At When We Dip Magazine, we spend most of our time speaking with artists who have dedicated their lives to electronic music. But sometimes, the most inspiring stories come from people who discover the scene later in life and fall into it with a passion that feels almost childlike in its intensity.
Today’s feature is a little different, and a little special.
Meet Bob, also known in DJ booths as The Music Doctor (MD Bob). At 64 years old, Bob has recently discovered the world of electronic music and dove headfirst into it, transforming curiosity into a full-blown obsession. What began as a family connection quickly evolved into a journey across dancefloors, festivals, studios, and countries — from Montreal to Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and San José.
Like many great stories, Bob’s begins with family. Let’s hear it !
Bob: “Here is my story.
Over 15 years ago, my daughter Cindy introduced Marc, my son-in-law, into my life. Marc was a DJ and a student at the time. She met him in a bar where he was DJing (if I remember correctly). That very night, Cindy asked him how many kids he’d like to have. His answer? Four!!! She was hooked.
Having four kids was Cindy’s dream, and one of mine too. As a young man, I’d been afraid I wouldn’t be economically successful enough to support a large family, so I never pursued it with my own two children. But now, as a grandfather, I get to enjoy seven grandchildren and offer my kids the freedom I once dreamed of. Marc and Cindy started dating that day and eventually had four beautiful children together. Marc stepped away from DJing to focus on being a father, lawyer, and businessman.
Years later, as the kids grew older, Marc rediscovered electronic music through Sébastien Léger’s track ‘Ashes in the Wind’. One night, Marc and Cindy invited me to see Sébastien Léger perform in Montreal. That’s when I truly began to appreciate this genre. I’ve always loved music: Pink Floyd, AC/DC, opera, Harmonium, Plume Latraverse. As a kid, I used to sing to the cows at my grandpa’s farm on weekends. I was fascinated by the young Italian singer Joselito, and I always invested in a great sound system (like my Celeste with B&W speakers back then). Sound quality has always touched my soul.
Marc started hosting parties at their place, birthdays, summer celebrations, or just for the fun of it. One day, while chatting, he asked, “Would you love to come with me to Amsterdam for ADE?” One of his friends, Camilo Rivera from Hicky & Kalo (and naturally Thomas too), was going to play there. I thought it sounded fun: traveling alone for the first time with my son-in-law to experience big electronic music in Amsterdam. Amsterdam had been a turning point in my life several times before.
ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event) is one of the world’s biggest events for electronic music, 1,200 events and over 3,000 DJs in a single week. So, we went. We rented a place, and one night at a bar where Camilo and Thomas were playing, we were chatting and enjoying back-to-back DJ sets. I was loving it. Then a charming Colombian DJ named Nathier arrived. Camilo was busy talking to a famous DJ and asked me, “Bob, can you take care of Nathier, my friend? She’s a DJ, producer, and event organizer from Bogotá, Colombia. You speak Spanish, and her English isn’t great.” So I spent the night laughing, talking, and drinking with her. She had a spectacular smile and incredible charisma. I was charmed.
She invited me the next day to see Hernan Cattaneo b2b with Nick Warren. I had no idea who they were, but I went. We danced for seven straight hours. I was completely conquered—by her smile and by the music. Later, back at a bar with Marc, walking home, I had an epiphany. I told him, “You know what… I’m going to become a DJ, and I’ll date Nathier or a girl just like her.” Marc gave me a funny look, like “Are you kidding?” He didn’t yet know what I’m capable of when I set my mind to something.
That night, I decided to dive into music. Back in Montreal, I bought my first Pioneer Opus Quad and two Bose L1 Pro16s. I had no clue how to use them—I taught myself. I looked online for music, downloaded tracks, learned Rekordbox, and practiced for about 10 days. Then I flew to Costa Rica, where I’ve had a place for a long time.
In Costa Rica, I felt sad without my gear. I reconnected with an old friend, Manu Unko, a well-known Tech House DJ there. I hadn’t seen him in over 10 years, but we ran into each other one night. He helped me rent equipment and showed me the basics. I was hooked. Manu, who’d been DJing since he was 15, organized a massive 40-hour non-stop New Year’s Eve party with top Costa Rican DJs like Kevin York, Melissa Cruz, NewBall, and others. My journey had truly begun with the best in the scene.
Meanwhile, I kept talking with Nathier. She mentioned she was heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a couple of months—the birthplace of progressive house. She invited me to visit and said she could show me around (she’d lived there for two years). Without hesitation, I booked a ticket in the next five minutes and sent it to her. On January 3, I was on my way to Argentina. We saw Guy J in Mar del Plata, Ernesto Romero, Simon Vuarambon, and more. We rented DJ booths sometimes to practice, and Nathier gave me tips, but I loved watching her play most of all.
Every DJ I met offered advice. I became obsessed with music. After three weeks in Argentina, I returned to the BPM Festival in Costa Rica with Manu, Melissa, and others. I was fully locked in. Back home, I had a friend bring my Opus Quad from Montreal, bought two more Bose L1 Pro16s, and started mixing every day. I dove deep into Progressive House, Tech House, Techno, Afro House, Organic House, Melodic Techno, and more. I’d download a DJ’s full discography and mix their tracks to understand their style and production. I became a huge fan of Hicky & Kalo, I believe they’re on their way to becoming one of the world’s top acts.
My favorite DJs include Hicky & Kalo, Guy Mantzur, Guy J, Sébastien Léger, Roy Rosenfeld, Hernan Cattaneo, Francis Mercier, Amelie Lens, Charlotte de Witte, John Digweed, Emi Galvan, Kabi (from Argentina), Airon, Eli Nissan, Camilo Sanclemente, Nathier, Nova, DJ Cherry (from Costa Rica), and many more, I could name 100.
In spring, back in Montreal, I started going to Stereo, Piknic Électronik, and built great connections in the local scene. I dated Nova, a Montreal DJ, who introduced me to over 20 DJs. I became friends with Tommy, Mike, and Erik from Stereo.
I returned to Amsterdam multiple times, renting a big house and hosting DJ friends. I went to Rituales in Medellín, Cercle in France, WaterHouse in Quebec. Marc started playing more and hosting big events at home a few times a year.
We upgraded the sound system at Le Livart (a creation of my daughter) to VOID speakers. Le Livart is now a respected spot in the electronic music scene, an art center with a gallery, exhibitions, an art school for over 800 kids in summer, and special events hosting great DJs.
I became obsessed with mixers and bought many: V10, A9, Euphonia, Xone:96, ARS 9500B, Rane MP2015, Opus Quad, Omni-Duo. I wanted to experiment with them all. So far, the ARS offers the best analog sound quality.
Now I always travel with my AlphaTheta Omni-Duo and a Bose S1 Pro+, I can’t live without them away from my main setup.
**The neighbor story:** In Montreal, I had issues with my neighbor over the music. With Marc’s help, we equipped my place properly. We worked with Charles Murdoch (former Stereo employee and sound expert) to build four unique, custom speakers designed for the DJ booth (not the audience). The sound is spectacular, every DJ who plays never wants to stop. One producer/sound engineer from Toronto, Sam Van Horn, played from 9 PM to 11 AM the next day. Some say it’s the best sound in Montreal.
Eventually, to resolve things, I had to buy out the neighbor.
Now, with Marc, Camilo Rivera, Charles Murdoch, and a great team, we’re building one of the best music studios in Montreal!!!
I’ve started playing at events: mini festivals in the Costa Rican jungle, bars in Sint Maarten and Costa Rica, a mini festival in northern Quebec, events in Panama, and everywhere I travel with my Omni-Duo. I’ve uploaded over 199 mixes on SoundCloud as The Music Doctor (MD Bob). I love experimenting, some are good, some okay, some have errors, but I love them all. I have fans who enjoy them, and that’s beautiful.
Music is my new season. Life is a journey, we must always update what we know, learn, and do.
I slowly evolved my DJ name from MD BOB (Music Doctor) to The Music Doctor, MD Bob.
Why? I believe music heals people. The more I read, the more I see it’s true: music keeps you young. At the deepest level, nothing exists but energy. My mission is to heal through music. Studies show music can help cure diseases and even awaken senescent cells with low frequencies. Music is a wave of energy. DJs are like speakers carrying messages to humanity.
Music has no age, it’s energy that travels across time. At 42, instead of heading toward aging, I decided to reverse the count and subtract one year each year. Now I’m heading toward 21.
I’m a big fan of David Sinclair (Harvard geneticist and founder of Life Biosciences). Human trials with Yamanaka factors just started this month, in the lab, they’ve reversed aging in animals by up to 75% by reprogramming the epigenome. I’m optimistic. As Elon Musk says: Better to be optimistic and wrong than pessimistic and right. 🙂
To close, I’ve always been an entrepreneur. My first “business” was at age 9: during summer camping, I charged friends’ parents 10 cents to fetch beers from the fridge. That night I made nearly $3, enough for three dozen donuts! From there, I offered services to neighbors, fixed bikes, created a haunted house, sold chocolate at the hospital entrance… My imagination was the only limit.
Later, I studied computer science, became a programmer, started RTI Inc., offered development/support/services, grew to 186 employees in retail, built a real estate company, developed properties, created a classifieds website, did international marketing, and now consult in AI. My passion has always been learning—every day I read about science, tech, politics, medicine, life extension. I follow over 1,500 leaders on X and am a huge Elon Musk fan.
Now, my role is to coach my family, friends, and grandkids, teaching them to create value, make money, play chess (life is a big chess game, stay a few steps ahead). My greatest quality? Curiosity.
So here’s part of my story into music.
Thanks a lot for listening
– MD BOB (The Music Doctor)