Ahead of his bass-busting set at Nassimi Beach this weekend, Esquire sat down with EDM legend Lost Frequencies, to ask where he lost them:
For someone who has never heard of you, describe yourself – and your music – in three sentences or less:
I make original productions influenced by house music and sometimes I even experiment with harder styles like with my collaboration with Netsky that was more of a drum n bass-influenced track. When I first began producing, I was experimenting with new takes on old tracks, so I was bringing a fresh take on “Lost Frequencies”, which is where I also got my name from! I want my tracks to make everyone dance and bring positivity to both my live sets and however people choose to have me soundtrack moments in their life.
For someone completely new to EDM, what are five tracks everyone MUST listen to? (Potentially more mainstream ones – for newbies to the genre)
I wouldn’t say I just make EDM, but some dance tracks I’d recommend everyone must listen to are:
Daft Punk – Around The World
Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
Skrillex – Bangarang
Flume – Holdin’ On
Dimitr Vegas & Like Mike vs David Guetta feat Kiiara – Complicated
If someone took away your decks and banned you from dance music, what genre would you go in to?
Good question! I listen to a lot of indie/rock music; it would have to be that!
You have been interested in music since high school. What got you interested, and do you credit any other artists as inspiration to get started?
I always loved music, since I went to my first techno festival and then my father gifted me my first computer and software, I taught myself from there. So I guess I have my father to credit for that, but I’m inspired by guys like Daft Punk, Flume and lately I’ve been listening to more electro stuff, guys like The Bloody Beetroots. My tastes are pretty wide-reaching, haha!
What do you think of Dubai? How does it compare to the bigger party cities where you play, such as Vegas or Ibiza?
Dubai is fun; it’s very luxurious like Ibiza and Vegas, so it’s always nice to experience that! And I enjoy smaller parties just as much as the bigger, main-room events, it is good to get up close and personal with the crowds.
Where is the best place you’ve ever performed?
Oh wow, Tomorrowland festival in Belgium! I played just before David Guetta on the mainstage during sunset this year. I won’t forget that moment for a long time!
Are the crowds different? Do you have to ‘dumb-down’ your sets when you come here?
I don’t like the phrase dumb-down, I don’t think any audience needs to feel like they’re not getting the best experience. Some audiences prefer more mainstream tracks and edits, the big hits, others prefer some more underground remixes and edits, that is just how it works – but that is also what makes performing great. No two shows are the same!
Some djs have pre-gig rituals? Do you have any?
Not really, but I do like to drink a glass of gin or two when I finish my set!
You were just on tour with the Chainsmokers. What was it like touring with them?
Crazy, exciting, some of the biggest shows I’ve ever played across arenas in America. Those guys are really funny and super cool, it was a great experience.
How important are things like SoundCloud to the music scene at the moment? For both established and up-and-coming artists?
SoundCloud has always been an important platform for the music scene in the past, it was where I first uploaded my new music and was “found”. It’s a great way for artists to get their names out there, release edits and post out their live sets but I do think now improvements can and should be made – it would be a shame to see the decline of SC!
Doors will open at 18:00pm to 3:00am on Thursday and 13:00pm to 3:00am on Friday. Entrance is FREE. For more information please visit www.atlantisthepalm.com/restaurants/nasimi-beach or via Instagram @nasimibeach.
Get the Esquire Newsletter. Click here to sign up
