Last month RaverRafting went to Amsterdam to join one of the biggest yearly EDM events, Amsterdam Dance Event and the skilled DJ and producer Dimitri Thivaios of the duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike flew in to have a chat with us. The two brothers have been around for a while now and since 2009, their work has been expanding globally. They received great recognition for their work, with soundtracks such as “Waves”, “The Hum”, “Find Tomorrow” and not to forget, this year’s Tomorrowland anthem “Higher Place.”
The two started their career individually, but since then they have joined forces and their music has been emerged into a new energetic category. Dimitri described their sound as “It smashes the house!”
Check out our exclusive interview below.
Why would you advise our American readers to join ADE?
The thing is, it’s a little more productive than Miami. I personally am a huge fan of Miami Winter conference, but the problem is, it’s all about parties and pool parties. At ADE, people are dedicated to their work in forms of meetings and interviews, until at least 7/8 PM. So if you want to do something constructive, I think it’s easier to arrange a good meeting or an interview at ADE than in Miami. In Miami, 3 PM, everybody is drunk.
You guys produce and perform together as brothers. When did you discover you wanted to work together?
We both worked in very different areas at first. Mike was into hip-hop and I’m from the early 90’s techno and the period where hard style was growing. I was in between those genres. At a certain point when I went to Ibiza, Mike was there as well and Ibiza was a huge music revelation for us. I quit using vinyl’s, because I saw CDs doing some crazy things in Ibiza and I fell in love with it. I stored my vinyl’s at my parent’s house with my old set. Both Mike and I also fell in love with Ibiza’s house, techno, minimal and all of the music styles that were alive. One time I was performing in this small club and Mike got there as well. We started performing together and it worked out so well; we thought about it and knew we had something.
What makes you two such a good duo?
I think it’s good to say that we really fill in each other gaps, in the DJ booth, as well as in the studio and with our careers in general. We both have our qualities and we give each other the space to work with it.
How would you describe your sound?
I don’t like labels, but if people ask me what our sound is, I say ‘smash the house’.
What’s the best location you have performed so far?
There are so many of them! I think our performance at ‘Het Sportpaleis’ in Antwerpen, that was crazy. It was our own first show. The location was amazing and to perform there, at the most legendary venue in your own country, definitely left a great impression.
Do you have specific locations in mind where you would still love to perform some day?
Wembley Stadium or Madison Square Garden.
What are your inspirational sources?
That can really be anything. A specific location, a great view, a vibe or a movie. There are a lot of things we get inspiration from. Inspiration hits you when you don’t expect it.
What do you like most about your work?
Just doing it. If you would ask Mike, he would say hands down, studio. I say hands down, performing. That’s probably what makes us a good team.
Do you have some tips for starting DJ’s and/or producers?
It’s actually pretty simple. You have to believe in yourself and don’t give up. Those two things don’t guarantee you to gain success, but if you won’t do those two things, it definitely won’t happen. There are people whose careers worked out sooner. If I look at our personal experience, I think we also believed in ourselves. Maybe we just got lucky, but I don’t believe that. Somebody starts off with something, with the feeling of what he or she wants and they really can do it. It’s the love for what you do. We had to work on our career for a really long time and it took us many years before it actually worked out into something good. There are times where you ask yourself, is it going to work out in some way? But those are the times you have to push through with what you’re doing.
Connect with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike:
https://www.facebook.com/dimitrivegasandlikemike/
https://twitter.com/dimitrivegas
https://soundcloud.com/dimitrivegasandlikemike
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