Oliver Heldens Discusses Heldeep Records in an iEDM Exclusive Interview

Dutch DJ and producer, Oliver Heldens, is currently climbing to his highest peak. With tours and festival appearances all over the world, weekly radio shows, and managing Heldeep Records, he is always on the go and is continues to grow into a huge artist at such a young age. 

As releases on Heldeep continue to drop, and Oliver's numerous festival and club residencies each week, it's safe to say his time is limited. Luckily, I caught the man himself behind the scenes at Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary and spoke with him for a few.

iEDM: How does it feel to be at Sziget Festival in Budapest?

Oliver Heldens: Good! It feels really good to be back. I came two years ago, and it was really good. To me, every summer is getting bigger, better, and crazier. So I'm really excited, and there are a lot of Dutch people here. They really like dance music.

iEDM: What can we expect from your performance tonight?

Oliver Heldens: You can expect that you're going to dance, and you won't want to stop until it's over.

iEDM: You have appearances all over the maps, including your own stage at TomorrowLand back in July. Where is your favorite place to perform?

Oliver Heldens: I really like to play all over the world. In The Netherlands, my home country, they don't go really crazy but it's really fun. It's different, they're educated on dance music, it has been so big for a long time. 

In America, dance music is still pretty new, but the people are more crazy, outgoing, and openminded. A really good balance for me was Canada. They are a little like Americans because they're outgoing and positive, but they have more roots in dance music. It's been on their radio longer, and they know more about house music. 

I play in Canada a couple times a year, always good crowds. 

iEDM: How are things going over at Heldeep Records?

Oliver Heldens: Great! I've been signing a lot of great records from new talents, but also it's a really big honor to be able to release records with some of my heroes. I'm really happy that I'm able to release those records on Heldeep. I'm also happy to be involved. I give a lot of feedback to the guys, it's really fun. 

I have a lot of my own tracks coming soon, some have a lot of heavy techno influence. My next track will be released in September I believe. That one is really funky and has a lot of vocals. So yeah, we have a lot of cool stuff coming out soon. 

We have a few other releases coming out. W&W are releasing a track on Heldeep, that was very unexpected. They made a really really sick track. Also a track from Vanilla Ace, I think he's from the US actually. So yeah, Heldeep Records stuff is mainly focused on the dance floor, but in a very diverse way. 

iEDM: You have done so much in your career and are still at such a young age, what are your professional goals for the future?

Oliver Heldens: My manager always tells me, "Oliver you should have more goals." I don't really have concrete goals. There are a lot of artists to collaborate with, that's a goal. To collaborate with more artists in different genres. I would love to collaborate with Pharell, Kaytranada, Disclosure, or Lorde. I like all different music. In general, I would say I just love funk and soul. I also love heavy beats. 

We have a few collaborations coming out actually. I have one with Don Diablo, one with Fedde Le Grand, and there might be some unexpected collaborations coming. Of course, Fedde Le Grand is kind of getting back to his roots. I was a big fan of his when I was younger so I'm really excited for this track we're making. Also with Don, we're really trying hard to make something the fans will really like. 

For me, I just want to be able to stay creative. If I'm creative I'm happy, so that's kind of my main focus. Shows keep me very creative, and they give me good energy of course. 

iEDM: Do you have anything else you'd like to mention to your fans?

Oliver Heldens: To the fans, stay true to Heldeep Radio. I make them every week. I have a station on Spotify called 'Best of Heldeep Radio', so that's a good way to stay updated with new music. I'm really grateful that I have so many different fans. Especially those that come to the live shows. Those experiences at festivals and clubs are really special, I'm happy to do that. 

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