8 questions with Oliver Heldens ahead of his performance from JEWEL

by: Dancing Astronaut Staff Jun 16, 2016

Oliver Heldens arrived on the scene in 2013 at the age of just 18 years old with his breakout hit, “Gecko.” The track soon found its way into the hands of nearly every mainstage DJ, eventually receiving an even bigger vocal reboot as “Overdrive” alongside Becky Hill. The track not only dominated the DJ world, but hit the #1 spot on both the UK Dance and Singles charts.

Since then, the Dutch producer has eclipsed any talk of being a one-hit wonder, following up with similarly pervasive singles like “Koala,” “Shades of Grey” with Shaun Frank, and “The Right Song” alongside his biggest supporter, Tiesto.

Now, still only 21 years old, Heldens has found himself atop the commercial dance spectrum and one of the most in-demand DJs in the world. Ahead of Oliver’s performance at the brand new JEWEL Nigthclub in Las Vegas on Thursday, June 16, we’ve pinned him down for some questions on his blockbuster career.

Tickets for Oliver Heldens’ performance from JEWEL Nightclub at ARIA Resort & Casino are available here.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment of the past year?

My biggest accomplishment of the past year must be the fact that I started my own label, Heldeep Records. That was such an accomplishment in my career and I’m very proud of the fact that I did it and that is going really well with the label. We already had some amazing releases on the label.

What’s your dream collaboration?

My dream collaboration (production wise) would be with Niles Rodgers. I really like the creativity that he puts into his tracks and he really has his own sound. I’m just very curious to see what sound we could create together. I think it would be awesome!

What song in your discography are you most proud of and why?
My favorite song is by far “Gecko”, because that has been the key for my international success. The feedback on this track was so amazing and people all around the world listened to it. I can’t describe how I felt when this track skyrocketed in the charts and I’m still very thankful that it was so successful.

If you weren’t making house music, what kind of style would you be making?

Well it may sound funny, but I was into hardstyle/jumpstyle in my younger years. This genre really got me into producing music and I got interested in house music later on. So if I didn’t get introduced with house music, I would probably have created more hardstyle inspired tracks.

What advice do you have for upcoming artists / DJs in the scene?

Stay true to your own creativity and stay unique. Create your own sound and keep improving yourself in creating that sound. And make sure you send your music to a lot of people, don’t be scared to let people hear your music. Even DJ’s might just like your music and they can help you out a lot.

How do your performances in clubs vs festival settings differ?

The atmosphere is obviously very different in clubs than at festivals. In my opinion clubs are way more intense and you get to feel the atmosphere of the crowd a lot. Clubs are more “underground” to play. Festivals make me feel more adrenaline because of the show around it. The effort that is put into the stage and the light/video effects is just insane. It amazes me every time I play a cool festival!

What’s your favorite part about performing in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas has always been one of the craziest places to perform. People come to Vegas to have a good time and party like there’s no tomorrow. It’s funny that Vegas never seems to disappoint me, but it does amaze me every single time I perform there.

What are you most looking forward to about your upcoming set at Jewel?

I’m very excited to see how the crowd will react to my set, which contains a few new songs and unreleased stuff. Besides that, I’m curious to see how crazy the crowd will be this time. See you all in Vegas!!