Belgium’s finest back with his big room house smash Bronx ahead of a mighty Tomorrowland
Welcome to DMCWORLD towers Yves, a very busy few weeks ahead of you, kicking off with main stage at the world’s best festival Tommorowland this weekend. What is it about this unbelievable event that makes it, well, unbelievable!? Last year was awesome for you…
“Thank you Dan, very happy to do this interview with DMCWORLD. Well Tomorrowland is indeed very special for me. First of all it’s near my hometown where I grew up and started my DJ career. Like you know Tomorrowland won the award for best festival of the world and I can give you a hundred reasons why. The amazing line-up, the atmosphere, the decoration, the crazy crowd with people from all over the world… it’s like Disneyland for grown-ups! This year I have the honour to play for the fifth time in a row on the main stage on Sunday. I’m also hosting my own area called V Sessions on Saturday and I’m closing the Dreamville stage (camping area on Thursday) together with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.”
How was the weekend, Friday saw you at Open Air 2012 and Saturday at your residency at NOXX in Antwerp…?
“After a few weeks playing abroad it’s always nice to be back in Belgium. Open Air Party was great, we had some luck with the weather because although it’s summer in Belgium, we have a lot of rain! At Noxx I had to play at the afterparty of a well known Belgian Men’s Magazine, Che, so the place was packed with beautiful girls which is always good for the atmosphere! Besides that, Noxx is a beautiful club with a giant LED wall ceiling and has regular big guest such as R3hab, Axwell, Hardwell, etc.”
You have a big banger coming out in 3 weeks called ‘Bronx’ with Bassjackers on the Smash The House label – tell us about the track…
“Yes indeed, really looking forward to this release. We’re getting a lot of positive feedback on this one. I invited Ralph and Marlon (Bassjackers) to play on my stage at Tomorrowland, and we thought it was cool to make a track together. So we hooked up in May and the result was very quick with the release on August 13th on Smash The House. ‘Bronx’ is a big room house track including increasing synths and melody finished with a huge drop with a catchy predacious bass line. Actually, the videoclip will be recorded live at Tomorrowland, so that will be awesome.”
You hail from Benelux, tell us about music when you were growing up. What sort of artists were you listening to as a kid?
“Actually when I was 12 years old I was playing the violin and after that I switched to rock music like Biohazard, Pearl Jam, Green Day (still a big fan I went to a concert a few months ago, it was awesome), Rage Against The Machine, etc. When I was 15 years old and started going out, i discovered the club scene really fast and took an interest in the DJs who were playing. At that time trance and house music were really big in Belgium. We had the world famous label Bonzai Records with artists like Push (Universal Nation), Yves Deruyter, etc.”
Who inspired you to want to become a DJ?
“I think at first it was just the local DJs at the club where I used to go out with my friends. I also had a lot of respect at the time for the techno gods like Jeff Mills, Claude Young, Mixmaster Mike (Beastie Boys) etc. They were DJs with the big skillz in a magical vinyl period…”
What was your first major break in the music industry?
“I made a remake of a classic song from Hatrix called ‘Insane Pressure’. That one really opened some doors for me, especially with Tiesto and David Guetta supporting that track. Short after that I played at Sensation White which really was the kick-off of playing at a lot of other big events.”
Can you remember your first ever gig, how much did you get paid?
“That was in really small bar for a friend’s birthday. I was 16 years old, played for free and did a 7h set. Haha.”
What was the record that changed your life?
“Energy 52 – Café Del Mar is the ultimate classic for me that still hasn’t lost any power and is pure high quality music.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
1) Yves V & Bassjackers – Bronx
2) Afrojack – Rock The House
3) Yves V – Arkadia
4) Deadmau5 – The Veldt (Tommy Trash Remix)
5) D-Note – Shed My Skin (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs Yves V Remix)
6) The Naked & Famous – Young Blood (Tiesto & Hardwell Remix)
7) Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike & Regi – Momentum (Yves V vs Wolfpack Remix)
8) Martin Solveig – The Night Out (A-Trak Remix)
9) Otto Knows – Million Voice
10) Avicii & Lenny Kravitz – Superlove
Who are the producers from around the globe you are giving high fives to at the moment?
“At the moment I’m a huge fan of Hardwell, Axwell and Calvin Harris…”
For people out there who haven’t tuned in yet, tell us all about your FG DJ Radio show ‘ V Sessions’…
“I think I started about one year ago with this radio show on Radio FG Belgium. After a while this evolved to FG Clubbing (internet) and I became a regular guest at FG France. After that I got a lot of requests to release my show in other countries like Egypt, Slovenia, USA, etc. At the moment we’re looking at ways to fulfil all of the demands! V Sessions is a weekly show where I play my latest favourite tracks, but there’s also room for interaction like new talent, classics on demand etc. It’s every Friday between 21h-22h on FG Belgium and every week on FG Clubbing (Tuesday > 05am, Wednesday > 09am, Thursday > 11am, Saturday > 04pm).”
You have remixed some huge artists…Missy Elliot, Timbaland and Ian Carey under your belt already. What rework are you most proudest of and why?
“I’m really proud that I was asked to do either of these remixes. All this people are great artists whom I have tonnes of respect for. If I have to pick a favourite I would choose my remix of ‘Spread The Love’ from Pedro Henriques.”
What has been your summer anthem?
“There are a few tracks, but if I have to choose one track, i would go for Million Voices from Otto Knows. Always makes the crowd go wild.”
And where have been the great clubs/events in 2012 for you?
“It’s difficult to choose one event, but I have to say the love that I’ve got during my tours in Brazil, India, Italy, etc. were unbelievable. The people there were so crazy!”
What is coming next from you studio wise?
“I spent a lot of hours in the studio lately and the result will be coming soon. I have a lot of new stuff coming besides Bronx with Bassjackers. I just finished a new track with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. We also did a remix together for the Tomorrowland anthem and for the Ibiza classic ‘Shed My Skin from D-Note. Then I have almost finished a new solo track and I have collabs ready with the Brazilan guys Felguk, one with Dani L Mebius, Jacob Van Hage, etc. so you definitely gonna be hearing from me.”
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