Life In Color, “the world’s largest paint party,” will inject a sea of colour to the 5,000 capacity Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on Saturday 4 February 2017, with its unique mix of big room house and paint cannons. Featuring on the lineup, is Dutch superstar Dannic, who stopped by Dance Rebels for a chat…

Hey Dannic! Welcome to Dance Rebels! For those who may not be familiar with you, where are you from? And how long have you been DJing and producing for?

I’m from Breda in the Netherlands and I have been DJ’ing for over 10 years. My big “break” really came around 8 years ago when I won the Dancetour DJ competition – the rest, as they say, is history…

During 2016, your Fonk Recordings imprint released banger after banger. You also worked with a lot of young talents via the label too, but, what artists should we be looking out for during 2017, let’s say someone who haven’t released via Fonk yet?

Thank you! There a lot of cool guys out there, Throttle is going to be really big this year and Envyro is a cool new producer from Italy, I’ve been playing his ‘Universe’ track in my sets and on my Fonk Radio show a lot recently.

Your career grew rapidly via guidance from heavyweights including Hardwell and Tiesto, the Breda boys! What does it feel like to be an inspiration for young artists nowadays too?

It’s an amazing feeling to think that younger generations will look up to me! To be a part of the modern Breda movement of dance music is an honour and I hope I give inspiration to artists starting out not only from Breda, but across the world.

You’re also set to release ‘Noise’ with DBSTF via Blasterjaxx’s ‘Maxximize’ imprint. What do you think the highlight of the track is? How was the collaboration process too? Easy?

The collaboration process was very easy! It’s always fun linking up with DBSTF, the guys remixed my track ‘Feel Your Love’ in 2016 and since then, I’ve been wanting to jump in the studio with them! I like how the levels are very much in the big room but there is an element of groove that comes through.

We’re used to seeing you throw down high-energy sets, in big sold-out arenas etc, but, what kind of energy do you expect at Life In Color, considering it’s a paint party etc?

Crazy colours and lots of partying! I’ve played Life In Colour in the past and it’s a really great concept that allows fans to get involved as much as they can, the colours flowing out from the stage adds another dimension that you can’t get with 2D or even some 3D visuals – it’s almost 4D haha, putting the fans right at the centre of the event.

The LIC UK crowds are notoriously ‘rowdy’ and always ‘up for it’, so, as a DJ, does that motivate you more when performing? I mean, if the crowd is boring, does it make you think ‘why am I doing this?’ etc.

If a crowd isn’t as responsive as I’d hoped, for example at a festival where I might have to win over a crowd that might not be there to see me, I still wouldn’t think ‘Why am I doing this?…’ My music isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste but as you say the LIC crowds are always up for it! So we’ll be set to get the party started next month!

You’ve played on some star-studded lineups in the past, and LIC also includes talents like Jay Hardway, Nicky Romero and W&W. What does it feel like to share the stage with those artists? Are all the Dutch artists a tight-knit clique too?

It’s great to share the stage with those guys, always fun to see my fellow Dutch boys!

When you’re not on stage, whilst at the venue, do you like to observe the crowd, to see how they are acting, so you have a better idea of what to play etc? Or do you have any other particular pre-set regimes?

I’ll have a look before my set but it usually won’t dictate what I play overall, so I won’t make any last minute changes but if a crowd is getting tired for example, I’ll have to ease them in, take the audience on a journey before they can really party…

If you could unsuspectingly cover an artist playing on the LIC event in paint, who would it be, and why? Options include Third Party, Chuckie, Juicy M, Jay Hardway, Nicky Romero and W&W, take your pick!

The W&W boys because they would (hopefully) forgive me afterwards 😉

Finally, to ‘whet the palate’ of LIC attendees, what 3 tracks can we expect to hear in your set? And why do you like them tracks too?

1. Dannic & DBSTF – ‘Noise’ – My new collab and first release of 2017!
2. Sebjak & WILL K – ‘Smoke’ – Tribal electro here that goes hard.
3. Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha – ‘In The Name Of Love’ – Huge track that is always on the radio, great beat from Martin that carries it over into the pop world with Bebe’s vocals.

About Thursday Thoughts:

At Dance Rebels, we strive to bring our readers as close to their favorite artists as possible. One of the best ways to make that connection is to discuss a wide range of topics with the biggest names in the dance music scene. If there is an artist that you think we need to talk to, reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter!