Exclusive Interview: Nicky Romero opens up about his music evolution

“The main aim is to up my game at every possible turn without compromise” – Nicky Romero

The above statement gives us a valuable insight into the artist Nicky Romero has become. In every aspect of his life: as a DJ, producer and label head—he is a tireless advocate for his art. Couple this with his distinctive signature sound and relentless work ethic and it is no surprise that he stands tall and continues to dominate the highly fickle world of electronic music for almost a decade. Building upon accolades too numerous to mention, whilst simultaneously furthering the Protocol brand and his own individual solo career, Nicky Romero continues to make his mark on the music industry and expand his ever growing devoted fanbase.

Pushing relentlessly forward even in the face of personal obstacles, Nicky now looks to the next chapter of his already highlight-studded career and has big plans for all facets of the Protocol brand on the horizon. We caught up with the Dutch trendsetter at the legendary EXIT Festival in Serbia and were lucky enough to have been given an insight into the star’s future plans, dream collaborations and his music evolution through the years.

With the release of Novell and Ready 2 Rumble Nicky is back in the studio in full force but an album is not on the horizon:

“No plans (to release an album) at the moment. I’m really just enjoying being back in the studio making music and getting it out to you guys.”

Nicky’s ‘Get Connected’ tour has been making waves across the world and the music pioneer has been enjoying his time on the road:

“It’s all about the great network of Protocol fans that we have across the world and connecting them through music. So far we’ve had shows in Miami, Daydream Festival and hosted a stage at Tomorrowland Brasil which was really cool and of course Sziget was a Protocol Stage! We’ve also just announced the annual ADE event which is always one of my favorite shows of the year.”

A trailblazer at heart and set on never playing by the rules Nicky recently chose a very unique collaborator for an electronic music producer – Nile Rodgers. The Dutchman is certainly all about expanding his horizons in relation to collaborations:

“The collaboration with Nile happened organically through a studio session in LA with David Guetta and it was an honour to work with him. Other than that, I’d love to work with someone like Chris Martin!”

Nicky is known to be active on social media with millions of devoted followers and they were recently given an insight into one of his long time hobbies – photography.

“It’s another passion of mine. I am lucky enough to travel to so many different places and experience all these different cultures and I wanted a way of capturing these moments. I set up a separate Instagram account and decided it would also be cool to share it with my fans if they are interested!”

With a substantial number of releases on a daily basis some would argue that there is over saturation of big room and progressive house in electronic music at the moment. Nicky views the scene as a matter of supply and demand:

“That’s difficult to judge. There wouldn’t be so much big room and progressive house around if people didn’t want to listen to it so I think the rise in popularity has seen the surge in releases.”

Having started out almost 10 years ago Nicky Romero has evolved into a true force to be reckoned with. It was a long and no doubt tiring road but the maturity of the artist he’s become shines through when talking about his music evolution:

“Back then I was just starting out and eager to please everyone. Now, as much as I want people to like my music, I have also learnt that you can’t please everyone so as long as you are staying true to yourself by writing music that you love and you believe in, that’s the best you can do.”

The future direction of electronic music is a hot topic for today’s producers and the view of the Dutch hit-maker is that variety is the spice of life:

“I get asked this a lot and the truth is, I don’t think anyone can say. Some artists seem to be going back to their roots, others are incorporating live instruments and musicians into their sets. As electronic music has become more mainstream, featuring heavily in pop music and taking over the charts, I think we’ll just see more and more experimentation and genres coming through – there will be something for everyone!”

Wise words from an artist that can be called a veteran of electronic music at the age of just 27. We Rave You was lucky enough to experience the superstar’s electric performance at EXIT Festival from the stage and the atmosphere and energy were quite simply overwhelming.  A breathtaking view and a performance that exceeded our already high expectations and that of the tens of thousands of fans that packed the fortress of the festival. Get a glimpse of the atmosphere below: