Discarding the formula with Dyro

Photo: Dyro

As one of the highest regarded young producers to have emerged from the new generation of Dutch house artists, Dyro has in a relatively short time commanded huge respect from the industry's leaders and earned a legion of fans in the process. 

With his penchant for driving bass lines, blissful melodies and almighty drops, Dyro is more at home than ever in the big room setting, his music perfectly primed for fist pumping, good times (as seen in his Tomorrowland set below). 

A regular at the biggest stages across the globe, Dyro's important role in the development of large scale dance music has been cemented with a prolific run of releases landing on labels like Revealed, Spinnin' and his newly launched imprint Wolv. 

Dyro makes his first UK appearance in nearly a year on April 4th when he hits Cream & Composit's Afrojack special at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, so we thought we'd grab five minutes with big room dance music's hottest property to discuss creating your own sound, discarding the formula, and sneakers.

You've got a few UK gigs coming up, including one alongside Afrojack in Manchester next month. What can we look forward to from your set there?

Yeah I have, it's always great playing in the UK. I never like to give too much away about what I have in store for my set, but I can tell you it will feature a lot of my music and a host of unreleased material.

You'll also be one of the big names at Northern Lights in Newcastle this summer, is the UK somewhere you enjoy playing? How do the crowds here rate to the rest of the world?

The fans are always so up for it, full of energy and passion for the music. I get so excited about playing here as they just go so hard and get so crazy, which is what I create my music for, so that people can lose control. The last time was for Creamfields last summer (check his set below), so it has been too long since I have seen my UK fans!

You've enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks in the dance music community, going as far as hitting number 27 in the DJ Mag poll last year. What would you say it is about you and your sound that people from across the globe are connecting to?

I think that the music I make really speaks to a lot of fans out there who have become bored of the same predictable and safe music.

A lot of producers stick to a formula, they know what works and they are not willing to take risks. For me there is no challenge in that, so I am always experimenting, trying different techniques and I think the fans respect that. And that’s where the connection comes from, at least I think so!

Tell us about your journey from bedroom DJ to international star - how did your love of dance music begin and how did you go about getting noticed in the early days?

Well I'm Dutch, so the love of dance music has always been there. In Holland it really is the most popular kind of music -like hip hop is for kids in the US.

So we grow up surrounded by it, which means it’s been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I got noticed quite young and was lucky that Hardwell was one of the first guys that picked up my music and really gave me a platform from which I could grow and develop as an artist. It took off from there.

It must have been pretty special getting picked by Hardwell, Laidback Luke and Dada Life as a breakthrough artist to watch out for back in the early days, how was that for you and how did it affect your career?

Having the support of big names really helps and working alongside guys like Tiesto early on, of course gets you attention. But equally it’s important to live up to that early excitement and keep delivering. You do that by staying true to your self and not following hype.

The scene has a lot of talent coming through at the moment, how do you set about making yourself standout? 

I just concentrate on producing and not following trends. That’s what I have done with my label Wolv. Its all about being unique and staying true to your self and not following the latest’s hype which the scene goes crazy for, then disappears six months later.

Speaking of Wolv, how is running the label going? Your first release set itself apart with its acid house backdrop and almost rock melody lines, what can we expect from the label in future?

Wolv is something I had hoped to do for a while and the response we have had so far has been incredible, it is really amazing. We want to keep pushing ahead, finding talented, unheralded artists and giving them the platform from which to launch their careers as artists.

Wolv is that safe creative zone in which to experiment because we know the fans are forward thinking and give us that freedom to explore our creativity (hear that in the latest Wolv podcast below).

You've played in huge number of countries already, which gig in your career though stands out to you as the most special?

It's hard to pick just one, each show is special and different, I recently did a big US tour which was completely at odds with the huge summer festivals we play, so I try not to compare as long as the crowds going crazy that’s what matters.

In between the endless touring and studio work, what do you do to relax?

I am really into fashion and design, oh and sneakers… lots of sneakers. So when I am winding down you can find me obsessing over the latest fashion movements.

And finally, what’s next for Dyro?

Next up is the summer! Time to look ahead to the festival season and Ibiza, I can’t wait, I have a lot of exciting shows lined up! Time to party!

Party with Dyro when he hits Victoria Warehouse on April 4th by grabbing your tickets here.