Afrojack: Quit Hating and Start Partying!
It was just last year that Afrojack spun at Zouk Club KL, and now he’ll be back again behind the decks to a crowd of Malaysians at Zouk@Sepang: The Experience this coming Saturday. It seems like the afro-less Afrojack is almost a KL club scene mainstay by now. Last year, the Dutch DJ received acclaims for his remix of Ian Carey and Snoop Dogg’s hit single ‘Last Night’. He’s also featured on his good friend Pitbull’s ‘Give Me Everything’ and contributed to Beyonce’s now ubiquitous feminist club anthem ‘Run The World (Girls)’ in the same year. Come 2012, he’s garnered a European Border Breakers Award for making a name out of himself internationally – beyond his native Netherlands. With a debut album tentatively due this October, Afrojack is an unstoppable dance machine whose sole purpose is to f*ck sh*t up (as he would say it) at parties. JUICE chats with the man himself briefly, and even in that quick instance, he already had us excited for Saturday…
Coming to Malaysia courtesy of Zouk again, your music is pretty much a KL club scene mainstay. What is it about Afrojack that makes you so popular here?
I have absolutely no idea! I’m just happy that you guys like my music and want to party with me!
What was it like last year and what do you expect from the crowd during your set this April?
Insane, and with all the new tracks I expect more insanity!
Haters call you ‘pop DJ’, personally we think there’s nothing wrong with being pop at all and you don’t identify with making pop songs anyway. What the heck are these haters smoking?
Grass? You either like a song or you don’t, doesn’t matter who or what made it, quit hating and start partying!
Congrats on winning a European Border Breakers Award! Do you feel an obligation to represent your country more now that you’ve gone beyond the borders of Netherlands?
Well… yes and no. As a nice responsible person? Yes. As creative artists and partygoer? I think i got it by being myself and doing what i want, and that’s what I’m supposed to keep doing then.
When are you going to grow an afro again? You might have to change your stage name to Crewcutjack otherwise…
Someday maybe, what’s in a name? And it’s always so hot in your country. I wanna look fresh for you!
We read that you can spend up to 14-16 hours a day in the studio. How do you maintain your sanity with such long working hours?!
I don’t… but it’s like my favourite thing to do, no matter how tired I get when I’m producing I don’t wanna sleep!
What’s the progress on your album? We’ve been waiting for your debut for some time now…
I just started it 3 months ago, that isn’t that long… The music is there, just wanna go a little further with selecting, mixing, mastering, and probably throw it out there by October. It’s my first album, this isn’t just playing around anymore, I don’t wanna make my fans look bad.
As a hardcore dance DJ and fan, tell us who is the most exciting act in the scene for you right now? And also what new sounds in dance inspire you currently?
The best show I’ve seen so far was Skrillex at Ultra, and the sounds in dance that really inspire me these days are r3hab’s chainsaw synths and almost everything that gets played over a big soundsystem.
In your experience since you first got on the decks, what’s the number 1 tune that would surely get people dancing?
Always? Almost every Michael Jackson song!
You’ll be performing with tyDi and Bobby Burns at Sepang. What do you think of those guys?
I’ve never met tyDi but Bobby Burns is a long time friend and killer DJ that will f*ck sh*t up for sure! Gonna be a crazy party!!
Finally, give your fans in KL a shout out and a preview of what’s to come at Sepang this April.
NEW MUSIC, NEW SH*T, BIGASS PARTY!
Be sure to catch Afrojack at Zouk @ Sepang: The Experience on 7 April 2012. More details here.