Massive new tune on Ultra, huge summer festival appearances and stirling charity work abound
In the midst of his most successful year to date, progressive house maestro Tom Swoon looks set to crank things up yet another notch, as he unveils his brand new single ‘Holika’, out now on Ultra Music. Here Dan Prince speaks to the Polish producer sensation about his new music and the incredible Indian charity he is working with after visiting the country for the first time and knowing he had to get involved…
Tom welcome to DMCWORLD, where in the world are you today?
“Actually Dan, I just came back home to Poland and I’m unpacking my bags!”
Okay let’s take you back to that first trip to India in 2012, a journey where you fell in love and became fascinated with India. Tell us about that experience and what you felt…
“I was totally not prepared for this kind of experience. It was something new for me. The amount of appreciation for dance music, the culture, kindness and the whole vibe of the country is tough to describe, but the moment you’re there, you feel it’s special.”
A wonderful new project you are currently involved with concerning your new tune ‘Holika’ which has already been heavily supported by the likes of Nicky Romero, Deniz Koyu, Cosmic Gate and Dash Berlin. Let’s talk about the tune first, talk us through the sound of this latest blockbuster…
“The whole concept was born around the Indian chant, which you can hear at the breakdown of ‘Holika’, and actually I was working on this track for almost a year, changing the direction of the track many times during this time. I wanted it to differentiate it from my previous releases, ‘Ahead Of Us’ and ‘Otherside’, make it harder, but still keep the melodic, Indian spiritual element going on and I’m very happy the final version is getting a lot of positive feedback.”
For every Beatport sale, yourself and your management are donating £2 to the incredible SMILE Foundation in India. (People wishing to participate simply email your receipt to charity@knockoutartists.info). Why was this something you felt you had to do?
“Since ‘Holika’ was influenced by my first visit to India, where I’ve seen a lot of kids in need, I felt those two things have to be connected, and even though there are still many people around the world looking for help, by doing things like a donation of a part of Beatport sales we can definitely make this world a better place – step by step.”
Charity is a subject that often rears it’s head within dance music, there are hundreds of producers earning figures people can only dream of every week – do you think more artists should be getting involved in projects like this?
“Definitely! Lots of people look up to EDM artists, so if they would do such things as charity more often, it would also encourage their followers to help other people. And by help, I don’t only mean donating the money, sometimes a small kind move can make someone’s day, so don’t be neutral when you see someone in need.”
Many of DMCWORLD’s readers will have never been to India before. So if you had to give 3 tips of places to check in this wonderful country, where would you suggest?
“Taj Mahal, Goa and of course a trip around Delhi – the capital of India! Seeing slums in Delhi left some kind of life appreciation impact on me. It opened my eyes to the real problems of the world.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning…
1. Tom Swoon – Holika
2. DubVision – Backlash (Martin Garrix Edit)
3. DallasK – Superfuture
4. Porter Robinson – Lionhearted (Arty Remix)
5. Tom Swoon, Lush & Simon – Ahead Of Us
6. John Christian – Next Level (Nicky Romero Edit)
7. Max Elto – Shadow Of The Sun (Mako Remix)
8. Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne – Rather Be (Merk & Kremont Remix)
9. Tom Swoon – Otherside
10. Audien – Hindsight
Tomorrowland – the biggest gig of your life coming up! What are you expecting from your appearance on the Super You & Me Stage?
“I am expecting myself to be blown away with the opportunity I’ve been waiting for years now! Apart from showing off in my superhero costume, I will definitely showcase lots of upcoming singles and remixes. I think there’s no better place and time to finally reveal the all-new Tom Swoon music I’ve spent so much time working on. About the crowd – I’m pretty sure there will be some new Tom Swoon fans after my set.”
Okay let’s rewind for a moment. You were born in the small city of Goleniow in Poland. It is a place that thrived on it’s vast timber reserves for many years, a far cry from the world’s dancefloors! How old were you when you first discovered dance music and who were the artists that first grabbed your attention?
“The dance music was pretty much around for all the time, but it didn’t grab my attention that much. I am quite sure that I was 16 when I discovered first electronic track, which finally dragged me away from my previous main influence (rock/indie) – ‘I Remember’ by Deadmau5 & Kaskade. There was just something so beautiful about it that I was amazed, how much emotions can still be put into an electronic beat, with no guitars, or slow, romantic tempo involved. It was the moment, when something in me just clicked, like I already felt, this is the way to go for me.”
You taught yourself how to DJ – how long did that process take and where did you learn?
“I started to learn at 15, just from a laptop and Virtual DJ app – it was lame indeed, but some time after I kept coming to a local club and just spinning right from the laptop, a guy who was a regular there and it turned out he used to work at the radio, which local division got closed, gifted me a Behringer MIDI controller, saying that I will make a better use of it now. That was the moment, when I started to take it very seriously, switched to Traktor, and not only relying on ‘sync’, but also trying to beatmatch myself. Then, just to raise a bar a bit, I saved some money and got myself used CDJ’s 100s, which had no BPM counters and other fancy stuff – that’s when I really learnt how to mix. The whole process went quite fast, I believe around a year, maybe year and a half.”
Tell us about your early productions….
“Well, they sucked. I mean, everybody’s first records sucked. You can’t be good from day one, no matter if it’s playing an instrument, driving a car or producing music. At the very beginning, when I installed Fruity Loops on my computer for the first time, I wasn’t thinking how much time and effort will it take me to become a good producer. I wasn’t thinking at all, because it was something I was just doggedly doing every day, while stile getting mad that I’m not even close to being decent yet… “
Was the initial idea to become a DJ or a producer?
– The initial one was to become only a DJ. When I already was playing frequently at the local club in my hometown and my mixing skills were getting better and better, I was slowly starting to realize it’s still not “it”, that I’m still not expressing myself through music as much as I would like to do, so after a mentioned above journey with only DJing, I decided to learn how to produce as well.
What did your family think of your choice of career – did they think you were crazy?
“Of course! Maybe they still do think like that a bit sometimes! Of course, when my passion started to get serious and I was about to sign a label deal, they wanted me to continue my education, have some security first, like a degree in a hand…but at this point, where I finished high school 2 years ago, I was hundred percent sure, that music is what I want to do in my life.”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
“Stardust – ‘Music Sounds Better With You’.”
…always get you dancing?
“Better ask which one doesn’t!”
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
“System Of A Down – ‘Roulette’.”
…you wish you would have made?
“Porter Robinson – ‘Language’.”
You have remixed some mighty artists – NERVO, Steve Aoki, Jennifer Lopez, Ellie Goulding, Sultan & Ned Shepherd and Benny Benassi’s collab with John Legend to name but a few. What is your approach when sitting down and tackling a new rework…
“Mostly I’m trying to come up first with a chord progression underneath the vocals, I’m really doing everything to stay away from keeping the original bassline and feel of the track, aiming to rather re-invent it. The only exception worth a mention here is my remix of Bloody Beetroots’ & Greta Svabo Bech’s “Chronicles Of A Fallen Love”, where I felt that original just needs to get more “club-friendly”, so I’ve switched up the arrangement, introduced own set of drums and lead synth layers. It’s never a matter of topping the original – I call my remix successful, when I have no doubts to play it live myself. It may sound weird, but there are lots of artists out there doing remixes and not playing them off live…what’s the point of remixing then?”
Who are some of the new, up and coming producers who have caught your attention of late?
“I think we all should watch out for names like ak9, Jakko, APX, and of course I have to mention some really talented vocalists: Jaap Reesema (Jake Reese), Eyelar, Rico & Miella and Jonas Frisk!”
Many people who win massive awards keep their trophies in the toilet – where are your gongs kept????!?
“I’m placing all the tags, trophies and wristbands around my bedroom, which is still my actual studio, where I’m working whenever I’m not touring around. When there’s a lack of inspiration, a simple look around the room brings all the memories back, and that really helps to gather some positive feelings and convert them into music.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“Few tracks already locked in on big labels, couple of remixes, and an EP are surely still to come your way this year!”
Tom Swoon Tour Dates :
August 8 – Senso Club – Mielno, Poland
August 9 – Dance for Freedom – Goscino, Poland
August 15 – Stereo Nightclub – Chicago, IL
August 28 – Burning Man – Rock City, IL
August 29 – El Cine – Guatemala
August 30 – We Love the Weekend – Guetemala
September 6 – Laundry Day – Antwerp, Belgium
September 13 – Magic Club – Krzyzanowice, Poland
September 20 – Mint Festival – Leeds, UK
