Exclusive Interview: SHOWTEK at ULTRA Singapore 2017

CONTENT: Andrew Kho

IMAGES: Michelle Ng

Showtek is no stranger in the dance music scene having played at numerous music festivals worldwide, they started and became known in the hardstyle scene and now they are now getting known in the electro house scene as well.

We had the opportunity to chat with the dutch duo Showtek at Ultra Music Festival in Singapore and asked him some questions a lot of you would want to know.

Luxe Society Asia: You have been here in Singapore for a couple of times but this is the first time you guys being at ULTRA Singapore, How’s the feeling?

Sjoerd: Amazing, I mean, as you said we’ve been here a couple of times, Singapore is amazing, we love the people, the culture, the city, the food. The whole experience is amazing. But every time we go onto stage here, it’s like next level.

Wouter: The reason why this is a great experience obviously is because ULTRA is a big brand, big festival to play at, it’s amazing. we have so many fans, from old fans, new fans, we have such a huge fanbase here.

Luxe Society Asia: What is your favourite part being in ULTRA Singapore and being part of ULTRA Music Festival?

Sjoerd: I think our favourite part is that we are very privileged to be part of this current industry. We know how many new names come up every year and how many great producer, DJs come up to this scene. I think our biggest achievement and what makes us very happy is that we are still part of big headlining line ups like Tiesto, Hardwell and all those guys and like we can play for those people and they actually know our music and our music makes them happy and that’s what we live for.

Luxe Society Asia: Your latest track “On our Own” , what is the concept behind it and are there any message you want to relay to the public via the lyrics?

Sjoerd: Well I mean if you listen to the latest music of Showtek there’s a lot of message behind every song. “On our own” for example, it’s a song that stands for the fact that even if you’re dancing with everybody, you can also dance on your own because you can be proud of who you are, you can be who you want in this big world you know?

Wouter: And we know like if you’re growing up as a teenager, you’re 14-15 and you have your own vision and perspectives of the world. But i know your parents can be very intimidating or your friends, but i think it’s important to believe in your thoughts and who you are and to follow your dreams and people always tell you what they think is best for you but I think intuition is the most important thing in your evolution. And always listen to what you are, even if you are on your own and dancing on your own, that’s still fine because you’ll get what you wanna have to.

Luxe Society Asia: You were first known in the Hardstyle scene, what is the main reason of going into Electro House?

Wouter: I mean with all respect, we were on the top for so long, and i think we still have a lot of songs out there that people still play. It was time for us to move to something new and to reinvent ourselves a little bit. And if you’ve listened to our music for the last 4-5 years, it’s still very Showtek, it’s still a very big signature there despite the difference of the groove.

Sojerd: It’s like there’s a few examples we can make, for example your favourite food or let’s say your mom, you love living with your mom when you’re young and let her take care of you. But one day you wanna move out of the house and do your own thing, but you still love your family, so hardstyle is still family for us. We just don’t wanna get involve in it everyday anymore but it is still part of who we are.

Luxe Society Asia: Do you think the EDM scene is too saturated with the numerous DJ’s we have now or are there still room for up and coming DJ’s?

Sojerd: I think every market saturates so to move forward, i think it means that there are so many good producers that we almost get overwhelmed by the amazingness. But something has to be a little bit too much that people will get sick of and come up with new stuff. So it’s a natural occurring thing, but i don’t think it’s saturating, i think it’s very powerful and very impactful at the moment and it’s such a huge movement. Maybe it’s too much for some people, in my opinion it’s so successful that we can get way more out of this then out.

Wouter: I don’t want to come off wrong here, but what’s important here is that you don’t become too much part of the industry or hype. You gotta be also a little bit responsible for your own where you’re going, so maybe the whole industry is out there a lot, but it’s up to the artist to do something different, to stand out and continue to be relevant. Some artist will not and some artist will and there’s always new kids coming on.

Sojerd: You can still be in control not to be the saturating artist, If you’re unique, you won’t be the saturating factor.

Luxe Society Asia: What’s the best festival you’ve played at so far and why?

Sojerd: Anyway i have to go with Ultra Music Festival.

Wouter: If you’re gonna ask me what is the best Ultra that we’ve ever played, it was definitely at Ultra Argentina where we brought our father along for tour. That was a really great festival, i think it’s one of my favourites.

Sojerd: I think it’s hard to compare because circumstances are always different. We did Ultra here in Singapore, Ultra 2 months ago in Miami. Ultra is one of our favourite festivals in the world and they also help music move forward and evolve so we’re very happy to be part of this.

Luxe Society Asia: How do you compliment each other when it comes to producing a track considering that there are two people involved who might have different wants and ideas compared to other DJ’s who is just one person deciding.

Sojerd: It’s like a band, you look at the Beatles, Coldplay, U2, everyone has a different role in the group but they all complement each other. And i think it’s important to know, to give each other space at what an individual is good at and also try to give each other as much time to work on something, like Wouter, he is very good at mixing, sounds and very technical. I’m not as patient with that, i’m more into the melodies, the sounds and stuff. We both know what we’re good at, and we give each other space and respect and communicate on another level.

Luxe Society Asia: Since you are in Singapore, what is your favourite local food and restaurant?

Wouter: It used to be Rendang, but i became a vegetarian like 2 years ago, so now a nasi/nazi vegetarian version of nasi.

Sojerd: It’s still Rendang for me.

Luxe Society Asia: Where do you see the Music scene evolving to 5 to 10 years from now?

Sojerd: It’s hard to predict the future, but i think it’s great to see so many talented producers. I need talent to create an evolution. Streaming is a mile-streak away, you can listen to 20,000 new songs a week, i think music will become more like food, you will eat it and digest it fast. It won’t be like as special like 50 years ago where you buy an EP and you hang it on your wall and its your own EP. Now its on your computer, you stream it, it’s there, It will move forward more quickly but it will still have the same message and that’s bringing people together. Have a good time listening to it, make you happy, make you sad and forge your emotions and that’s what music is all about.

Thanks for chatting with us!

See you at ULTRA Singapore 2018