Going in hard with Dannic

Image: Dannic 

Dannic's acquaintance with music came early on in his childhood through listening to his grandfather's records at the age of 7. Natural progression led him to where he is today, and the Dutch producer is now dictating the laser reaching action in arenas worldwide.

Operating out of Hardwell's backyard on Revealed Recordings puts emphasis on Dannic's standing in the big room hierarchy. With each release he is steadily climbing to the peak. 

His most recent escapades landed him in the Americas, and when you consider the popularity of electronic dance music in the US at the moment, it amplifies the soaring path his career has undertaken in just a short space of time. 

Coloursfest in Glasgow on Saturday 6th June is his next port of call, so we made it our mission to hook him in for a chat. Major talking points included his latest material including 'Mayday' (below), making his way onto Hardwell's set list at Ultra and the goings on in the world of one of the globe's hottest dance acts.  

You're playing Coloursfest in Scotland with Steve Aoki, what are your past experiences of Scotland and are you looking forward to playing alongside Steve?

I have been lucky enough to play in Scotland quite a few times, each time is always amazing. They have so much energy and bring a great atmosphere with them to the club.

It is fair to say that the Scots party as hard, if not harder than anyone else in the world. Playing alongside Steve Aoki will be cool, the guy is a huge personality in the scene so it will be great to get on the decks next to him and get the party started.

You've just come back from touring Mexico and the USA, how was that? Did you visit any places you'd not been to before?

It was awesome, I have been really lucky with touring. I played on Hardwell’s world tour for the last year so I was able to play almost everywhere worldwide. It’s such a privilege to be able to travel the world, doing what you love.

The shows I have just done were in part to support the release of my latest track ‘Mayday,’ which went really well, topping the Beatport Progressive House Chart. Some of the shows were in Miami for the Winter Music conference, which always sets the tone for the coming summer festival season.

Is the big room sound massive over there at the moment? 

The big room sound is still very prominent in the US, but you can sense things are changing up over there. This was the first year that Ultra added an underground stage to the line up and we are seeing a range of artists from other genres beginning to get the recognition that the big room guys had a few years ago.

I think over time we are going to see the US scene diversify in the same way it has in Europe. In the Netherlands, we don’t really have one dominant sound, all types of dance music are usually equally represented.

The US will catch up soon enough.

How did your latest track ‘Mayday’ go down over there, and how did you come to work with Lucky Date and Harrison?

It goes off everywhere I play it, there's so much energy in the track. I was a fan of Lucky Date since his collaboration with Zedd. When I asked him to do a remix of my track ‘Dear Life’ (below), we got in contact and sent some stuff over email.

We started working on the track by sending it back and forth. I think we finished it in two weeks, which is kind of fast. I was looking for a good vocal for the track when I sent it to vocalist Harrison, he came up with the idea in just 15 mins. Crazy. 

Did you find any difficulty with three different thought processes going into one track? Surely there must be disagreements at times? 

Of course it's an ongoing process, but in this case we all really added something to the whole track. A good collaboration is a blend between all of the producer’s individual styles. Therefore we had almost no arguments about the final product. Just some bits and pieces that we wanted to tweak.

Tell us about your upcoming releases, what have you got planned for this year? 

A lot of new solo material. I will release a new club track which is the follow up for ‘Clobber’ and also a new collaboration with Hardwell called ‘Survivors’.  I'm also working on a collaboration with Sick Individuals and a follow up to ‘Zenith’.

We hear Hardwell just dropped your next collab at Ultra…

That’s right, Hardwell and myself haven’t made a track together in some time, he has been focused on his album and I have been busy with my own projects.  

The track is pure, anthemic festival material, so it’s going to be great to see how it goes down over the summer.

Also the label too, you have a great relationship with Revealed Recordings, where's that heading this year and what do you hope for from your time with the imprint? 

I have been part of the Revealed family since day one, Revealed recordings is an extension of our relationship. The team behind the label push you so hard for your best and the most creative ideas. It’s an amazing environment to keep developing as an artist, I can't see myself leaving any time soon. As long as they want me that is!

And what about your own podcast, Front Of House Radio, how do you use that as a platform? Do you look for fan feedback and road test new tracks through it?

That’s exactly how I see Front Of House Radio. It’s essentially my laboratory for experimenting and trying new ideas out. Gauging the fans reaction is important. With social media we are able to find out in real time exactly what they think of the music you are playing.

Sometimes at the big festivals you feel disconnected from the crowd, and your ability to read the reaction to your tunes can be challenging.

Finally, what live appearances are you particularly looking forward to this year, and why? 

I love playing the UK, it’s one of my favourite countries because the crowd is always up for it. Playing in the Revealed Recordings arena at Creamfields last year was a highlight. It was an amazing moment in my career so I am really looking forward to heading over it again.

Nice one Dannic!  

For tickets to see Dannic at Coloursfest, follow this link or see the ticket box below. 

Still counting up your festival options? We are too. Keep your finger on the festival pulse with our special section right here.

Tickets are no longer available for this event