Dutch dynamo Top Of The World
“The first time I started experimenting with producing music it didn’t work out at all. I didn’t have the patience back then so I gave up. But I still had the passion to produce music so a few months ago I gave it another shot. This time I was fully focused and I invested a lot of time in it. I was working day and night to get better and I was fully aware of my capability. Every time I made something new I was proud but at the same time I knew it wasn’t good enough. I’m a perfectionist so until I reached that level of quality I desired, I wouldn’t do much with the tracks I made. There are still hundreds of tracks that nobody but me (and maybe my neighbors) have ever heard yet! After a long time of practicing it started paying off and so I finally had the courage to put something online. From there it blew up and here I am.”
Who were your early DJ heroes?
“Guys like Hardwell, Laidback Luke, Dada Life.”
So a crazy few months for you – everything is going incredible for you. So who is the dude who passed on your tracks to Hardwell’s Revealed label, did you buy him a drink?
“Haha, that’s MAKJ. He’s the best and I owe him a lot. He landed on my soundcloud page and we connected on facebook. He told me I had a lot of potential and he offered to send my tracks to Hardwell. The next thing I knew, he sent me a video of Hardwell playing Metaphor at the Electric Zoo festival in New York. I got a call from his label manager and he signed three tracks of mine. I don’t know MAKJ personally, but I think he’s in Miami as well so I will definitely buy him a non-alcoholic drink. Haha.”
Great story! Your main loves of electronic music are progressive house and electro, people are calling your sound ‘the chainsaw sound’ – how would you describe your music right now?
“I would describe it as a strong mixture between progressive and electro. There’s a lot of progression going on in my breaks, but when it drops it turns around completely and that’s exactly what I like.”
A massive new tune smashing up everywhere at the moment, your collab with Jacob Van Hage ‘EMP’ – tell us about the track…
“Jacob and I joined forces in the studio. I visited him a long time ago and a few weeks ago we started a project that I had lying around. Jacob tend’s to be more trancy and he has this major drops. We tried to combine our signature sounds and EMP was the outcome of that.”
You are a fan of collabs, as well as the track with Jacob, there’s also the Rene Kuppens tune ‘Raid’ on Revealed. A musician said to us the other day that when two make a record it can be like two people having a child. Thoughts on that!!??
“Haha, that’s exactly right, but I’m also a fan of collabs because everybody has a different perspective on producing music. I’m very studious and I learn a lot by doing collaborations.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
Dyro & Ansol – Top Of The World
Dyro & Jacob Van Hage – EMP
Hardwell & Dannic – Kontiki
Dyro & Rene Kuppens – Raid
Hardwell & Dannic – Kontiki (Dyro remix)
Dyro & Loopers – Monstertalk
M-3ox feat. Heidrun – Beating Of My Heart (Matisse & Sadko Remix)
Pass At Me (Tommy Trash Remix)
Madonna feat. M.I.A. & Nicki Minaj – Give Me All Your Luvin’ (Nicky Romero Remix)
Julian Jordan – Rock Steady (Original Mix)
“I’m playing the Mixmash pool party on March 22nd at The National and I’m performing at Hardwell presents Revealed on March 23rd at club SET.”
What are you most looking forward to from Miami week away from the nightclub?
“Relaxing under a clear blue sky listening to all the new music out there.”
What are the big Miami bombs you are taking to spin?
“Dyro & Ansol – ‘Top Of The World’ and Dyro & Rene Kuppens – ‘Raid’.”
Is there a DJ or party you are most looking forward to the most to check out?
“Must be Tommy Trash and Porter Robinson.”
Your DJing career is just at the start, where though in the last few months have been great to DJ at?
“Well, to be honest I haven’t really been DJing a lot the last few months. My main focus was on producing music. My gigs in Miami are actually my first gigs in months, haha. Don’t worry though, I know what I’m doing.”
What producers from around the world are you giving high fives to at the moment?
“Mostly the ones that dare to be different. Dare to ignore the loudness-war and experiment. There’s a lot of copying going on today, but hey in the end we’re all inspiring each other.”
We see that your i-pod is full of non EDM tunes, what are the 5 big tunes on there at the moment?
Selah Sue – This World
Selah Sue – Raggamuffin
The Deaf – 1973
Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
John Mayer – Shadow Days
And finally, what is coming next from the Dyro studio…?
“Like people might have read in the above. A remix for Hardwell & Dannic’s ‘Kontiki’ and a totally smashing collab with Ansol called ‘Top Of The World’ which I’m really excited about.”