Where are you currently based?
I’m currently based in the capital of my country Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.
Your new single Sam Feldt & Möwe – Down for Anything (feat. KARRA) is out, where and when did you record?
The track has been in the works for quite some time now, I think around half a year. Möwe approached me with this amazing vocal by Karra and the idea to make a track together. We hit the studio and connected really well creatively!
What influenced the song writing for this track?
Together with Möwe, we decided to create and produce a song that captures the feel of the warmer days that are ahead of us. We were really looking for a song that played well on the radio, has a catchy melody to it and sticks in your mind right from the beginning. Together with the sweet and poppy vocals provided by KARRA, I think we pretty much nailed it and we managed to get the results we were looking for.
How was it working with KARRA?
It was amazing, she has such a beautiful voice and she immediately knew what we wanted to achieve. It was an absolute breeze working with her. Next to being an incredible singer, she’s also one of the sweetest girls I know. I think we will be hearing a lot more from KARRA in the future.
How did you first start playing music?
I started playing the piano when I was around the age of 8, It didn’t take long before I decided I didn’t just want to play music, I also wanted to create it. When I was 11, I started DJ’ing for friends and family and before I knew it I was travelling with my dad across the country with my own drive-in DJ show. At age 17, I set foot in a club for the very first time. Right away, I knew this was something I wanted to pursue professionally. I wanted to be the guy who plays the records that people dance.
Your debut album From Sunrise to Sunset gained a lot of momentum just months after its debut in October of 2017, what influenced the sound of this album?
The Philosophy behind the two albums combined was to create music for each hour within a day. Whenever you listen to the album, you’ll find a song that perfectly matched the time of day. Sunset, which was released as a surprise album and is the follow up to Sunrise, tied the two albums together. Combined, they represent the 24 hours within a day, hence the title ‘From Sunrise to Sunset’.
How have things changed for you as a consequence of releasing Sunrise to Sunset?
I think releasing the album, shows the world the sound of Sam Feldt and is my gift to all the fans out there, It’s also the perfect opportunity to give new listeners a good idea what Sam Feldt is all about. I had so much music that I wanted to share with my fans, so I thought turning this music into an album would be the best way to do it. It also opened up the door to something I have been wanting to do for quite some time now and that is bringing all these live instruments that I use in my productions to the stage, together with my live band.
You supported the Sunrise Tour with the addition of band members and live instruments which led you to travel the world and play at the biggest venues. This year you will continue to travel the globe with your band in addition to your solo DJ sets. What do you find most enjoyable and challenging whilst touring?
The most enjoyable part about bringing the live band with me on tour is the extra dimension they add to the show. The energy goes through the roof and with the addition of live instruments you can really provide the audience with a complete different experience you normally wouldn’t be able to with just djing. The most challenging part might be streamlining all our agendas, because next to touring together we all have our own separate projects that also demand our time.
Do the crowds interact with you differently when you have the live band as compared to a solo DJ set?
Absolutely, when adding live instruments you get a much more dynamic performance on stage. People are not just looking at me to interact with but also the guys who are playing the instruments. In my opinion it gives the experience more depth for the people in the crowd, but also the interaction I have with the rest of the band takes it to another level and was something I always wanted to do. Seeing people play their instruments live simply adds that extra something.
In February you surprised us with your new remix album: ‘After the Sunset’ this is packed with 16 songs that are more club-oriented versions of tracks from your debut album, remixed by some amazing artists. Who did you work with on this remix album?
The remix album is packed with so many great artists, like Calvo, Mesto, Breathe Carolina, Zonderling, Toby Green, DJ Licious, Redondo and many more awesome producers. I was blown away by the end result and the remixes they delivered. It’s so cool to hear your music being remixed by others and to see what they made of the tracks. I’m super happy with the remix album and I feel blessed by what they did to the tracks.
Why did you decide to release a remix album?
Over the past 2 to 3 years, I worked so hard on creating my own album, which resulted in 24 tracks that represented the Sam Feldt sound, to the best of my abilities. Because I spend so much time on this album and having so much material, I not only wanted to share it with the fans, but I was also wanted to have other producers take my music for a spin and have them make their versions of some of the tracks. It’s just incredible to see this happen to you music and hear their interpretation of something that means so much to you. After receiving so much love from the fans from around the globe after my debut album and my supporting tour, I thought it would be the perfect gift to surprise them with a brand-new remix album, filled with tracks they know by heart, put into a more club oriented style. The album adds to the wide spectrum of music that Sam Feldt stands for and adds yet another chapter to the story I want to tell through my music.
What do you most enjoy about playing music?
In general, I think music is the ultimate universal language there is. Give people a bass drum and we automatically start to move. I think music is something we can relate to on a very deep and emotional level, so being able to play people music enables you to share a certain emotion and take them on a trip by guiding them through your musical journey. Being able to do that is such a magical experience.
To see the fans get excited and share their love for something you created is indescribable. You get so much love back from the people on the dancefloor and that on its own creates a very special connection that automatically strengthens itself, making me work even harder to deliver.
In March you returned to Miami Music Week with your Heartfeldt Poolparty. How was this show and how did the concept come about and come into fruition?
Miami Music Week on itself is always a special happening. This year we decided to do another Heartfeldt Poolparty like we did last year. Again, it turned out to be a huge success. We sold out pretty quickly and it was absolutely one I will remember for a long time. We had some incredible artists on the lineup such as: Goldfish, Hook N Sling, Jay Hardway and SNBRN. KARRA also joined me on stage to perform our newest single ‘Down for Anything’ together with me for the first time. Overall, we had the best time ever and the crowd seemed to love it from the moment the first records was played.
At the beginning of this year you hinted through an Instagram post about plans for a more sustainable world, please elaborate on this:
Traveling the world as a DJ has been what I wanted to do with my life from a very young age, but it comes at a cost however. With over 200 flights per year I consider myself to be among the most polluting persons in the world. In the upcoming weeks I will shed more light on the projects I’ve been working on lately. I’ll be announcing a way in which I’ll become carbon neutral from this day worth and who I teamed up with, in my pursue to these goals. There are a lot of projects I’m currently focusing on, so keep a close eye on my socials because more info is coming very soon. In the meantime, try to ask yourself, what it is that you can do to make a better world, starting today.
You run the App Fangage: How is this App progressing?
Very well! We are now hosting fan portals for over 35 top influencers in music and sports and allowing them to get closer to their fans. Right now, over 200.000 active users are using the application to access exclusive content they can’t find anywhere else and that number is increasing by 10% every month. We have so many cool new features in the pipeline that I can’t wait to show you guys!
What do you have planned for the remainder of 2018?
2018 is doing well so far, I’ve just released my brand new single together with Möwe and KARRA called ‘Down for Anything’, I’ve got a couple of other music projects on the horizon, which I can’t talk too much about. The festival season is also getting closer and looking at my tour schedule makes me super excited about the Summer months to come. We’ve got so many cool shows coming up, with my live band or as a solo DJ. I think the rest of this year is going to be awesome and I can’t wait to see my fans from across the world again
