The No. 1 female DJ in the world flying high with ‘Raven’
Interview by Dan Prince
Hey Helena, welcome back to DMCWORLD…where on Planet Earth are you today?
Hi Dan, I just arrived in Belfast! I flew from LA, I’m doing a mini EU tour with two shows in Ireland and one at Starbeach in Crete. With a cheeky Ibiza stop for a few days and also a family wedding in the UK then back to the States.”
Cool. Well massive news yet again for you, this time due to your new track ‘Raven’ which is out this week on Ultra. Please talk us through the sound and history of the track…
“’Raven’ is a big driving electro monster, inspired a bit by the Buy Now ‘For Sale’ vibe. It has rave sirens and synths throughout in it and drops with a lot of power – hence the name ‘Raven’, it was a word play on the raven bird and the rave, you can have a lot of fun with this name #letsgoraven #thatssoraven and so on. It’s got good interaction. That’s why the artwork is a neon bird as it represents both elements.”
Talk to us about your residency at Drai’s in Las Vegas…loads of great reports…how has the summer been?
“The summer has been crazy, I have been in Vegas a lot, Drai’s is a stunning venue, it’s very impressive, I have had some unreal shows there so far. The Beachclub has 360-degree views of the strip though playing in 40-degree heat in Vegas during the day is a killer. Vegas at the moment is definitely my second home, the team at Drai’s have been great and Victor (Drai) is super cool, he has really made me feel part of the family.”
What makes Drai’s such a great venue and party?
“The layout and feel of the club and the aesthetics, it’s been so well thought out, the attention to detail is unreal. It really is such a beautiful venue. When I play the nightclub my view from the booth looks out at all the club and then further out to the outside of the lit up pools and cabanas and views of Vegas at night, It is insane. The sound system is really good and the visuals are great. Everything has been thought of. It makes for a really visual show.”
If ever there was someone worth talking to about the current EDM scene in America it’s you. On one hand we speak to producers saying the scene is simply growing and growing, then we hear from others claiming that EDM is dead and the clubbers are now moving onto dance music genres, more vocal house for instance?
“It’s just the circle of music, of course there are always people that are over EDM and moving into vocal house or deep house and yes it’s becoming more mainstream, but when something becomes commercial all that means is that it’s ‘popular’ which only says it’s attracting more people. The fact is which you can’t argue is that it is still selling out massive arenas and festivals. I don’t see underground music doing that in the States, not to the capacities that EDM attracts. It’s certainly not dead, but the honeymoon period is over. It’s important that the DJs and producers stay creative and fresh to keep evolving so it attracts new people. I think ‘EDM”, though I hate this term, is moving into the more melodic direction right now. All this bitching between underground DJs and mainroom DJs is very sad, people need to have respect and appreciate each other’s music for what it is. There is no place for all this musical snobbery, at the end of the day we all love music and are here for the same reason.”
What are the big 5 records in your box right now?
1. HELENA – Raven (Original Mix)
2. Dannic – Zenith (Original mix)
3. HELENA ft Shawnee Taylor – Levity (Merk + Kremont remix)
4. Maarcos – Pyro (Original Mix)
5. MAKJ, M35 – GO (Showtek Edit)
So Tomorrowland, let’s talk business! Take home memories for you from the biggest event in the world?
“It was a big deal for me to play Tomorrowland, It was on my lifetime wish list of goals I wanted to kick. I even got to have my name carved on the bridge with a personal message, which was really cool. My set was crazy fun and I had a full crowd throughout despite an outburst of rain mid way through. It was great to be there and to catch up with all the acts playing too, that was cool, I know most of them through previous shows and a lot of them are friends so it was a real social occasion. I had a lot of my team there in support. The whole day was such a good experience. We all said next year I am going for main stage, so we’ll see!”
It’s that time of year again, the annual DJ Top100. I interviewed Arthur Baker this week, he remarked…“there are too many DJs and genres for a realistic competition – it needs to split”. What are your thoughts on that comment, how important is the Poll to you as an artist?
“I think it needs to split into the “Top 100 DJs” and “Top 100 Producers”. If this was done the results would be very different, all these polls really are just a popularity contest that don’t necessarily represent what is actually the case. I know though it does help your profile in the industry and it would be good to be in it just to be acknowledged for your place in the scene. I haven’t pushed it at all yet for the Top 100DJs I don’t feel I have enough productions behind me to justify my spot. But I am working very hard on music, maybe next year I will go for it after another year of releases, I think I will be ready.”
Away from Vegas and Tommorwland, where have some of the stand out shows been for you this summer?
“I have been doing my own The Revolution parties this year which is my own brand that I have been building and also the name of my podcast. So far I have hosted my own events in Miami at Mansion and Mokai, Pacha in New York, Avalon in Los Angeles and at Drai’s in Vegas so I guess these events make me that bit extra proud that I’m headlining my actual own shows. All the events so far have been amazing and packed out so these are definitely stand out events for me.”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
“My Dad always used to play the ‘Birdie Song’ it was this small yellow vinyl he had which he used to put on repeat and me and my sister used to dance around flapping our arms like a bird.”
…always get you dancing?
“My track ‘Levity’ – the vocal, Shawnee Taylor did such an amazing job, this track always gets me moving.”
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
“Oasis ’Wonderwall’. My first boyfriend at school had a brother who was in a band and they did a lot of Oasis covers and I was always with him at the gigs. When we broke up I couldn’t listen to Oasis anymore it made me too sad!”
…you wish you would have made?
“Michael Calfan – ‘Resurrection’. I think this track is genius an all time favourite – I wish I made it.”
Apart from the traffic and the weather…what is the best and worst thing about living in LA?
“The best thing about LA is the creative buzz of the city, you really feel so much is achievable living there, I guess that’s why so many creative types come here ‘chasing the dream’. You could be out on a Tuesday night and bump into anyone and everyone, it’s a great place to be for networking, especially for music right now. So many of my peers are here. The worst thing is that the place is so big, that if you don’t know the city or many people you can really feel a bit out on your own. It’s not a homely city at the start by any means. It’s taken me a while to get used to it.”
We hear you made a noise complain about your neighbours a few weeks back, my my! I can remember the days in Birmingham when you were always the last one standing???!!!
“Well for a DJ to make a noise complaint you must know something is bad! I have never made a complaint ever, normally they are about me. I even had a 30 day music ban out on my house in Australia once by the police. It was just a bit too much, there is a kids school opposite me in LA where I live and during the summer every day when they were on holidays they had a musical soccer program going on in the grounds 8am-5pm and it sounded like they had wheeled in Ultra Music Festival’s sound system. It was SO loud. But not only that it was the worst pop songs on repeat all day every day… the same tracks! I am at home in my studio trying to write music and all I can hear is One Direction on repeat. It was driving me insane. After day 30 I caved and started complaining.”
Who is the biggest celebrity you’ve spotted in lahlah land?
“I was in LAX airport in the first class lounge of AA and I saw this woman blatantly staring at me from the other side of the room. I got a bit awkward thinking I must know her but couldn’t for the life of me remember how I recognized her. I walked past sat down and then someone said “Wow Heidi Klum was really staring at you!”
A great new producer to watch out for over the next twelve months….
“Maarcos who has done a fair few support slots for my The Revolution nights is making big waves, his sound is the classic early progressive but with the right elements of now. His tracks are musical masterpieces and he is a very talented DJ as well.. he is one to watch. He also just launched his own label Fuze with some sick releases lined up. Go check him out.”
So things are going well for you. What is your aim to achieve in 2015?
“I have just started touring properly in Europe with two tours this year so I would like to have more presence in Europe, Ushuaia Ibiza would be great to get next year. I’d love next year to make it onto some of the festivals I missed out on last year, EDC’s and Electric Zoo’s and the likes. I’d also love to tour some places I am yet to get to such as South America. Generally I am just working solid on my music as ultimately that is what will get me to where I want to be. You can expect to hear a lot from me this next year.”
And finally, what can we expect from you studio wise after ‘Raven’ has smashed up the world’s dance floors…?
“I have lots to come after Raven, a big one in particular is lined up to follow…I’m still undecided on the name, but it has the working title of ‘Shake It’ it’s pretty huge, I’m very excited about this one! I also have another 3 projects on the go I am finishing up right now. This year I am focused hard on productions. It’s time to up the game.”
