Enjoying a sunny morning in Amsterdam, strolling by its charming streets and stopping by to take some pics along its breathtaking canals it’s something magical… but when Eller decides to join us for breakfast, oh well, that’s definitely something extra!
Wondering what this amazing artist is up to right now?
So, Eller just moved to a new house, built a new studio, still teaching guitar to his beloved students and…take a look to our chat to know everything about our funny breakfast with a very special guest đ
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an international PR at Armada Music? Who are the guys behind all your favorite artists? And what do they do exactly?
Well we had the pleasure to have a nice chat with two of the best PRs in the business, just to quench your thirst of curiosity and we’re ready to share the juicy details!
TBA: When did you start working at Armada music?
Lisanne: I started working at Armada Music on January 2, 2017. I finished law school, but felt I needed to have more creativity in my life. I love Law and will never regret choosing it as a study, but my creative / musical heart needed attention. I worked in the entertainment business on the TV side first, but soon discovered that there is only one place that will make me happy every day: the music business. So here we are!! And to be honest, I donât think I will ever leave the music field.. đ
Justine: For me, it was early 2016. I was working in fashion, but needed a change of scenery. One day, I was at this Pablo Nouvelle concert in Paradiso in Amsterdam as a fan and got overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of a certain group of people dancing in front of me. They had a great influence on the overall vibe of the crowd that night and somehow really caught my attention. At a certain point, Pablo Nouvelle announced he recently signed with Armada Music and while saying that, he pointed towards this specific group of people standing up front. It turned out they were working at Armada Music and were there to support him. You could tell they were very proud of him and enjoyed working for him, which was why I told my friend âI want to work there as well!!â. The day after, I sent this exact story in an open application letter to Armada and the rest is history.
TBA: Can you describe us your job?
Both:
As you know, we both work for Armada Music â currently the biggest independent electronic dance music record label, founded by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis. At the label, we represent a wide range of acts (e.g. Armin van Buuren, ARTY, Andrew Rayel, Fedde Le Grand, GoldFish, Lost Frequencies, Loud Luxury, Morgan Page, Ărjan Nilsen and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano), as well as the label itself on a PR & Promotion level.
Together with the Product Managers, we try to create a hype around the tracks that get released via the label. Itâs our responsibility to put the word out there, get the tracks known and streamed as soon as possible after release. Therefore, itâs our job to arrange promo tours, (online) interviews, radio/tv visits, social media take-overs, meet & greets, contest/giveaways etc. At the end of the day, we want our releases and artist roster to grow and become well known/more popular on a global scale.
TBA: What is the most challenging part of it?
Both:Â The most challenging part of music PR is to create the right PR angle/story to go with a release. For us, itâs important to build on a good story to make you stand out from the huge amount of music that is being released each day.
TBA: What is the funniest part of it?
Both: Creating that story/unique angle around a release can be quite fun sometimes.. We try to collect as much information as possible beforehand about a specific release and/or artist and sometimes youâll find out about some funny, juicy details. Apart from that, promo days and festivals are definitely the most fun as we get to go out there and build on the relationship with the artists we represent.
TBA: How is it like to rub elbows with so many big DJs ? (And did you ever get use to have Armin around?)
Lisanne:Â I love to spend time with the artist, because I love music. To be around people who love the same thing as much as you is always great. That is in general the thing I love most about my job. Hahaha, yes I am used to having Armin around, but always love it when he is at the office because he is such a nice and funny guy.
Justine:Â Itâs always a challenge of course with so many DJs and tracks being released every week. But I think the most important thing here is to actually believe in the music you represent and like Lisanne already mentioned; have a passion for music in general. Being passionate about what you do definitely makes your job a whole lot easier. I think Armin is one of the best examples of someone being really passionate about his career and having him around definitely has a positive, inspiring effect on the entire team here.
TBA: A day in the life of Lisanne and Justine …. letâs go wild and tell me everything:)
Lisanne: Well, most of the days arenât as exciting as most people think, I guess.. I get up, walk to work (with Justine) and grab a cup of coffee. Then I try to get all my e-mails sorted before lunch and make sure I have a to-do list ready for the rest of the day. The music business is a fast-moving business and things donât always go as expected, so we need to be able to respond to this fast. Having the inbox in order makes this easier. In the summer, we have a lot of festivals in the weekend and in October, weâre obviously really busy with ADE. But most of the days are spent at the office in Amsterdam. For me, that means liters of coffee and typing my ass off.
Photo by: Floris Heuer – www.florisheuer.com
Justine:Â I think Lisanneâs description is quite accurate.. spending 24/7 on our phones and computer talking to media partners, artist management, event organizers, promoters etc. and setting up meetings to discuss strategies and promo plans. Definitely no 9-to-5 job as we work with a lot of different time zones. Besides that, Lisanne and I are having a lot of one-on-one sessions where we brainstorm and try to think of new ideas/ways of promoting releases and the label in general.
TBA: ADE has just been over, how was this edition for you?
Lisanne: This was my second ADE. I was better prepared for all things that were going to happen and knew better where I got myself into. ADE is hectic, but one of the best weeks of the year for us. During the day, we have loads of meetings and we schedule a lot of press moments with our artists. During the night, we try to attend the parties or events where our artists are playing or the ones that our partners are hosting. We donât get much sleep done during this week, but because of all the things going on and the positive vibes all around, it makes it quite easy to keep going.
Justine: I couldnât agree more. ADE is definitely the best week of the year for me! For us itâs the perfect opportunity to meet up with everyone that weâve been working with all year (that arenât exactly based âaround the cornerâ) and to meet new people as well. Apart from the meetings/panel talks/events/parties we attend during that week, we also organize and host the âArmada Invites ADE marathonâ in our very own in-office club, which is very exciting to work on as well!
TBA: You have to deal with a lot of people, artists, managers, press and so on, it requires a lot of patience, positive attitude and energy I think…. how do you keep yourself going all the time ?
Both: It really helps that we are both extremely passionate about what we do; this definitely makes things easier. Itâs important to keep in mind that weâre all trying to reach the same goals here and that itâs important for us to work together to be able to achieve these goals.
Teamwork is key, and this way, we try to keep inspiring and motiving each other on a daily basis.
TBA: ASOT900 is approaching, how much are you involved in that ? And what are you gonna do?
Lisanne:Â ASOT900 is the biggest indoor trance festival in the world and a proud project of Armin. Because I am responsible for the promotional side of not only Armin, but all the trance acts at Armada, I will be organizing and coordinating press opportunities for all of them during this night. With it being such a big event, loads of media partners from all around the world will attend, which gives me the opportunity to build on the relationship and create promo opportunities for our artists and the A State Of Trance label. I will probably ask Justine to help me out during this night, as this is always very hectic and it never ever goes according to plan.
Justine: Like she already explained, Lisanne is in charge of all the PR & Promo around this event but like every year, I will definitely be there as well to help her coordinate and assist where needed.
TBA:Lisanne, would you  tell me a secret about Justine ?
Lisanne:Â Hahaha! Not going to spill the beans here, but Justine has a very easy way to go undercover and sometimes uses this when itâs Sunday and she doesnât wants to be recognized.. đ
Justine:Â Hahaha, so true!
Â
TBA: Justine, would you tell me a secret about Lisanne?Â
Justine:Â Besides her passion for electronic music, Lisanneâs guilty pleasure is listening to Dutch Folk music.
Sheâs attending every show, standing front row, singing along to literally every song they play, haha!
Oh and 1 more things: if you ever meet Lisanne on the dance floor, make sure to ask her about âThe Vacuum Cleanerâ. Trust me; it will be a mind-blowing experience!
Photo courtesy of Floris Heuer and Bailey Frank Hyatt
It’s no secret that ESTIVA is hands down one of the artists we love more here at The Backstage Access, so during last Amsterdam Dance Event, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to join him at Armada Music Headquarter to catch up on the latest news about him and his music.
He played an enthralling set during ASOT streaming that Thursday, featuring 3 brand new tracks of him;
like he told us back in June when we met in Ibiza, Steven has plenty of material for ‘Spectacle 2’ but looks like we need to be patient and wait for the release next year.
We also talked about tour life and the ability to handle it, as it can be stressing sometimes, and then Estiva revealed us he really enjoys testing new tunes to put the crowd out of its comfort zone with something never heard before.
The Dutch electronic dance music DJ has performed at events across the world, Estiva has brought his infectious sound and energy to some of the most pivotal events in the scene. His new track âRage Raceâ shows a totally different side of his album âSpectacleâ.
Estiva: ‘As much as I love the pretty and emotional melodies, sometimes I just feel like raving and raging on the dance floor. Rage Race is a bass driven track I wrote having a dark and steamy club environment in mind. I named it Rage Race because I want to see which one of you clubbers can go out of its mind best!’
Be ready to go on another crazy ride with Estiva, listen to âRage Raceâ here.
Definitely one of the darker tracks from his âSpectacleâ album, âRage Raceâ shows another side to the acclaimed signature sound of Dutch top producer Estiva. Merging a vicious sounding bassline with thumping beats and buzzing synth rises, this tune sets the mood as soon as it kicks in late at night.
And talking about dark and steamy clubs, we met Estiva during the summer at the world famous club Hi Ibiza, and sat down with him for a chat, check this out!
Simon Khainz has been putting his unique signature sound on dance music for nearly 20 years. But the easy-going DJ and producer is the first to admit this wasn’t part of a master plan at the beginning.
These days though, Khainz takes his distinctive tech-house groove to all the dance floors across the globe ,every weekend. During the week he can be found in his studio, adding up his ever-growing list of releases.
A prolific producer, he has released two albums, Module8 and Simple As That, and more than 150 tracks via labels like Yoshitoshi, Katermukke and Great Stuff Recordings.
Everything he does reflects his passion for electronic music and respect for the craft. “Technology changes constantly, who knows what it will be in five years,” he says. “What matters is the music. That doesn’t change.” Khainz likes to teach people to make music. He frequently invites fellow artists to his studio to make their own tracks.
 While fans may have to wait a while for the next LP, his busy tour schedule ensures they never go too long without a fix of his irresistible beats…and to top it all, he’s been so nice to sit with us for chat:Â
TBA: How did it all start for you?
K: When I was about 15 y.o. and my older brother bought 2 turntables and some vinyls.
Back then, I was very skeptical towards electronic music as I came from a totally different genre but it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with it (djing and electronic music).
A few years later (1998) I stumbled over Rebirth ( a very limited music program) few months later I purchased my first version of Cubase (Cubasis back then) and started to produce.
TBA: Who is your biggest inspiration? / Who do you have a lot of respect for?Â
K: I have a lot of respect for people that do their own music and have a specific style. Maceo Plex is one of the producers that still manages to impress me often with of his new releases also Bodzin has quite some influence on me. From the newer upcoming acts I really like Jiggler and Township Rebellions, they are always able to surprise me with their new music.
As it comes to Djs, James Holden (he played one of the most interesting sets I’ve heard the past couple of years), Sasha, John Digweed.
TBA: What single night out has been the most memorable for you? As a DJ? As an attendee?
K: Very difficult to say after many hundreds nights out. some memorable playings are for sure Rainbow Serpent (Australia), Strawberryfiels (Australia), Playground at Rok Club (My residency in my hometown Lucerne), Noisily Festival (UK), Boom Festival (Portugal),Universo Parallelo (Brazil), Sisyphos (Berlin).
TBA: If you could eternally be stuck in one year’s music scene, which year would it be?
K: Hell no, I like that music evolves, for sure you have better and worse through the years but I’m glad that music evolves and keeps changing. But the most unforgettable years were 2005/2006, so much timeless music got released in those years, just to name a few:
Gregor Trasher – A Tousand Nights
Petter â Some Polyphony
Thomas Schumacher â Red Purple
Booka Shade â Bodylanguage
Extrawelt – Soopertrack
TBA: What is it that you love about the scene?
K: The Music, the talks, the mess, the order and the good moments and fun times we share!
TBA: What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?
K: Petter â Some Polyphony
TBA: What  do you personally consider to be the incisive moments in your artistic career?
K: Difficult to say, probably remixing Format:B, Sharam (Deepdish) and many other great artists and releasing my music on established Labels. Sharing my music with people and to see them enjoying and dance to it.
TBA: What are currently your main challenges as a DJ? What is it about DJing, compared to, say, producing your own music, that makes it interesting for you?
K: Producing Music and djing are 2 totally different things, when I produce music I sit alone in my studio (mostly) and don’t have any feedback from the crowd while I’m doing it, so it’s always a surprise to find out how the new tracks will work on a dancefloor;
When it comes to djing I like the fact that i can play music from other artists I like and I can play what I think fits for the moment.
TBA: What can we expect from you in the near future?
K: A remix to Sharam (Deep Dish) on his imprint Yoshitoshi. An Ep on Einmusika A Quivver Edit from a new track on his Change Underground compilation A remix to Mortagua on Timeless Moment A remix to Chris Hartwig on Caballero Rec. A remix to Moosfiebr on Dazed & Confused A remix to Mikah on Lauter Unfug A Soundtrack for a videogame some collabs with friends (SuspectOne, Onur Ozman, Page, Jack & Chuus) and hopefuly a finished album till end of the year.
TBA: Wow, that’s a lot of new music coming up, we’re thrilled to listen to it all, thanks a lot for your time and see you soon.
Let’s kick it off in the best possible way with an interview by my friend Twan with the legendary Ferry Corsten!
In this episode Ferry Corsten talks about “Out Of The Blue”, a track which he produced back in 1998 under his “System F” alias. “Out Of The Blue” is considered as one of the most famous trance classics of all time and it was a milestone in Ferry’s carreer. In this exclusive interview Ferry tells the story about the mysterious white labels that were send out to promote the track, the bidding war between labels to sign the track, he explains which equipment he used for the track, his future plans and more!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and don’t forget to subscribe to this amazing channel for loads of music and news:Â Â https://www.youtube.com/muzikxpress
As announced a while ago, we are super happy to meet Estiva again and ask him what’s going on with his life and career .
TBA: You are rocking a super summer, The States, Ibiza and much more, would you tell me something about it?
E: It has been a fantastic festival season for me with highlights like Ultra, TimeShift and Beats4Love. But the icing on the cake was definitely my residency alongside Armin van Buuren at HĂŻ Ibiza. Musically it’s been super satisfying as I’ve been able to play full sets with just my own music.
TBA: How was playing in Las Vegas vs playing in Ibiza ?
E: Both are extremely challenging, which is such a good thing. It is important to grab the audience as soon as possible and set a certain vibe that the people enjoy as well as make the audience eager for more. As a dj it’s amazing to play longer sets as you will have time to play the game of tension and release to perfection. The big difference is that the Las Vegas crowd typically is more a classic party crowd whereas the Ibiza crowd is also packed with die hard fans.Â
TBA: You are dropping so many new gems lately, ( like RAKET, OXY/DOORLOPEN and  LITTLE PLANET  and you just confirmed that your debut album is almost ready, can you spill something đ ?
E: For me I get very nervous about the word ‘ready’. It’s tough for me to say, as I’ll always want to add stuff. I’m aiming to announce big news late September.Â
TBA: You are very productive (and thank you for that) so I take it you spend a lot of time in your studio, how does it look like and which tools are you using?
E: My studio is my favorite place in the world but I can’t say I treat it accordingly. It’s usually a mess with electronics, pieces of paper with notes and coffee mugs. I have windows but they’re always closed as I prefer some darkness in the studio, gets me in the zone easier. There’s a little aquarium with colorful guppy fish, they help me relax. There’s something about the underwater world and fish flying through water that is so beautiful to me. Other than that I have two Windows pc’s running, KRK studio monitors, a Komplete 6 audio interface and a midi keyboard. I work mainly in FL Studio 12 and occasionally in Ableton 7.
TBA: Â If you have to chose between producing music and touring around the world what would you choose and why?
E: It’s amazing to combine both as they compliment each other so well but I’d always choose producing. It’s magical and amazingly satisfying to start out with literally nothing and then having a 7 minute piece of music that triggers emotion to people.
TBA: Â how did u get into djing and what is your musical background?
E: I’ve always created musical content from a young age. It started with recording my own voice and keyboard melodies and that evolved into writing music on a pc. It became more serious and promoters started to notice my music. I’d never touched mixers and CD players but they were convinced I could dj as well. In 2009 I played my first show and it took off for me.Â
I have no serious musical background other than some random piano lessons when I was younger.
TBA: Who do u aspire to and who influenced you the most?
E: One of my ultimate goals is to be able to play a 3 hour set only by playing my own music. I’d love to play longer sets and be able to go explore different vibes by using music that I’ve written. Eric Prydz does this to perfection and he’s a great example for me. Armin van Buuren’s drive and passion are infectious, he seems to have found a perfect balance in practicing his passion and running a smooth business.
TBA: Â What festivals would you most like to play at?
E: As long as I can expose my music to people I’m happy. The name of the festival isn’t important, the vibe at the venue is what counts most!
TBA:  what was that one night/day  that changed forever your professional life?
E: Back in 2007 I released a record called ‘Stella’, Armin van Buuren played this record several times in ASOT. That made me realize I could be like my heroes.
TBA: What’s your favorite tune at the moment?
E: Discotico Plexico (Maceo Plex) is such a groovy festival track. It has a great classic groove, a massive lingering lead sound and unique vocal parts.
TBA: Â Whoâs bubbling under on your radar at the moment (production-wise)?
E: Cristoph seems to be very present in my sets as of late. TinlickerÂ
TBA: Â a day into your life, tell us a bit:
E: I wake up and browse through Reddit, news and emails. I hop out of bed, shower and eat yogurt or eggs. The fish get some food as well! Then I usually hop into the studio until the inspiration is gone. I ride my racing bike or go for a quick run to keep the energy high so I can do some more studio work! After dinner I usually relax with Netflix, but if I feel inspired I can go back into the studio!
TBA: Â Is there a part of producing that you find particularly enjoyable, or anything that you find frustrating?
E: Playing out fresh tracks and seeing a good reaction is amazing. Getting support from other dj’s is fantastic too. The studio struggles to find the right bass drum, in other words the striving to perfection and never being able to get there is almost depressing some times đ
TBA: Â What do you think are the best things to do to get a head-start at being a full time DJ and producer now? Any tips?
E: I’d like to say true passion but the reality is you can get real far with a great business plan and a good amount of money. But if you’re passionate about music and put an insane amount of hours in your work people will notice that and respect that in the long run.
TBA: Â When I see you from the bar, what are you drinking?
So , here we go with another interview made during the incredible ASOT night in Utrecht, and let me tell you, this one was in my bucket list for quite a long time.
A few months ago, before the full line up was revealed, I shot an e-mail to David Gravellâs management, asking for the permission to interview the artist during the A State Of Trance Festival in Utrecht, knowing he plays there every year I thought I had a chanceâŠbut unfortunately I found out that David was not going to play there this time!
Now, telling you I was bummed is an understatement, I really felt miserable, not only I was going to miss one of his insane sets, I wouldnât be able to meet him either!!
But, it is what it is and I tought to myself: maybe better luck next timeâŠ.
Then, during the night, just while I was waiting to interview one of the artists, Justine,( one of the lovely PR girlsâ from Armada) came to me saying: “Jess, David Gravell is here, would you like to meet him?”
I think I was about to hug her for how happy I feltâŠand so, here we go, another dream came true, letâs meet the amazing DAVID GRAVELL !!
J: Hi David, thanks a lot for supporting The Backstage Access, how you doing?
D: I am doing very good, I just came back from Jerusalem, I was there for the first time and did a show on Tuesday, it was amazing, a lot of trance fans, and after this I just came back home, and then I just came straight to ASOT. So I am here, meeting a few friends, my management…also my mum and dad are here, I saw them on the MainStage, and because I am playing here every year, this year,even if I am not playing….  they still booked an hotel in the surroundings and came, they always wanna see ASOT. I normally play at ASOT each year, but we discussed a bit about it  and we chosen to do a few other ASOT so I am skipping this one but I will be back on other ASOT festivals. But even so, being here, seeing my friends, Armin, you know…itâs always very nice to be in this chilled environment, where you are with all your friends, you know every djs, itâs very good. Itâ s just like a family, itâs just so nice.
J: What does ASOT mean to you?
D: Oh, Iâve got this question a lotâŠMy first ASOT was with my friends and I remember that I was in the car listening to the music and then I thought it was different from everything else, it was little bit special, magical, what I love is that everyone is different, everyone is loving the music, everyone is uniting and coming together to celebrate, there are a lot of other festivals, for sure, but this particular one is nice and unique, I havenât seen anything like this!!
J: I know you are releasing a new tune in two weeksâŠ
D: Yeah, how do you know??
J: A little bird told me âŠ
D: Haha, ok thatâs cool because I actually have a new release coming in two weeks, I canât say the name yet but  Armin is playing it already for half a year and I am very looking forward to it…it will introduce you to my new sound  I am working on and it has something unique in itself.
and you can find more about the release in my previous article here
J: When will your album be released?
D:  Well first I am gonna release a mix compilation, so I will have tracks from other djs, and there will be some new tracks of mine as well, but my own artist album will be ready probably next year, I am already working on it, itâs almost finished  but you know… Itâs nice to change a little bit things on, when you are working a little bit ahead  of time… because I like to do that, so first of all there will be this mix compilation in April with a few new tracks to introduce my new sound, and the name of the compilation (Discover)  will be also introducing my brand for my live shows, so I am actually working on my live shows as well with new visuals and new interesting stuff to make it more engaging when I perform live
J: Are you using any special tools at the moment in your studio?Â
D: Oh thatâs a very interesting question, I got very inspired by Deadmau5, I am a huge fan of him and he released a lot of his own plug ins, just  like last year he released a plug in called Serum and Iâve been a huge fan of it cause it allows you to do what you want, you have to be a bit into the sound design level, but if you get to understand the synth you are going to pull any kind of sound off it ; what I really like about it is that you have like the synth plug in, but you also have the fx plug in, so next to the normal plug in you can make very weird fx , I have been using it for loads of strange effects on my tracks right now and also I actually bought the new Virus, I mean the hardware synth and it has all the old school trance sounds in it , Orjan Nilsen said to me: “You have to get this one !!” and so I bought it last year and itâs amazing, it really has the analog sound so Iâve been using it in every track , it has a powerful sound and you donât need too many plug ins to get that sound because itâs analog and I love it, itâs cool!!
J.Where does your inspiration come from?
D: My inspiration is coming from everywhere, like when I am traveling, I get ideas, when I watch a movie I get ideas, and when I get an idea, I kinda work on it and more ideas are flowing, you can see my brain like a hard drive with all those great memories from old school trance, all those things… and when I start making music I am just able to figure out  exactly what the track is gonna be in the end so, I think the inspiration is coming from a lot of places, from everywhere. I listen to every kind of music and it makes it more interesting for me that understanding different kinds of music makes it easier to get melodies for different kind of stuff.
J: Thanks a lot Danny, itâs been a pleasure chatting with you and hope to catch up with you again soon with your next releases!!
To be honest with you, if it wasn’t because the interview schedule was crazy that night, I think I would have asked him other 100 questions ..such an inspiring, friendly and open minded talented guy… so I hope we’ll have the chance to continue our conversation very soon đ
Last Saturday, during ASOT 800 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, I’ve had the honor to meet the super talented dj and producer Estiva, he was so nice to join us right after his epic set, for a very interesting chat!
J: Thanks a lot for supporting The Backstage Access E: Yes, of course, thanks for having me
J:The first thing I would like to ask you is: What does ASOT mean to you? E: Means to me? Well the first time I was listening to ASOT, no, actually, let’s go way back, when I was 15 ,16 ,or something, I used to listen to ASOT radio show,and it kinda got me into producing music so at some point I was actually releasing music on labels, and one of the first songs, was picked up by Armin van Buuren and he played into ASOT so while I was tuned in one night,  I heard my song and I was like: hang on, this song is one of my songs, so Armin was playing my song, can you imagine it? Like ,the thrill for me was insane! So that was my first experience and actually got hooked from that moment on.It’s really special for me,  you know, the music like the emotions and the beats…I like the groovy beats,not too fast, I do like the psy trance stuff like for an hour or so and then I’d go back to something else, so like the whole trance jam is really interesting to me.
J: I know you are cooperating with Ruben de Ronde and his label Statement, so any new projects going on? E: Yes, soâŠfirst things first, about one year ago, I was kinda lost and didnât know which direction I wanted to go with my music, so I told to myself, ok letâs just have fun again, try to create music that I really like,not for the labels, not for the fans, just whatever goes up in my mind, so I made a few tracks, sent them to Ruben, he said Yes, I love that, so I released some tracks with Ruben, got to know him a little bit more and now we  actually have written a tune together, with Rodg as well, so thatâs a collaboration and I think he premiered it tonight (during ASOT 800 in Utrecht) so I am proud of that, thatâs great!Â
(The tune is called “Intergalactic” and you can find it in the new album âTogetherrâ that you can pre order here)
J: Is there a track that represents you right in this moment? E: Itâs kinda hard, I would like to say that my last production is my best production, but itâs a very tough question to answer because I like to see the whole picture, tonight Iâve played 60 minutes of my own music, so looking back, thatâs me, Iâd say it captures my vibe, itâs a combination of a good groove and an epic melody maybe.
J: Any festival on your bucket list? E: Well, does it get any better than ASOT? I mean next year, on my bucket list, there’s ASOT850!Letâs stick to that!
One of the cutest moment in the famous Radio Dome…family time for Estiva!!
J. What do you like to do in your spare time if you have any? E: I like cycling, soccer, football, I actually been to Italy too in Pisa, Tuscany ,with my bike,hit the mountains with my bike so that’s what I like to do, but really, other than that, if I have some time, I just go ahead and produce.
J: Where do you find the inspiration to create your tunes? E: Nights like these are very inspiring to me because you feel the energy so when I get back home  home tomorrow morning I am like  I need to go to sleep but I actually have so many ideas in my head, I need to go to the studio as well so I wonât just sleep…so thatâs where I find the inspiration.
J: Do you have a favorite plugin or studio tool at the moment? E:I write my tunes with FL studio since Iâve started so I would definitely recommend it to anyone. I use also Spyre, itâs a great synth and like it a lot.
J: Ok thank you so much for your time and letâs catch up soon. E: You are welcome, thank you for having meÂ
If just like us, you couldn’t get enough of his stunning set at ASOT800, you can listen to it again here
And for all of you always looking for new stuff, we have a very special treat:
Estiva’s new EP,  Barba/Tarmac  is OUT NOW on Statement!  so hurry up and grab it here:
