On September 7th Hook N Sling and NERVO had the official music video for their hit record, ‘Reason’, released on the Spinnin’ youtube channel. Since the day it was uploaded, it has gathered over one million views. ‘Reason’ is the perfect feel good anthem, between NERVO’s killer vocals and Hook N Sling’s gorgeous melodies the collaboration makes perfect sense.
We got the chance to speak to Hook N Sling before his set at Liv Miami on November 29th. We chatted about ‘Reason’, some of his remixes, gigs, his favorite records, and more.
1. Your collaboration with NERVO was released in late August, how has the response been? Did you enjoy working with the twins and do you have any other collaborations planned for future?
The girls were great; I’veknown them for a few years now and they are from Australia too. So we kind of have a lot of friends in common. We worked together in Sydney in my studio and we wrote ‘Reason’, I think, within a couple of days. Obviously we both kept traveling so we released the record while we were around in different cities, I always get to see them now and then, it’s good fun. As far as collaborations I probably can’t say just yet, but there are other singles coming out. I’m doing a collaboration with a girl named Karin Park, that’s my next single coming out on Axtone in the next couple of months. That’s really the only one I can talk about.
2. Throughout your career you’ve garnered an impressive list of remixes for the likes of Calvin Harris, Fedde Le Grand, Miike Snow, NERVO, Wolfgang Gartner, and more. Is there a specific remix you enjoyed making the most and are there any records that you plan on remixing in the future?
The one I enjoyed the most, that’s a hard question, but the one I’m probably the happiest with was the one I did for an Australia band called Miami Horror. Also the mix I did for the NERVO girls which was of ‘We’re All No One’. That kind of put us in the studio together, every now and then there is something I’m really proud of. For the time being I have no plans to remix anything in the future, I’m doing all original music at the moment.
Miami Horror – Sometimes (Hook N Sling Remix)
Nervo ft. Afrojack & Steve Aoki – We’re All No One (Hook N Sling Remix)
3. Tonight we are here at LIV Miami, but you’ve also played gigs at Pacha, Space Ibiza, Global Gathering, Future Music Festival, and Stereosonic. Do you prefer clubs or festivals and do you have a favorite place to DJ?
I don’t know, I don’t necessarily have a favorite. There are good club gigs and there are good festival gigs. I’ve played some really bad festivals, I played one gig once where they didn’t even have CDJ’s. I flew all the way to New York for a festival and they didn’t even have CDJ’s so I had to turn around and go home. That’s a horror story, but there are festivals like EDC Orlando which was one of the best festivals of my DJ career. I think EDC and the guys at Insomniac that organize it really understand the music. They know how to program visuals and set up stages really well.
4. When you’re playing a club verses a festival, does your set change? If so how?
It does, with festivals I generally tend to play a lot more records within the time. You really only get like fourth five minutes to an hour at a festival where as in a club you probably have two or three hours sometimes. So with festivals I try an do a lot more in the time and it’s a lot higher energy. It’s much more intense. In a club it’s different because you have people a lot closer to you. It’s a different atmosphere, but I do change it, that’s really important and every DJ should.
Hook N Sling tearing it down!
5. What are your favorite records?
There are records I actually love; one would be the Dave Spoon & Pete Tong mix of Kleerup ft. Robyn ‘With Every Heartbeat’. Also, I did a compilation for Ministry of Sound in 2010 and ‘Vocal Chords’ by Claude VonStroke was the last track on my disc. It is one of my favorite records ever, the original I love and the remix is fantastic. These are influential songs to me. ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’ is another one, I know it’s a cliche but it defiantly made Fedde the guy he is today. He knows a good record when he hears it. ‘Star Guitar’ by Chemical Brothers is the last one I can think of, that record really got me into dance music.
Kleerup ft. Robyn – With Every Heartbeat (Dave Spoon & Pete Tong)
Claude VonStroke – Vocal Chords
Fedde le Grand – Put Your Hands Up For Detroit
Chemical Brothers – Star Guitar
6. What is your favorite set up on stage and what software do you use to produce?
I have all pioneer gear, I like three CDJ’s and a pioneer mixer. In the studio I mainly use Ableton Live but I record with Pro Tools and I also have some hardware synths.
7. What influences your music the most? Who do you look up to and do you consider anyone your mentor?
I’m doing this record with Axtone, which is Axwell’s label, and he’s kind of mentoring me through it. Him and I have been sending the record back and forth for the past year. In that sense right now he’s a bit of a mentor to me.
8. The dance music scene has a long history of change. What is your take on the scene right now and where do you see EDM going in the next five years?
I think it’s extremely healthy worldwide, I don’t see how it could slow down. In the states it’s really different than the rest of the world, the rest of the world, I think, is kind of settled in with EDM. They are use to it and they’ve kind of grown up with it, in the states it has exploded really quickly. More quickly than anywhere else in the world, it’s interesting to see how long that’s going to sustain. For example, I’m doing a gig in Vegas where Cirque du Soleil is getting involved with club nights. Things are going to go next level, especially in Vegas next year. It definitely doesn’t show any signs of slowing down that’s for sure. Also I think that EDM is on the radio and I don’t have a problem with it. A lot of people think that’s over commercialization but I don’t see it as a problem.
9. DJ equipment aside, what’s an essential item you don’t leave home without when on the road?
My noise cancelling headphones, but that’s a boring answer. My credit card (laughs), you know what I keep losing on the road? In ear buds. I’ve probably spent like $500 this year on in ear buds because I always lose them. I always try and take two pairs because I know I’m going to lose them.
10. What is your most memorable moment on stage or in the studio?
A memorable moment for me in the last twelve months is with the girls (NERVO) while we were writing ‘Reason’. I remember a specific moment where Liv (Olivia Nervo) came up with a certain Idea for the verse, we all looked at each other and we were like “yep that’s it”. It was really clear, everything just clicked. It was a real moment that I’ll never forget.
11. As a DJ how much time do you spend traveling and what do you do during your long flights and days on the road?
Sometimes I travel a lot, sometimes not so much. This weekend is Miami in New York, I live in LA so I’ve got to do the cross continent flight and then I go up to New York tomorrow. I have a day off in New York and then I play on Saturday night. Sometimes it works out well like that and other times it doesn’t. I was here recently where I did Miami to Seattle and then Seattle to like Texas or something. Sometimes I get up at 7:00 AM everyday after playing all night long. Sometimes it’s crazy and sometimes it’s good, it depends. On my flights I play this basketball game on my iPhone, I’m trying to master it. I can’t right now though, it’s one of these games that’s super lame. All you do is throw a ball into a basket, but if I’m online I can challenge everyone in the world. It’s a world tally and I came in first a while back (laughs).
12. What can we expect from Hook N Sling in 2013?
Plenty more touring over in the states, this year I only really got here in June. I don’t know if I should announce this yet, but I’ll be doing a lot more shows in Vegas. Release wise I’ve got around four new things to put out after this next single, so I’ve got five new records.
WhiteRaverRafting would like to thank Hook N Sling for taking time out of schedule to talk to us. This interview was conducted by Katy Kleinberg.
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