Blasterjaxx thrilled fans at Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival 2016 and indulged in a tête–à–tête with The Sherp.
The organisers of Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival India 2016 surprised everyone when they announced that their surprise EDM act would be none other than Dutch electronic music duo – Blasterjaxx. The news sent EDM fans into a frenzy and excitement levels hit the roof! Let’s just say, Blasterjaxx lived up to the hype in every way imaginable. The Sherp had the opportunity to sit down with one half of the duo, Thom Jongkind, and this is what he had to say:
Credits: Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival
The Sherp: You’ve performed in India before, so what made you come back for Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival?
Blasterjaxx: On the request of my fans and this wonderful organisation; this is what brought me here. If the fans want me here, I’m here!
The Sherp: What, according to you, is the best part about being a producer?
Blasterjaxx: The best part is that you can put your own creativity and your own mindset of the music into your song. That is what makes you unique and makes you stand out from the rest. I think that’s the best part. It’s your signature sound and no one else can, well people can copy it, but it’s your sound and as soon as people acknowledge that it’s your thing, then they become fans.
The Sherp: Where did it all start out for you?
Blasterjaxx: Depends on how you see it. We started professionally four years ago but before that we already had releases. Even before we started Blasterjaxx, we had releases individually. I had a record label before Blasterjaxx so it’s hard to tell. But let’s say it started as a hobby from the age of 13.
Credits: Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival
The Sherp: Can you give us a list of songs that you plan to drop for Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival?
Blasterjaxx: It’s hard to say, but I have made a special mash-up for Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival with a Punjabi twist. And other than that, a lot of my own music and a lot of my own edits are involved. I always like to test out stuff while we’re working on it in the studio and see how it works live and then we can tweak it a little more in the studio.
The Sherp: What’s your pre-ritual warm-up before every live performance?
Blasterjaxx: I kind of noticed that I always like to have my laptop with me, even if it’s just 10 minutes before the set. Even though I’ve already put everything on the SD card, I still need my laptop to see my track list again. It could be the same track list as last week, but it’s some sort of weird habit.
Credits: Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival
The Sherp: Which artist would you like to collaborate with on-stage?
Blasterjaxx: Daddy Yankee (exclaims)!
The Sherp: Any advice for budding DJs out there?
Blasterjaxx: Yeah, absolutely. We always tell them to invest a lot of their time in producing. Nowadays, it’s way easier to start producing with YouTube tutorials on the internet; you can get samples really easily. And believe me, if you want to make it into the music scene, you really have to give your own identity to your kind of music and your kind of sound. The only way to do that is to produce by yourself. So that’s our biggest advice.
The Sherp: If you were to pick one person to accompany you to music festivals who would you pick?
Blasterjaxx: I wish all my friends could travel with me all the time.