RTT Exclusive Interview : Dyro Talks ADE, DJ Mag, Carnage And Upcoming EP

Following his performance at Amsterdam Dance Event, I was lucky enough to hang with Dutch producer Dyro during his LA stop promoting his song “Like A Boss” that dropped on October 12th. Dyro’s rapid rise in the electronic scene is obvious given his sets that’ve recently rocked fans at Light in Las Vegas, EDC New York and all over the world. From his imprint label WOLV Records to his Diplo & Friends mix, Dyro appears to be on a solid hot streak that shows no end in sight. I caught up with Dyro at the swanky Redbury Hotel in Hollywood to talk about music, the label and his new EP which is currently set to debut sometime in January.

---

To start it off, how was Amsterdam and A.D.E.?

Amsterdam was just as hectic as it is every year – it’s really happy. This year I got a new apartment in Amsterdam so it was a lot easier. I wasn’t traveling back and forth like I did when I used to live 30 minutes outside the city. But yeah, it was good. A lot of interviews, some good shows, and I did a B2B with Hardwell which was basically us just having a great time.  

What were your favorite performances from the weekend?

I’d definitely say the back-to-back with Hardwell. It’s been like one and a half years since we’ve played together on the same stage and time slot, so it was really fun to play again with all of those guys.

You’ve really been globetrotting. What are your favorite venues and what are the main differences between crowds from around the world?

I would never pick one club over another, but I recently did a show in Cologne, Germany at a club called Bootshous. That club is really dirty and gritty; it’s like a warehouse. The energy is insane, it’s so much fun. It’s probably the most energy you will see in all of Europe. That’s definitely one of my favorite ones, but there are also all sorts of clubs around the States that are really cool. I cant’ really pick one.  

And when you’re traveling, do you cater your sets to the crowd or is it a free-for-all.

There’s a difference between playing a club show and a festival because if you’re playing a festival, there are so many more eyes pointed at you. There are thousands of people watching so there’s more on the line. You put a little more preparation into it and you kind of know more or less what you’re going to play. You can play your new songs and do mash-ups there, and just make sure you have the newest, freshest music. Also, the crowd is more international with a festival, whereas a club is usually filled with people from that specific city. It’s impossible to know exactly what people in that city like, so if you go to a club, you just have a collection of a couple hundred songs that you might play and just see how they react.

So when you’re playing a crowd, is there a certain line you have to walk between playing crowd-pleasers and more experimental material?

To be honest, I don’t really play a lot of crowd-pleasers if I don’t like them. I used to, but it’s just not fun for me. I want to have fun too, and obviously the crowd is first but I just can’t stand playing the stuff that everyone else is playing. If you’re playing crowd-pleasers, everybody else is doing it, so how are you going to differentiate from everybody else you know? It’s actually been really good because it’s really stressful (I used to have it and everyone has it at some point) when you hear the DJ before you playing about half of the songs you’re about to play if you’re playing a crowd-pleaser set. The way I’m playing lately, I never have to worry about that so it’s been really good for me as well.

I can imagine that’d be pretty nice.

Yeah, I have a weird taste so that probably works in my benefit too. 

Yeah, I was listening to a few of your sets and they’re pretty aggressive which is sick. How do you get all the energy and translate it into you’re live show? A.K.A What’s your pre-show pump up?

Wow. I’ve never really been a stage person so I kind of had to grow into it. There’s kind of a mask you put on, and you’re basically a persona on the stage. It gets kind of weird sometimes, but it’s just how it works. You have to be energetic and you have to be happy because that’s what people want to see you as. If there are friends and other DJs backstage, that works in your advantage too…

And how would you describe your onstage persona?

I don’t know, I just try and give the most energy that people deserve and try to be the best always. Well, maybe not the “best” but the best I can be.

Nice. Changing gears a bit, what brings you to LA?

Well, a little over a week ago I released my new song “Like A Boss” so I’m over here to do a little promo tour for that. It’s fun though, I’ve met up with a couple of people I know and have friends here. I think Sidney Samson is staying here [the hotel], so I think I’ll catch up with him for food later. There’s just always something going on in LA, you know? I love it here.

In that same vein, who are some producers that have caught your eye, either on WOLV or not?

That’s a good question. On WOLV, we actually just released the second song from D.O.D. He kind of switched his style up last year and what he’s putting out lately has been really cool so I’m happy to release his second song on WOLV. I’m really excited about this – we recently signed a new artist named Bloqshot. He used to produce with a duo under a different name, and now he’s making more trap/hip-hop/dubstep-influenced songs and it’s really cool. I’m really happy to be signing him as well and that’s going to be coming out pretty soon. Then Loopers is an old friend of mine that I was always with when I started making music. We were always writing music together and it was a lot of fun, and he’s still making great songs. We recently released his second song on the label called “Tell Me” which absolutely goes off in clubs. A bunch more, I discovered these two kids from Bologna, Italy called Goja. They’re probably going to put out an EP with some trap and electro songs that I’m really excited about.

For your own inspiration, who are the artists that you’re listening to and how are they influencing your style as your music continues to evolve?

Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Drum & Bass. That means a lot of what Noisia’s doing and what they’re putting on their radio show. It’s extremely creative. I think that people who really inspire me and who I’d want to get into a studio with are people who I sincerely think I could learn from. I’m thinking Noisia, Kill The Noise (I really love his music), Skrillex obviously, and a bunch more. It’s really hard to remember all the names at the moment, but I also really like what Jauz is doing. It’s insane, I really like his music.  

Talking about other DJ’s, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot about DJ Mag lately. Congrats on the #27 spot, but what are your overall thoughts on the poll?

They’re getting a lot of criticism lately. Obviously everybody knows about the iPad stuff and the way people are promoting themselves, and it’s kind of getting unfair. What’s happening with it [DJ Mag] is what’s happening in the music scene all over, where you can have a certain amount of money, a shitty song and music on SoundCloud with a couple million plays on it and promoters might think “People listen to these guys, we should book them.” It sucks because people without a ton of music who make way sicker songs might not get those million plays on SoundCloud and are forgotten. That’s what’s wrong; a lot of times it isn’t about the music but more about plays, comments, likes and your online representation. I think it kind of kills the creativity. But back to the point, DJ Mag is DJ Mag and people still look at it. I have to be honest; it was a dream of mine to ever be featured in DJ Mag when I first started making music. I did it two years ago and it was the highest thing I had achieved. The second time I came in at #27, and this year again. I’m happy to be in it but it’s kind of a mixed feeling because there are a lot of DJs in there that are featured way lower than me which isn’t really right. But I’m still happy to be in there and happy that my fans are voting for me, so let’s keep it at that.

Going off the idea of how it’s difficult for young producers to break into that next level where they start getting a lot of plays, what advice would you give younger artists? I figure you’re probably a good person to ask considering you’re a younger producer yourself and are helping break new artists with WOLV Radio!

It sounds like a generic answer but just stay original and creative. Be you, and be the best version of you. People are focusing way too much on charts and what’s working, and they think if they make a similar song, they will get the same kind of success that another DJ is getting. It might work in the short-term, but in the long-term, what’s going to happen to you when you copy that song in the charts? I prefer the long-path; if someone gave me the opportunity to be #1 tomorrow, I would probably deny it. Where can you go, you know? The only way is down, and people shouldn’t be striving for the quick fix. People want to be really fast and the best, but once you accomplish that there’s nothing else to be accomplished.

 So the top is lonely.

It is. So if you really want to be a great producer, do something creative and that nobody else is doing. Be the best at your own sounds. I think that people are looking too much at what everyone else is doing.

I’m sure you’re getting asked a lot about this, but do you have any comments on the latest story regarding Carnage and Razor Music?

I actually just read the article about that. You know what, obviously using illegal software is wrong but at some point everyone has done it in their career. Just at some point, those people [software companies] deserve to get their money. I started with cracked software and eventually I bought everything the moment I could afford it. It’s karma – it’s what you should do. I did it. Look at my tutorials and you won’t see any cracked software in there. My opinion is that it might not have been a smart decision to do a tutorial video with cracked software. It’s kind of sloppy. I like Carnage, he’s a cool dude. Just not a smart decision…

We’re all big fans of your release “Like A Boss”, so what does the future hold for Dyro?

So the first release that I ever did was an EP and I haven’t done an EP since then. I’m only realizing recently how much more fun releasing an EP can be. I sometimes get the question about albums and why people release albums, and I think that albums are so old school. The scene moves so quickly now. If you spend a year working on an album and then it drops and nobody remembers it in two months, your relevancy drops and you just wasted a year in my opinion. I think it’s better to release singles and spread them out over the year to stay relevant. But there are downsides. When you’re releasing singles, people have certain expectations that every one of your releases is going to be a banger. I think the solution for me is to do an EP, which is what we’re doing right now. It gives me a little more creative freedom. I’m going to do a little more open format. I did a dubstep-influenced song, more of a hip-hop song, and obviously one that people expect from me. It’s just more fun because people get that song that they expect but also a few different things. It’s cool. It’s not always the same shit. I make a lot of music but you just can’t release it all.

So we can expect four tracks on the EP?

Yeah, three to four songs. It’s going to be released probably in January. We’re still looking for a couple of vocalists but the production process is going well.

That’s awesome to hear. Wrapping it up, what are the main challenges you’re coming across with the project?

The competition with music lately has been really high, so keeping up with that and staying original. It’s so easy to choose the easy route, for instance the Serum preset that everyone’s using right now. It’s really easy to go there and use that one and score a little hit, but it doesn’t fulfill my creative being if that makes sense. It’s not fun for me. So I guess the hardest thing is just trying to always do something different, original and cool.

---

Big ups to Dyro for chatting with us along his “Like A Boss” trip. Make your way down the playlist our buddy Dyro made exclusively for Run the Trap, and last but not least, best of luck on the new project!

Dyro

SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Photo Credit: Jennica Abrams/@jennicamaephoto

—

Paton Moody

RTT Exclusive Interview : Dyro Talks ADE, DJ Mag, Carnage And Upcoming EP