R3hab

Huge new NERVO collaboration – Ibiza, Vegas and the finest festivals on the planet await this summer

Interview : Dan Prince


Dude, welcome back to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you today?

“Hey Dan! Right now I’m in Amsterdam on my way to Vienna. “

Man what a 2014 you are having. You have had the UK jumping through hoops at the moment with some huuuuuge shows, Cream in Liverpool and the Nervo album launch at Electric Brixton in London. Boom! Two massive dates with an adoring public, how did those sell out shows go…?

“Amazing! Both shows were with NERVO and that really makes a fun night with great energy. Our chemistry really shows during the night.”


What can you tell us about your new/in the pipeline collaboration with the Nervo girls…?

“We’re working on a brand new track with amazing vocals and lyrics. It’s a really great party track…a feel good one for the weekend.”

Talk us through the sound and history of your new track ‘Unstoppable’ feat. Eva Simons from Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game…a fabulous track…

“I’ve always wanted to work with Eva Simons so I called her and said “I have this track laying around, would you be interested listening to it?” She was in to it and a couple of days later I got her vocals back and was absolutely amazed. She is beyond talented and it’s an honor for me to be working with her.”

“I don’t play for one person, I play for the whole crowd.” When was the last time you took a risk playing a tune to a dancefloor?

“I always try to play a new song in my set after a big song to see how the crowd reacts. It also helps me to feel where changes need to be in the sounds or arrangement.”


We were lucky enough to be on the dancefloor at Hakkasan in Las Vegas a few weeks back for your ongoing residency. This place can do no wrong at the moment, how serious a player is Sin City on the worldwide clubbing map in your opinion and do you think the clubbers are slowly but surely getting educated about their music?

“I absolutely love Las Vegas! The whole concept of a nightclub being in a casino is really amazing to me. You go from your hotel room to the nightclub and the you can crawl back into bed with no traveling and no parking…just good times, great music, and beautiful woman. On the musical side, I really feel like that Las Vegas always knows what is going on with the newest music. You get to play at the best clubs in the word with incredible production, visuals, and hospitality, plus you can get away with not playing a very commercial set since all about the experience.”

What is the current Top 10 you are spinning?

“Top 10 at the moment in random order…

  • Calvin Harris – Summer (R3hab & Ummet Ozcan Remix)
  • R3hab – Samurai (Tiesto Remix)
  • Tiesto – Wasted (R3hab Remix)
  • Martin Garrix – Proxy
  • David Guetta & Showtek – Bad
  • R3hab & Deorro – Flashlight
  • TJR & VInai – Bounce Generation
  • R3hab & Eva Simons – Unstoppable (Vinai Remix)
  • R3hab & NERVO & Ummet Ozcan – Revolution
  • Ummet Ozcan – Raise Your Hands


Are you looking forward to playing at Creamfields this year, have you got any surprises up your sleeve for the show?

“I’m looking very forward playing Creamfields. It’s an honor to be invited to play there and I definitely have some interesting surprises up my sleeve. I have a lot of new music that nobody has heard before, and I’m also working on new visuals that I’ll be using at the show.”

Not many people know this, but R3hab is really good at…

“Cooking dinner.”

Earlier this year saw you covered in confetti (again!) at Future Music Festival in Australia. How does FMF compare to the likes of Tomorrowland, Ultra and EDC – a totally different party but still a sea of happy faces…?

“I love the concept of Future Music Festival…it’s so much fun for an artist because it’s a really relaxed atmosphere, a fun backstage, and you play almost every day with the same schedule every day which gives you really opportunity to walk around and see other artists perform. Plus it’s winter in Europe and we get to enjoy the summer in Australia.”

You celebrated your birthday a good few weeks back, so come on, what was your best gift?

“I actually bought a Playstation 4 for myself but I only played it once because I was like, this is too addicting already, let me work on music and finish my records.”


You are renowned for being the king of the quick remix! What is the quickest you have turned one round?

“The quickest was probably about 16 hours. Sometimes you just get lucky and everything you do works and sometimes it’s a real puzzle. Mostly the remixes for Calvin Harris turn out really quick probably because I get really inspired by his originals.”

Okay cards on the table. You used to go to school with Hardwell and played sports together. Who was the champion at tennis?

“Sorry Dan – I can’t answer this one since we never played tennis when we were in high school together. We were more busy with music then sports haha!!”

Holidaying in The Maldives. Paradise or somewhere you still made some music??

“When I went to The Maldvies it was the first time in my life that I didn’t open any music program on my holiday. I only was there for 5 days, but it was so amazing and beautiful. I hope to go again in the beginning of 2015.”

What are your plans for Ibiza this summer?

“I’m doing shows with Steve Aoki at Pacha and playing at Cream at Amnesia. I really love Ibiza, it is such a beautiful Island and I love all the small restaurants where you can have amazing meals. I typically have some food around 8 and then take a nap because the nights start really late, whereas in the USA everything starts significantly earlier.”


Who are the producers from around the world you are giving high fives to right now?

“VINAI from Italy – they are killing at the moment! And the wizard Martin Garrix – I am a really big fan of his.”

And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?

“My collaboration with NERVO. I can’t wait for you to hear it!”

R3hab will be playing at Cream Ibiza on Thursday 7th August tickets on sale now http://www.cream.co.uk/go/ibizatickets . He will also be performing at Creamfields UK on Sunday 24th August 2014.

Info: www.creamfields.com 

For more information on R3hab, visit:

www.djr3hab.com
www.facebook.com/r3habofficial
www.twitter.com/r3hab
www.youtube.com/r3habtube
www.soundcloud.com/r3hab
www.instagram.com/ineedr3hab