The Netherlands seem to be the breeding ground for the majority of superstar producer/DJs these days.? One to surely watch is Sandro Silva – the energetic mastermind behind massive tunes like “Get Lower,” “Epic,” and “Prom Night.”? Under the guidance of Laidback Luke, Sandro made the jump from producer to DJ/producer and is known for his Hi-NRG sets, which range from hard and electro to pretty and uplifting (just like his productions). ?With major support from David Guetta and several big collaborations coming down the pike, the Surinamese/Dutch Sandro Silva is one to watch for 2013.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Have you been playing a lot of football this week??
Sandro Silva: Oh yeah, I f*king love football!
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RS: You have the same name as a famous football player so I had to say that.?
Sandro Silva: I know, I think he is Brazilian- and actually football is my second passion.
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RS: Who is your latest bromance??
Sandro Silva: Well there is so much love going around right now with the parties and so many DJs out there, some of those DJs are my really good friends and it?s great to see them after such a long time.
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RS: You have been working with Guetta a lot, what are you guys working on right now??
Sandro Silva: We have a really secret project that is in the pipeline right now, it is going to be big.
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RS: When you work with him, how do you collaborate??
Sandro Silva: I just send him eMails with my new tracks and he responds if he likes it or doesn?t. He really liked my last couple of tracks and he wanted to do it together.
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RS: So you send him a track and then go to the studio together and change the track around??
Sandro Silva: No we do everything via eMail.? That’s how we work.
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RS: Do you use Logic or Protools??
Sandro Silva: I actually use Reason, I love it.
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RS: How long have you been producing??
Sandro Silva: I?ve been producing for 6 years and DJing for 2 years.
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RS: Did you start DJing because you wanted to get your tracks out there??
Sandro Silva: Exactly, producing is my first passion but I want to get my tracks heard and it is a great way to do that.
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RS: In your DJ sets what percent would you say are your own tracks versus other people?s tracks??
Sandro Silva: It depends, if I am on a gig that is underground I try to do more of my own stuff, but if I am in front of a more commercial crowd I try to mix it down a little.
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RS: Was the boat party you DJed the one where Michael Woods killed the power??
Sandro Silva:? Yeah, it was crazy because it was raining and the boat was shaking like crazy and all of a sudden the power stopped and we were like ?what the f*k is happening right now?? It was a really cool gig.
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RS: Was Michael able to get the vibe back??
Sandro Silva: In the end it was okay and the power came back, he did a good set.
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RS: Did you play before or after??
Sandro Silva: Before, luckily.
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RS: You just did a new track with Skrillex called ?Epic? right??
Sandro Silva: Well I released it about two years ago, but after a year it went crazy and was #1 in Holland and sold almost 40 thousand copies in Europe, Holland, and Belgium. It is being picked up really well by DJs.
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RS: And Skrillex is on it too right??
Sandro Silva:? Yeah he played it last week. I was out and heard it, I never expected it from Skrillex but the crowd went bonkers.
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RS: I like your track ?Core? because it has an uplifting, energy feel to it, have you thought about putting a topline over it??
Sandro Silva: We did think about it but I think we will just wait for another track, ?Core? is already out and we are moving on.
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RS: I would suggest that you go back to that one because it is just that strong.?
Sandro Silva: It is a cool song, thank you so much.
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RS: ?Mach 5? has more of an electro feel to it, when you work on your tracks do you decide which ones are going to be electro tracks and which ones will be pretty tracks??
Sandro Silva: When I am in the studio I just go with the flow and see where it takes me, sometimes they can be electro and sometimes they are really hard like ?Core.?
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RS: Are you still collaborating with Oliver Twizt??
Sandro Silva: We are definitely going to do more tracks in the future together. He is an amazing producer and has unique sounds; I also really like him as a DJ.
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RS: Who else are you working with right now??
Sandro Silva: We have a lot coming up. We are working on a collab with Laidback Luke, the Guetta track, and we are planning something with Wolfgang Gartner as well. I am going to do a track on his label Kindergarten soon; we have a lot of big things coming up.
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RS: I think that you are the first DJ that I have spoken to this week that doesn?t have their own label.?
Sandro Silva: I know, everyone has their own label. When I am ready I will have my own as well, I just want to release on some other labels first and make my profile as high as possible.
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RS: Where are you from??
Sandro Silva: Holland.
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RS: Have you taken part in the Amsterdam Dance Event before??
Sandro Silva: Yeah, I was there last year. Businesswise it?s great to be there, the parties are nice as well.???
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RS: I have been going every year since 2004 and I love it. How do you think that the ADE has affected the Dutch dance scene??
Sandro Silva: A lot, so many people from all over the world go and there are so many talented people there- from promoters to producers to DJs. It is a great thing for Amsterdam and for EDM in general.
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RS: Why do you think that the Netherlands produces so many amazing DJs and producers??
Sandro Silva: I get that question a lot actually. It is such a small country and there are so many producers that you have to be really good to get noticed, the competition is so high.
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RS: Regarding your collaborations, if you could work with anyone in the world who would you want to work with??
Sandro Silva: Definitely Daft Punk.
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RS: Would you be able to work with them in the studio or would you work over eMail??
Sandro Silva: I would love to work with them in the studio; it would be amazing to see those guys at work.
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RS:? What would you like to say to all of your fans out there??
Sandro Silva: Thank you for all of your support so far. Keep supporting me and I will bring out a lot of new tracks soon, I hope to see everyone again this year.
Interview conducted during Winter Music Conference 2013.
