From: The NetherlandsDJ style: Big room progressive house.Best known for: xxxWhat’s the next new big track? “Calvin Harris ‘My Way’.”Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2016: “Seeb.”Victor Pool and Ruben den Boer, aka Vicetone, are the latest in a series of Dutch acts to land in DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll thanks to their big room progressive house sound. The pair have a close relationship to Spinnin’ Records and this year put out the ‘Aurora’ single on the label. They also featured on a number of collaborations on Spinnin’, including work with Cosmos & Creature, Raja Kumari and Pia Toscano. Now based in LA, Vicetone cite the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, New City Gas in Montreal and Arenal Sound in Burriana, Spain as the best parties and clubs that they performed at this year. “It's a lot easier for us now to play weekend shows in North America and fly back to LA to spend the weekdays in the studio. It's a challenge to manage time with the touring lifestyle, but we wouldn't trade it for the world,” the pair tell DJ Mag. Indeed, it seems that their hectic touring hasn’t put a dent in their studio work, and they add: “We have a lot of unfinished tracks in the works that we absolutely love. It's going to be a variety of new sounding singles and some big collaborations.” The pair are also looking at the longer term, and while they say that “Putting out singles currently works very well for us”, they also add that putting out an album is also part of their plan. “Releasing an album definitely has been in the back of our heads, but it depends on what our fans want and how many songs we have ready. We have a lot of music to release that we're excited about.” What have been the new frontiers for you both this year? “Releasing our first ever EP (‘Aurora EP’) was a big moment for us, and the first time we've released a bunch of tracks together.”Is electronic music taken seriously enough as an art-form? “Of course.” What’s the best new bit of DJ/production technology, and why? “The new CDJ-2000 Nexus 2 is really an amazing piece of tech. We've played shows with it a few times and it's hard to believe how far DJ technology has come in such a short amount of time.” If you had to switch your style to another genre, what would it be? “It would probably be a combination of pop and disco. We've always been drawn to the four-to-the-floor beats.” As a fan, what is the top price you would pay to see yourself DJ? “Depends on the event and how big the venue and show is.” What can be done to prevent drug-related deaths at dance music events? “Schools and parents should educate kids about drugs. It's an issue completely separated from music, in our opinion. 99.9% of all festival-goers are still alive after going to a festival, so is this really the huge global problem that some people make it out to be? "Drug education is important, but so is a bit of common sense.” How can we increase diversity in dance music? “Making sure it's easy for new producers/artists to share their music in outlets online, and supporting other artists as a community.” WORDS: RICHARD BROPHY
From: The Netherlands
DJ style: Big room progressive house.
Best known for: xxx
What’s the next new big track? “Calvin Harris ‘My Way’.”
Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2016: “Seeb.”
Victor Pool and Ruben den Boer, aka Vicetone, are the latest in a series of Dutch acts to land in DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll thanks to their big room progressive house sound. The pair have a close relationship to Spinnin’ Records and this year put out the ‘Aurora’ single on the label. They also featured on a number of collaborations on Spinnin’, including work with Cosmos & Creature, Raja Kumari and Pia Toscano. Now based in LA, Vicetone cite the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, New City Gas in Montreal and Arenal Sound in Burriana, Spain as the best parties and clubs that they performed at this year.
“It's a lot easier for us now to play weekend shows in North America and fly back to LA to spend the weekdays in the studio. It's a challenge to manage time with the touring lifestyle, but we wouldn't trade it for the world,” the pair tell DJ Mag.
Indeed, it seems that their hectic touring hasn’t put a dent in their studio work, and they add: “We have a lot of unfinished tracks in the works that we absolutely love. It's going to be a variety of new sounding singles and some big collaborations.”
The pair are also looking at the longer term, and while they say that “Putting out singles currently works very well for us”, they also add that putting out an album is also part of their plan.
“Releasing an album definitely has been in the back of our heads, but it depends on what our fans want and how many songs we have ready. We have a lot of music to release that we're excited about.”
What have been the new frontiers for you both this year?
“Releasing our first ever EP (‘Aurora EP’) was a big moment for us, and the first time we've released a bunch of tracks together.”
Is electronic music taken seriously enough as an art-form? “Of course.”
What’s the best new bit of DJ/production technology, and why?
“The new CDJ-2000 Nexus 2 is really an amazing piece of tech. We've played shows with it a few times and it's hard to believe how far DJ technology has come in such a short amount of time.”
If you had to switch your style to another genre, what would it be?
“It would probably be a combination of pop and disco. We've always been drawn to the four-to-the-floor beats.”
As a fan, what is the top price you would pay to see yourself DJ?
“Depends on the event and how big the venue and show is.”
What can be done to prevent drug-related deaths at dance music events?
“Schools and parents should educate kids about drugs. It's an issue completely separated from music, in our opinion. 99.9% of all festival-goers are still alive after going to a festival, so is this really the huge global
problem that some people make it out to be?
"Drug education is important, but so is a bit of common sense.”
How can we increase diversity in dance music?
“Making sure it's easy for new producers/artists to share their music in outlets online, and supporting other artists as a community.”
WORDS: RICHARD BROPHY
