Interview: Dyro
Dutch DJ and producer Dyro has, over the last few years, become a force to be reckoned with. He began releasing music in 2010, after being discovered on a forum by DJ and producer Laidback Luke, and was quickly signed to Hardwell’s label Revealed Recordings. Since then, he has worked with artists such as Tiësto, performed at festivals including Tomorrowland and placed in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs for two consecutive years, the first time in 2013 as the highest new entry. His sound is infused with elements of electro and progressive house, and recent singles include the Beatport top 10 record ‘Calling Out’. 2014 saw him found his own label, WOLV, under which he releases both his own music as well as providing a platform for promoting other artists. We caught up with the young powerhouse ahead of his show at Shoko to talk Barcelona, music and that elusive downtime.
Firstly, welcome to Barcelona! Do you get the chance to explore much when you visit?
It depends, you know. Today we have one show, tomorrow we’re off and then we’re playing in Austria on Wednesday. I really like Barcelona as a city and I came here as a visitor too a couple of times. I could have flown home tomorrow, but I chose to stay and explore.
With such a busy schedule, what do you do to relax?
I play video games, hang out with friends, go for a nice dinner…but to be honest, I feel like myself when I’m working in the studio musically. I like to sit down for hours to make a certain song…I don’t see it as work, so that is something to relax to.
How would you describe your sound and music to someone who’s never heard of you before?
A lot of energy. It’s more alternative music, it’s a little bit darker, it’s detailed, but I like to believe that it’s different.
Who are your main musical influences?
It depends…within the DJ scene I would say Kill the Noise, Skrillex, Knife Party, Noisia - the grimier, more detailed music.
And where are you favourite places and cities to perform? (Apart from Barcelona, of course!)
Every country’s very different you know, every country has their advantages and disadvantages. For example I really like performing in Canada, because the energy is really good, and Mexico because people don’t go there too often so there’s always a lot of hype for a show. So it really depends.
What would you say has been your top career highlight so far?
I would say starting my own label for me was one thing I always wanted to do when I started making music - because I started as a producer, and the only thing I wanna do is make music. Obviously I like DJing but I was thrown into DJing. I really enjoy it now and I grew into it, but I’m more of a studio person. So for me forming my own label was one of my goals. Last week we had our one year anniversary – that was really cool. Other than that, having the highest new entry in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs was really cool, the first number one hit with Hardwell…there’s a lot of highlights.
Why did you create your label, WOLV?
If you’re a perfectionist like I am, you don’t want to deal with other people trying to put their mark on a song, or having to follow a certain sound because that’s the sound of the label. I decide what I release, I decide when it gets released and how. So it’s more about the freedom, but also when I started making music and DJing I got a lot of opportunities, from guys like Hardwell, Tiesto and a bunch more that I’m probably forgetting right now – but all these people gave me a chance, and for me it’s a chance to give back to young talent as well and try to give them a spot too.
You have a lot of tour dates this Summer, playing in both festivals and clubs worldwide. Do you prefer playing at either type of venue?
The fun thing with festivals is that it’s like something to look out to. For example, with Tomorrowland, there is a lot of hype building towards it and you work a long time on your set as it’s more like a showpiece, and there’s so many millions of people watching at the time you’re playing. I start looking for new music like a month before and make new mashups, work on new songs that I’m gonna premiere as it is like a showcase, and that’s fun but when you’re in a club everything's really intimate and everything just goes on the fly, so you just start playing with the crowd right in front of you. I would say I like playing in a club better.
Tell us something about yourself, or your music, that we might not already know?
I probably make way more than I release. I don’t feel like every song should be released - each song is more of a learning process rather than something that has to be put out. So I make a lot of songs and I finish them but I put them in the closet and maybe save them for another time, or maybe use certain parts of them. I think that a lot of people don’t know that of me, that I have hundreds of projects that people have never heard before.
Keep up with Dyro here.