[We caught up with OLIVER HELDENS at 2015’s ELECTRIC ZOO; and EDM’s thinking man producer and label head was kind enough us to say a few words to our Live Coverage Correspondent, Chelsea]

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:  It seems every time we see you, you have something massive going on – whether it’s a new release or tour. Your hit, “Shades of Grey” is killing it in the charts. But perhaps even the bigger news today is the launch of your own label – can you tell us about that?

OLIVER HELDENS:Of course, there definitely have been big things happening in the last few months – as you mentioned the new release and label, but also my alias, HI-LO. There’s so much stuff going on and I’m very happy about that. I’ve been making a lot of new music under Oliver Heldens and HI-LO, and if you compare my sets from now to one and half years ago, now it’s a lot more diverse and has more flow.
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S/S: You’ve built such a well-known name around the brand of ‘Oliver Heldens’ so what was the appeal for starting to make music under the alias, HI-LO?

O/H:Ever since I made “Gecko” two years ago in like October 2013, I’ve been making music with tech-house vibes that have gotten weirder, deeper and more diverse – actually, my new track ‘Wappy Flirt’, I started one and half years ago and now it’s finally being released – so I’ve always been making this kind of music, but I had to keep it more in the shadows, with the exception of my track with Sander van Doorn, “This” – nowadays, that would be considered a ‘HI-LO’ tune.

That was also a moment of like,
“Whoa! People can have this.”

The track was very different from OLIVER HELDENS, which is based on catchy melodies.


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With my new HI-LO stuff, I’m really happy that people dig it and I can play it in my own sets. I just have to time it right – it’s very important to keep the flow and energy, as HI-LO tracks are very different from “Gecko” or “Koala.” So this has been a challenge in my sets but I’m enjoying it and can’t wait to play here.”

S/S:What can we expect at your set today? Will you shuffle for us?

If there is space, of course. I’ll dance for everyone.

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S/S: This is one of the reasons people love you so much. You bring fans into your own life, whether you’re on stage or at home with your mom and Snapchatting it.

O/H:Definitely – at first it was kind of hard because it was my personal life, but I’m used to it now. It feels natural and I’m really happy people respect and like it.

S/S:What do you like about playing in New York City?

O/H:To be honest, America is a little behind Europe but people [in New York] are more educated with house music, and my kind of music. But it’s great to see the positive reactions to my music across America and to see it grow.

Definitely. You’ve been a great conduit of bringing European sounds to the more mainstream North American scene.

S/S: So last question – since this is Electric Zoo, if you could be any animal, what would you be?

O/H.: One year ago, I would say a koala, but today, I’d be a“Wombass” – it’s a crossover between a wombat and bass.

This could be a teaser into a new track coming up, maybe it’ll be called “Wombass.”

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