Peter Van Hoesen was born on 19 July 1970 in Schoten, near Antwerp. He grew up in Antwerp, studied at a music academy from about age 11 to 14 and played electronic organ, bass guitar and guitar in bands. He left Antwerp for Brussels at 18 and took a master's in communication sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel between 1988 and 1994.
His Tresor biography says he has been a DJ and producer in the Brussels electronic scene since 1993. Wikipedia says he attended clubs such as Fuse in its early years, put on his own techno nights while at university and became increasingly involved in the Brussels scene. Fuse, the Brussels club that opened in 1994, is covered in more detail in our Belgian techno guide, and our Europe club closures tracker follows the wider pressure on clubs like it.
Foton, Object and the Early Aliases
Before Time To Express there was Foton, a label Wikipedia says ran from 1998 to 2006 and was linked to a collective of the same name that curated art installations. Under the alias Object he released the 2001 album Release the Object. With Jeroen Baekelandt he recorded as RM, whose 1025 appeared in 2002, and with Yves De Mey as Sendai, whose work came out on Editions Mego. In 2005, according to Wikipedia, he co-organised one of the first Belgian dubstep events, under the name Mutant Hip Hop, which shows his interests reaching beyond four-four techno early.
Time To Express and the Albums
Time To Express was launched in 2008 and has been the main outlet for his records. The first run of Van Hoesen releases on the label included Casual Care and Trusted E.P. in 2008, per Wikipedia. His debut album, Entropic City, appeared on Time To Express in 2010, and Perceiver followed in 2012. In 2013 he released Life Performance, an album on Berlin's Tresor, along with an EP of the same name. The label ran Receiver 1/3 to 3/3 the same year, and his Stealth series came out on Time To Express in 2015 and 2016.
Other releases listed by Wikipedia include the Outlands EP on Curle in 2014, Call & Responses EP on Time To Express in 2014, Seventy Secrets in 2015 and Quadra on the Dekmantel UFO Series in 2016, a label series from the team behind Dekmantel Festival. In 2020 he released Chapter for the Agnostic, Illusions of Contributions and Debord's Children, followed by Echoes from Westbrook Bay in 2021. His Tresor biography lists releases on Meakusma, Ostgut Ton, CLR, Hotflush, Exone, Token, Komisch, Lan Muzic and Curle, among other imprints, so his catalogue runs well beyond one label.
The Berlin Years
Wikipedia says he moved from Brussels to Berlin in 2010, and the Tresor biography says he lives in Berlin. The same Wikipedia entry notes that he was based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as of 2023, so check current details before relying on a base. In 2013 he co-founded the label Archives Interieures, and Wikipedia says he also co-founded Handwerk Audio, a Berlin synthesizer studio, though it gives no year.
His Berlin move did not stop his links with Belgium. Our Belgian techno table lists him as an Antwerp-born producer who worked in Brussels and Berlin, with Time To Express as the label and Life Performance as the headline credit.
DJ Mixes and Interviews
For a DJ's measure, the mixes are the record. Wikipedia lists his Resident Advisor podcast RA.168 in 2009, a FACT mix, number 153, in 2010 and an Inverted Audio mix in 2014. Resident Advisor's 2009 feature "Bass invader" by Richard Brophy, published on 11 September 2009, profiled him. In February 2018, RA pointed readers to an interview he gave Red Bull Belgium's Vinyl Frontier series about his record collection and early experiences with electronic music.
Composition and Sound Design
Beyond the club, Tresor says he works as a sound designer and composer for contemporary dance and theatre. Wikipedia lists scores for the Zoo / Thomas Hauert dance company, including Accords and You've Changed, the latter composed in 7.1 surround sound, along with music for Heleen Blanken's Terrene and for Bent Object's In Human Format and Winning. Writing for space rather than just the floor is, in our view, part of what gives his club records their detail.
Who Should Listen
Start with Entropic City or Life Performance. If you came here from the mainstream Belgian names, such as Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, expect a completely different scene: smaller rooms, vinyl, sparse arrangements. His Tresor biography lists Ostgut Ton, the Berghain label that is also home to Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock.
FAQ
Who is Peter Van Hoesen?
A Belgian techno producer, DJ and composer from the Antwerp area who runs the Time To Express label. He has been active in the Brussels scene since 1993, according to his Tresor biography, and moved to Berlin in 2010.
How old is Peter Van Hoesen?
Wikipedia gives his birth date as 19 July 1970 in Schoten, which makes him 56 as of November 2026.
Is Peter Van Hoesen Belgian?
Yes. He was born in Schoten near Antwerp, studied in Brussels and was part of the Brussels techno scene before moving to Berlin.
What is Time To Express?
It is Peter Van Hoesen's own label, launched in 2008. It has released his albums Entropic City (2010) and Perceiver (2012), along with his EPs and series.
What is Peter Van Hoesen's best-known album?
Life Performance, released in 2013 on Tresor, is the record the Wikipedia article and our Belgian techno guide highlight. Entropic City (2010) and Perceiver (2012) are the earlier albums.
Where does Peter Van Hoesen live?
Wikipedia says he moved from Brussels to Berlin in 2010, and his Tresor biography says Berlin. The same Wikipedia entry gives Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as his base as of 2023, so sources differ.
What genre is Peter Van Hoesen?
Wikipedia describes bass-heavy, abstract techno with a psychedelic approach. His output also includes dance and theatre scores.
What other aliases does Peter Van Hoesen use?
Object, RM with Jeroen Baekelandt and Sendai with Yves De Mey, according to Wikipedia.