Mr RÖCK! played at Amsterdam Vinyl Club on 6 November 2025, where he took us on a global odyssey that included (deep breath…) seven rock songs dedicated to seven different 70s guitarists from seven different countries, and which fused rock with seven different music genres! The playlist of his set is available on Apple Music. Enjoy!

Meet Mr RÖCK on:

• Instagram

• Apple Music

• Discogs

An interview with Mr RÖCK

Tell us about yourself.
I’m Javier and I'm originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. But I've been in Europe half my life. By day I'm a freelance software engineer that specialises in building apps and systems. At night, though, I become whatever I want to be: a reader, a gamer, a researcher, a designer, an entrepreneur or even a DJ that loves to play it loud… very loud! The sky is the limit.

My passions have always been constant companions – history, technology, business, arts, design, animation, comics and Japanese music. Because of this, I’ve always been involved with my passions in some way – from designing album covers to singing off-key, playing bass poorly and even trying to be a rock star who didn’t quite make it! I’ve also been a screaming radio presenter, an enthusiastic but naive concert organiser, a wannabe music business person, a party-loving DJ, a venue entrepreneur who didn’t quite succeed and an ambitious product builder. I have all these experiences on my CV and I couldn’t be more proud!

Tell us how you started DJing
Growing up listening to the radio, I was fortunate to discover a treasure trove of amazing tracks, bands and music genres from all over America, the UK, Europe, and even Japan. Plus, I’m naturally curious – and when I find something I enjoy, I research it further. When it comes to the arts, including music, I love exploring related artists and their influences, no matter the genre – whether it’s rock, metal, blues, jazz, rock'n'roll, progressive, psychedelic, funk, folk, electronic or even classical.

There’s so much amazing music out there waiting to be discovered and shared. I’ve come across so many incredible albums on my own musical journey that it feels like a crime not to share them!

When I was 16 years old, I started my first internet radio show using a 56k dialup modem. It could only handle about 12 people listening at once! The show was all about hanging around with friends, talking smack, having fun, drinking some beers and listening to great music before going out on Friday night. The show’s format was inspired by movies like Airheads and Wayne’s World… so go figure!

By the mid-2000s I was living in Paris – and that’s where I built the confidence to DJ live in front of a crowd without freaking out. I used to hang out at the Black Dog, an extreme metal bar in the centre of the city. Back then, there weren’t many places for rockers, metalheads and sinners, so this bar was the place to be for anything loud. I started organising nights and events in their basement, playing all sorts of loud rock and metal tracks at weekends for fun and no profit (I often played glam and songs from Latin America, which those extreme guys loved).

What have you got in store for us this evening?
I’m here to share some tracks I enjoy and think others might appreciate, but which don’t usually fit into my sets because I’m normally all about playing heavy, loud rock and metal tunes with grinding guitars for fun-loving headbangers.

For tonight’s set I’ve put together a playlist that’s definitely rock, but it’s not extreme at all. I picked seven different guitarists from seven different countries, each with their own unique sound, and each song takes you on a different adventure from the same starting point. Plus, it’s pretty amazing to explore different parts of the world through music with a drink in your hand, all while staying in your favourite vinyl bar in Amsterdam.

I believe the rock genre often feels limited because people think of it in terms of just a few chords or as a limited set of rules that artists follow. But there’s a huge, intricate world of sonic exploration hidden behind that simplicity which has been going on since the early 1960s, and especially in the 1970s when musicians weren’t afraid to push the boundaries in the studio.

With my set I’m trying to make something cohesive from my humble knowledge of rock history, my interest in musical blending and my love for pushing musical boundaries – I’m aiming to provide something that feels missing in Amsterdam. I had a great time putting together this set, and I hope the audience enjoy it as much as I did.

When you’re record digging, what do you dream of finding?
Although I keep a 'want list', I usually let the whims of fate guide my record digging. I don’t go looking for specific records – I just let the records come to me! Some might say this method can be a bit frustrating, but when you stumble upon a hidden gem… oh boy! It’s a priceless feeling.

But there are a few records I'd love to own. One is the album 'New Beginning' by the Japanese group Band-Maid. It was released in 2015 and really took me by surprise! I stumbled on Band-Maid one night while exploring the Japanese rock scene at Anti-Knock, a cozy little concert spot in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It’s a bit of a hidden gem and, if you manage to find it, a reissue can set you back about €250.

I'd also like the album 'The White Goblin' by the Japanese jazz fusion and city pop guitar extraordinaire, Takanaka Masayoshi. This album is a follow-up to one of the records I’ll be playing in my set tonight, 'The Rainbow Goblins'. 'The White Goblin' was released in the late 1990s, about 20 years after 'The Rainbow Goblins', and this guy has never sounded so powerful, expansive and heavy! It’s a phenomenal record, so I need to have a copy in my collection. But here’s the catch – it’s practically impossible to find a vinyl pressing of that album, and I check Japanese sites almost daily! If you’re lucky enough to find a copy, it will cost you around €1,500 for a reissue released in 2017. So yeah… if I had that much money to spend on vinyl, I’d be very happy. But one can always dream!.