Earmilk Interview: Dyro

Few artists have so quickly climbed the electronic ranks as has Dyro, the young electro/progressive DJ and producer from Holland. In only a few short years he has gone from being an unknown to collaborating with the biggest DJs in the world, most recently with Hardwell on the upcoming track “Never Say Goodbye” and an unnamed single with Tiesto. Add to that his new radio show, Daftastic, a venture that began in January of this year and recently was added to the iTunes podcast list with chart-topping success.

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Over the next week he will be playing with Bassjackers  on the Grid Tour inspired by their February collaboration that still sits in the top 100 Beatport electro house tracks. We were lucky enough to grab an interview with the guy, so read on to see how he’s handled his rising fame and what’s in store for the rest of 2013 and if you're in Los Angeles tonight catch him at Exchange LA with support from Henrix! Buy tickets and find more information.

EARMILK: What was your day job before you became a full-time DJ and producer?

Dyro: I was studying and spending all the spare time I had working on my music.

EM: How did you break into this industry and cement yourself as a credible artist in such a short time?

D: I have always been obsessed with music and this led me to begin to produce music about three years ago, when I started playing around on a DAW. I didn’t begin releasing my music up until about a year ago and it took off from there, really. I was lucky to be able to release on some great labels that do a lot of hard work promoting my music which has helped me gain recognition quite quickly, and I have received some great support from my peers in the music scene which is very flattering and helps a great deal.

EM: Your Daftastic radio show is now a few months old. How do you stay on top of new releases and upcoming artists to create a fresh show every week?

D: I still get really excited about new music, a big part of being a DJ is digging for records, finding new releases or re-discovering classics is what it is all about. I have been doing it for so long now it’s just part of my daily routine, nothing beats finding that perfect track which will fit into your set or radio show and just works.

EM: What was it like to be up on the main stage with Hardwell during his now famous UMF set and have him play two tracks you’ve worked on?

D: It was incredible, Hardwell and I have been friends for some time and he has been a great help for me finding my feet as an artist. It was amazing seeing all those people dancing to my new collaboration track with Hardwell called "Never Say Goodbye" and my upcoming single on Revealed, "Leprechauns & Unicorns". For me, it's moments like that which make me keep working and improving as a producer and DJ. It is so rewarding seeing your work get a reaction like that.

EM: At that time, could you tell his set would receive the response it has?

D: Hardwell has been one of my favorite producers and DJs for such a long time. We have toured together and played on the same lineups many times, so I know from firsthand experience that Hardwell can rock a crowd, plus I knew he had been saving a lot of tracks forthcoming on his label to premiere in his set. So I guess I wasn’t that surprised that he received such an overwhelming response.

EM: We hear that artists sometimes have strange requests, but have you ever received an interesting request from a promoter or venue?

D: Haha, I have had some funny ones. Early on in my career, promoters would sometimes request some very questionable music styles or certain tracks, which is strange as I’m booked for my music and not to be a jukebox. But it’s all a learning curve.

EM: You worked with Bassjackers to create “Grid”. Tell us about the process. How was it working with the guys? Were you in the studio making it or was it all done virtually?

D: No, it was done virtually, but we finished the track together in the studio. It was all a bit of a coincidence really, Bassjackers had this ID lying around for over a year and they weren't able to finish it. They sent it over after we met earlier and 2 days later our track Grid was born.

EM: What veteran producer would you like to collaborate on a track with?

D: There are so many that I look up to and I feel I could learn so much from as I am still developing as an artist. So I wouldn’t be able to pick just one.

EM: On the other side, are there any newcomers that you hope to work with soon? Maybe there are a few artists you can recommend that we keep an eye on?

D: My buddy Dannic is one of the best DJs I have seen perform. He regularly blew me away whilst we were touring Canada together for Revealed Recordings earlier this year. If you haven’t already heard it his forthcoming track "Viper" is a must!

EM: Your upcoming track, “Leprechauns & Unicorns”, steers a bit away from your usual sound (actually it reminds me a lot of deadmau5’s “Superliminal”). Will we be hearing more like this from you?

D: My music will constantly evolve and change as I develop as a producer. I feel it’s something I am always improving and because I’m forever using new techniques and approaches to refine my work. It was fun creating my sound so far, but a good artist can and knows when to move on without losing their signature. There are a lot of guys who are influencing me in this respect amongst them Hardwell, Dada Life, Knife Party.

EM: With that in mind, any other big releases that we may not have heard of?

D: Well there’s my collaborations with Hardwell, which we premiered at Ultra, I am pretty excited for that one to come out. Also my collaboration with Tiësto, which was also aired for the first time at Ultra, where Tiësto asked me to join him on stage, that’s one I am really proud of.

EM:  Finally, can you give some tips to artists who are trying to gain exposure but may not have a lot of resources or connections?

D: Listen to as much music from different genres as possible. It will help you become a better DJ as your selection will become more diverse and it will help with your production. You can take a lot from, for example, the way classical music is arranged. I would also suggest reproducing a track you really like. You will learn a lot from analyzing the track and searching for the sounds that were used.

EM: Thanks for your time and good luck on the Grid Tour.

D: Thank you and see you soon :)

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