07
?10
NICKY ROMERO
From: Holland. Style: “Energetic!” Best known for: “‘Like
Home’ with Nervo.” Tune of 2013: “Avicii ‘Wake Me
Up’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2013: “Vicetone.”
LAST year Nicky Romero gatecrashed the DJ Mag
Top 100 chart as one of the highest new entries
ever, scoring the number 17 slot having come
from pretty much nowhere. Now the one-time
protege of David Guetta ?nds himself in some
rather privileged circles. As DJ Mag hooks up
with him, he’s just back from a production ‘camp’,
working on Rihanna’s new album, alongside
Monsieur Guetta.
“We made two records for her for the
‘Unapologetic’ album, and now we’re working on
follow-ups for her next album,” he says in a rather
matter-of-fact fashion. This is now what his work
day involves. “She’s amazing, a super-nice, superprofessional artist. She knows what she wants
and I have a huge respect for her. 100 percent.
I was a little nervous in the beginning, but she
took that right away. She hugged everyone in the
studio and was just a really nice, humble person.”
And, of course, if you just happen to be in the
studio with Rihanna, other famous artists have
a habit of just dropping by. “Ha! Yes,” he says.
“Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas, a lot of
writers like Ester Dean, Taio Cruz. It was called
‘writers’ camp’, so there were a lot of artists
around that week. I was really happy to be part
of that.”
Have DJs’ fees got out of hand? “That’s easy.
If you do the maths, and you see the venue and
what the promoters charge, I think the fees are
pretty normal. If they’re worth it, why not? But
the ticket price should be affordable for every
single fan.” Has dance music become the new
pop? “Dance music is part of pop music now.
Dance music blends in everywhere now. It’s a
big part of the pop industry.” If you could be
any animal what would you be? “Two things.
I’d love to be an eagle, to have the eagle’s eye,
?y over everything, see what’s happening, and
have that freedom. The other one would be
a panda. So relaxing in the woods, eating on
sticks. Just relaxing and being lazy.” Should
DJs do ‘heart hands’? “It works for a particular
crowd.” Do DJs have a duty to speak out about
drugs? “If you do, it’s your own responsibility.
I’m not a fan but there’s a part of my crowd that
does. I worry about the health of people, so just
make sure you know what you’re doing.” What
would be on your fantasy rider? “A Bugati
Veyron. Maybe a combat helicopter. And my
family. I don’t think they’d ?t in the Bugati, so
maybe I’d ask for four of them.”
046 djmag.com
It must seem bizarre that even as recently as
2011, no one much had heard of Nick Rotteveel
from Amerongen in the Netherlands, and that
now he’s writing music for arguably the biggest
urban artist on the planet. How things change.
“I just try to think about what I have yet to do,”
he says. “But I totally appreciate the things we’ve
achieved so far. The moment you think you’ve
‘made it’, that’s the moment you start to go
downhill.”
His label Protocol Recordings launched with a
bang last year, featuring his collaborations with
Calvin Harris and Nervo, and he’s continued to
keep up the pressure in his new A&R role, signing
tracks from John Dahlback and Vicetone. But
soon it will be his debut album that will require
his full, undivided focus. He’s lining up people
to help him out right now; Guetta, obviously,
Harris, Matthew Koma, British singer Foxes, who
featured on Zedd’s track ‘Clarity’, Noonie Bao,
Tommy Trash and Nervo.
“The most exciting thing will be to make it
something that people can listen to, not just
to dance to,” he says. “For me Rudimental’s
album ‘Home’ is the perfect example. It was an
inspiration. But the most exciting thing for me
will be to make a record that isn’t dance and for
that to be the listened to track on the album,
the one that is everyone’s favourite. That’s the
challenge I’m working on right now. I have a
?rst draft done, and it’s more like indie-pop,
about 70 bpm.” If there’s a time that he’s earned
some self-indulgence, it’s now. BEN ARNOLD