Tag: firebeatz

INTERVIEW: Firebeatz (2013)

2012 was a massive year for the Dutch duo Firebeatz, Jurgio Ratello and Tim Benjamin.? Their track with Chocolate Puma, “Just One More Time,” was a big Beatport hit and gained massive support from Pete Tong.? A slew of solid remixes, including Pink’s “Blow Me,” has expanded their reach from the underground to the mainstream.? With so much going, they were quite in demand during the Amsterdam Dance Event, and I caught up with them for a quick chat.

RS: How did the two of you meet up?
Jurgio Ratello: We met at School of Rock in Tilburg.

RS: Were you DJs first or producers?
Tim Benjamin: I was a DJ first and played music, and then I started to create the sounds that I played. In the beginning, it was mostly drum and bass/hip-hop stuff. Later on when we met at school, it was more house music and that genre.
Jurgio: I started DJing first and was more into the original house sound. That is where we get this unique combination of all different influences.

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INTERVIEW: Nicky Romero (2013)

Although he’s been producing tracks for a few years, 2012 has been the breakthrough year for Dutch DJ/Producer Nicky Romero.? His massive Beatport hit “Toulouse” was followed by collaborations with David Guetta, Fedde Le Grand, Calvin Harris, Zedd, and Nervo.? Coming in as the highest new entry on the DJ Mag list at #17 was another major accomplishment.? Chatting with Nicky at Amsterdam Dance Event, it’s easy to see why he is achieving all this success – not only is he musically talented, he is a genuinely friendly and passionate, as well as grateful for all of the support he receives.

DJ Ron Slomowicz: So you have had a good week haven’t you?
Nicky Romero: Yeah it?s been crazy, super crazy.

RS: Let?s retrace it, I first saw you at the Jimmy Woo party when you were back in the VIP area. Everyone attacked you and wanted to take a picture with you.
Nicky Romero: Yeah, it was crazy. I wasn’t expecting so many people to be there awaiting my Q&A. It?s insane and a little unreal that so many people want something.
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ADE 2012: Day 1 (Quick Summary)

Rather than doing a full wrap up of each day – here are a few quick highlights.

Firebeatz
Firebeatz

Panel – ‘Does Music Criticism Matter” – Esteemed music critics from Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Pitchfork and URB discussed the world of music journalism in the 21st century. Bemoaning the “economy of the click,” the importance of search engine optimized headlines and short 500 word pieces replacing long form magazine journalism and how the online audience dictates what is covered (due to the exact statistics,) the panelists also focused on positive such as the relevance of printed magazines is still in evidence. In the magazine world, the reader is more likely to experience music they don’t already know about because they have actively purchased the magazine as opposed to online where people tend to read about music they already have heard. On similarities between DJing and writing, Joshua Glazer (URB) shared the sentiment of “I like it, I want to share it” on his motivation for both. While most agreed that they choose not to write negative reviews preferring to write about what they like, Nick DeCosemo (MixMag) shared the obvious point that “negative reviews are more fun to read.” Probably the best quote came from Joshua about the difficulty of reviewing events and having to remember that “the worst party I ever went to is the best night of someone else’s life.”

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