Meet the Mastermind behind “Keys!” (An Interview with Vida)

I can guarantee you’ve heard his hit single “Keys” that made it to the top 50 on Beatport, gaining attention from such large acts like Nicky Romero and Armin van Buuren. Young as well, a college student in the Netherlands, reaching such heights at such an early age that he leaves us wondering what’s next for him. Here is my interview with producer Vida, where we talk about his musical background, future plans, and creative process!

 

What is your musical background like?

I followed a few piano lessons when I was about 8 years old. In my family my dad plays piano.

I started 3 years ago producing with FL Studio and actually learned myself how to produce tracks. In the beginning I didn’t know about sample packs and VST plugins like Sylenth1 and Nexus, so could you imagine how my tracks sounded like haha?! After 2 years I switched to Apple and started using Logic Pro.

I learned a lot from listening to other tracks and from feedback by other producers on my tracks. And of course you have to practice a lot!!

 

What was your first experience with electronic dance music like?

When I was 13 years old I saw a DVD from Armin van Buuren’s show (Armin Only) at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. I was really impressed by that DVD. It inspired me to play tracks in front of a crowd too. At that time I started listening more to electronic dance music (like house/progressive house/electro and trance). I guess I was the only person of my age who listened to house music instead of radio pop songs haha!

 

What would you define your genre as, if you had to label it? Do you feel like a genre limits what sort of music you can make?

I would define my genre as progressive house. It really depends on what kind of feeling I want to create in a track. When I start with a catchy piano melody it will most of the time be a bigroom track with melody in the drop because I think that fits better than a raw drop.

I don’t think a genre limits what sort of music I can make. I just want to produce what I like. Sometimes it’s big room and sometimes it’s something different, but I always try to put chords and melodies in a track because that’s what I really like. I always try to use my own sounds/presets in the track so people know it’s a “Vida track”.

 

How did you develop connections with EDM stars like Armin van Buuren and Nicky Romero?

I think when your tracks are on a certain level, you will get noticed by the big DJ’s/producers. Armin van Buuren liked two tracks of mine. Really proud of that!

I met Nicky Romero on the internet. He contacted me in 2009. We used a social media website in Holland called Hyves. Nicky listened to some track of mine on that page and sent me a message that he liked them. From that point I got in contact with him and talked a lot. I learned a lot from him because I just got started producing and he was already on a next level. In general it’s very important to have contact with other dj’s, it’s very useful to give feedback on each others tracks!

 

What was your creative process behind your latest single “Keys”?

Keys actually started as a collaboration with Swedish producer Jakob Liedholm. He sent a midi file with the melody to me and I produced the whole track in Logic. It immediately got played by Nicky Romero’s first Protocol Radio show. We actually weren’t happy with that version because it didn’t sound fat enough. After a few months Jakob decided he didn’t want to work on the track anymore. He said that I was free to use his melody. So I finished the track on my own in January. I’m happy the track is finally released now!

 

Did you expect “Keys” to do so well and hit the top 50 on BeatPort? What was it about this track that set it apart from your other work?

I always hope my tracks do well in the charts. It’s great to have tracks in the top 50 on Beatport. Then you know people like your music because they bought it.  A lot of people check the Beatport charts everyday so people will look up more of my tracks.

The track was released on the right moment I think, because it has some really nice summer vibes in it. Perfect for a festival :-)

 

How did you go about releasing keys on Oxygen’s label?

I’m happy with the release on Oxygen. It’s really cool to see so many people listen to the track on Spinnin Record’s YouTube channel! The DJ feedback was also really nice! (support by Armin van Buuren, Nicky Romero and John Dahlback)

 

What is your major in college?

I study commercial economics. Really happy I passed the first year. Next year I will follow a more detailed course, Sport and Entertainment marketing.

 

You produce music at the same time as going to school full-time. I’m sure all the student musicians out there would love the answer to this next question. How do you balance both your schoolwork and produce such great sounding tracks?

It’s hard. Most of the time I want to go to the studio and produce a new track, but I need to study too. For now I don’t know if I could make a career out of my music, so it’s also important to study now.

Most of the time I finish my schoolwork first so I can produce the rest of the day. This works quite well. Exam weeks are horrible for me. Most of the time I don’t have time to produce in those weeks.

 

Your work is comprised of singles that I assume you release when you get time in your busy school schedule. Do you think we’ll be seeing an album from you soon?

Haha not for now, but I would love to work on an album in the future.

 

Do you think you will keep your music as a hobby as your career continues? Can you see yourself with a full time dedication to making music, eventually creating a career out of it?

I would love to make a career out of it but I can’t look in the future now. I have to keep on producing a lot now and hope that my tracks will be supported by the biggest DJ’s in the world. And more important, I hope the listeners of electronic dance music like my tracks of course :-)  So keep an eye on my soundcloud (www.soundcloud.com/djvida). That’s the place where you can find my next releases!

 

Keep up with Vida and follow him on his Twitter @djvida!