The producer behind the incredible ‘Tung’ now brings us his new smokin’ ‘Bong’ anthem…
Deniz, welcome to DMCWorld. You have had the Buzz Chart people jumping around the office with your massive ‘Bong’ track coming out on Sebastian Ingrosso’s Refune label. Talk us through the history of the track…
“Haha that’s good to hear! I actually came up with the basic idea for ‘Bong’ shortly after I made ‘Tung’. I had something like a half minute demo done but then I got too busy with other productions and touring so I had to put it aside for a while. Finally some time ago I stumbled upon the demo again and decided to pick it up and get it ready for this summer season! I finished it and thought it might fit the vibe of Refune Records, so I sent it to Seb Ingrosso, he instantly loved it and the Refune release Bong was born. Now it’s already supported by David Guetta, Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Ingrosso, Axwell, Fedde Le Grand, Avicii, Hardwell and so many more, before the track is even out yet!”
You had an early start to your musical career, aged five you were plonked in front of a piano. Did you come from a musical family – what are your early memories of music before you found a synthesiser?
“I don’t come from a musical family at all. My mom is a doctor and my dad is an engineer, so I come from a very non-artistic, more conservative family. However they drilled me as a child to be hard working and fight for your goals no matter what they are. That’s probably where my ambition comes from today. And I always had a passion for doing creative things and was fascinated by all kinds of creative artistic work. As a young child, my life was all about Michael Jackson.”
How did your family feel about you following your love of EDM for a career, and not down the classical route?
“As you might imagine, at the beginning they weren’t happy with it at all haha. Since they went through a totally classical route themselves, they wanted me to go the same way. I guess most parents want their children to do something similar they did cos that’s what they know, it’s safe for them. I also went to university after school and studied engineering, but that never was what my heart felt for. I wanted to do music and I loved it from the first time I ever tried it, so they couldn’t stop me. Which I guess was good. Today they are proud of me.”
Who were your early DJ heroes?
“That were Eric Prydz, Fedde Le Grand, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso.”
How did you first hook up with Johan Wedel and Fedde le Grand – what are the studio qualities that you admire from these two good friends?
“I have known Johan for a long time now. I simply hit him up on Facebook when I asked him to remix my track ‘Lose Control’ cos I heard some of his stuff and loved it. Since then we kept in touch and became good friends. With Fedde I had first contact due to my old track ‘Grunge’ which he played in every set at that time. We started to talk and things developed from their til ‘Tung’ one year later. Now we work together a lot and he’s a great friend.”
Had you any idea just what an anthem you had created with ‘Tung!’? Can you remember the first time you played it out? Are you surprised it still causes mayhem every time it is played?
“No I had no idea. But I remember the first time I played it out very well. That was at a crazy place in Sweden a month before the release. I had to play the track 4 times that night, on request. Haha.”
Who are the producers from around the world you are giving high fives to at the moment?
“Same as the my heroes from the first day, plus the fresh guys like Nicky Romero, Tommy Trash, Zedd, Alesso etc.”
What are your plans for Ibiza this Summer, where can we find you?
“You will find me at the Space Terrace on June 11th and also at Ushuaia which I will announce in detail soon!”
Not many people know this, but Deniz Koyu is really good at…
“Making pancakes.”
What is the greatest club you have ever played at?
“I guess that’s LIV Miami.”
Have your family ever come to see you spin?
“My sister does when she can! Doesn’t happen that often unfortunately cos I’m touring all over the world now.”
What is the best piece of career advice you have ever been given?
“It had never been given to me unfortunately until I had to find it out by myself some years ago: be very careful what deals you sign. When you’re a newbie to the industry you will always be screwed first time. Always.”
Where is the strangest place you have ever heard one of your tunes played?
“At the solarium while I was tanning and they played ‘Tung’ haha.”
And finally – what is coming next studio wise from you?
“I’m working on a bunch of very exciting remixes right now! Would love to reveal the names but it’s a bit too early yet.”
http://www.twitter.com/denizkoyu
http://www.soundcloud.com/denizkoyu
