Spinnin’ Records’ Huge Day & Night Events At Ade 2022 Hosted At The Q-Factory
Hey Ibiza Club News Fam, this is the twin DJ/Producer duo from NYC, Castor & Pollux where we take you inside the Spinnin Records Day and Night events that took place on Wednesday October 19th during Amsterdam Dance Event. We had the privilege to cover both events and interview some great artists that have been signed to the label. A bit of background on us, we are twins from NYC where we have been producing our own music for 8 years and have been DJing for 3 years where we have played alongside proclaimed acts such as Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Alan Walker, Alesso and Zedd. We have also released our original productions on great labels such as Nexchapter and Turn It Up Muzik.
To have the chance to make it to our first ADE and be part of the Spinnin’ Event was a great kick off to the entire week. Starting off the day event, it included a packed program. Artists showed up for the World’s Biggest Demo Drop, which was an opportunity for up-and-coming producers to present their demos for release on the label, supported by feedback from the Spinnin’ Records’ artists and A&R team.
Inside the main room, The Spinnin’ Gaming Tournament took place where there was action-packed battle to the top as artists, gamers and special guests went head-to-head in games such as Fifa, Call of Duty and Mario Kart to see who would be crowned the best of the best. There were also a few panels of industry experts in the Second Room where all could attend to listen to different topics with the Spinnin’ Records team.
Later that night, Spinnin’ Records’ held their annual showcase for industry and fans for those looking to party till the early hours of the morning. The main room included: Blasterjaxx, Firebeatz, Gabry Ponte, Jake Tarry, LUM!X, Mariana BO, Tungevaag, Steff Da Campo, Sander Van Doorn + special guests and the Second Room included: HÅWK, HEADER, Juicy M, ManyFew B2B Joe Stone, MARF, Millean., PAJANE, and TELYkast.
We had the chance to sit down with Header, Jay Hardway and Blasterjaxx to catch up and speak on many things for the Artists on Artists Interview Series. Starting with the French duo Header where it was their first ADE, we asked what was behind their signature Future Rave sound and they went on to tell us:
“We wanted to do something different as we were trying to find our own sound when David and Morten came out with ‘Never Be Alone’. Once we heard that sound we said let’s try it and our track ‘Midnight’ was born which was then signed to Spinnin Next and we knew it was a new beginning for us.”
We also had the chance to ask what could we expect from them in 2023 and they were able to give us a little sneak peak by revealing:
“We have a new official remix for David Guetta’s ‘I’m Good’ soon and we’re going to play it tonight. It’s kind of a different sound as it’s harder in a way for Future Rave so we’re trying to improve it and we’re very happy with the remix. We weren’t expecting it to be the official remix since David got so many remixes for it so we’re super happy. We also have three IDs that will be released at the end of this year and early 2023.”
The duo also told us how up and coming producers can be different with the Future Rave sound by explaining:
“It’s a bit difficult currently due to many young producers copying the old Future Rave sound but they can avoid that by experimenting with new sounds, maybe more techno leads, dark vibes, acid etc. Going off of that, our favorite VST is Serum laughs for our drops and leads. It’s very easy to use and if we want to try something fast, Serum is the go to for us to try to find the best sound and experiment.”
Shortly after this, we met with Jay Hardway who was really excited to have ADE back given he is from Amsterdam:
“I really love seeing people at the festivals that come here as you have a bit more time with them to catch up and hang backstage. It’s really good to see everyone and get drinks too so overall, it’s a good vibe.”
He then told us about his Jay Hardway & Friends ADE Event on that night as he was super excited for it:
“I did my own event in 2016 and 2017 in a small club during ADE and it’s just really cool to do your own thing. It’s not to make a profit or anything, it’s just me with my friends. I’m super happy with my lineup and they all agreed to play for free so it’s very cool. Also I don’t have to decide where I have to go tonight since I’ll be at my own club *laughs*. Everyone comes to me.”
Going off of that, Spotless with Martin Garrix turned 6 years old and Jay just felt really proud of that moment:
“Yes, like where did the time go!? I don’t understand it either. It felt like yesterday we were in the studio creating it and it still goes off. From 2010 to 2016, there was a huge evolution of sound where tracks sounded better but tracks from that era still sound good and I’m still playing those tracks. Martin still plays it in his sets and it’s a crowd favorite.”
We then went on to talk about inspiration from live sets when producing and how difficult that was during COVID with Jay’s productions:
“It was very tough, we as the scene had a lot of tracks during that time because we were all locked up in the studio. I made a lot of music but not much that I would play out live, that was a huge difference. Also seeing the old sets, sometimes it works for inspiration but sometimes you’re thinking, next month I’m playing that festival so you need a benchmark to party that day. It gave more time to produce lofi, hip hop or deep stuff to listen to.”
Jay then went on to talk about taking risks in his productions:
“I try to always do something different in my productions. Especially now where so much music is being released daily, it’s like 100,000 tracks coming out each day on Spotify and it was 40,000 per week four years ago. The trick is, you want your music in live sets. So if I see Tiesto playing a set, how do I stand out to be played? He gets dozens of demos a day, millions of tracks to choose from, so you have to try something unique. I’m not trying to make hits, I’m just looking to make great music and see where it ends up.”
Lastly, we sat down with the big room legends Blasterjaxx to talk the evolution of their sound, their thoughts on how the scene is evolving and new collaborations:
“In 2 weeks, we got the rights from Disney to do ‘He’s A Pirate’ cover track, it’s really cool, we’re excited for that. We have something with Brennan Heart, Armin, Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike, Aoki and the rest we’ll keep hidden for now.”
We then spoke of their productions and where they usually start in the process:
“It really depends, sometimes we will go with what we feel but most of the time we start with melodies and sketch it out. Drops will come after that with the buildup since you kind of feel where you want things to go. The new one with Armin, we started with the drop so that one started the opposite way but most of the time, it’s a melody.”
We also discussed how being a duo dictates how they work together:
“We will have disagreements sometimes but then sometimes we will have other people decide for us where we will go with our tracks. At the moment, someone is right but we compromise on what we think will make our tracks better. All feedback you have in a song helps and if it works, it works.”
The two then spoke about their label Maxximize and what they look for when signing tracks:
“Originality. Also if it’s something for our sets, not always but it definitely has to be original and not copy other producers that have been established. There are a lot of copy cats out there and those are not tracks we want on the label. One artist that has a bright future is Declain. He has a very different perspective on the music he’s making and he’s combining 80s with the current sound and it’s cool to see. He’s definitely one to watch out for!”
Lastly, we spoke about how mainstage music has evolved since Covid and what their true thoughts on where it’s taken them on their journey as well as the big room genre:
“This is a long topic that we can talk about for days *laughs*. I (Thom) personally really like the mainstage techno. I made Idir listen to some sets and he said it’s not bad so he started to appreciate it more. (Idir) It depends, if melodies are in those types of tracks, I like it but not the straight kick and bass. I like emotion in our tracks and I can’t put my emotional feelings in a techno song. We created a few songs where we experimented as well but it’s always big room never dies!”
They also asked us what we thought about the change in the big room genre and we gave our opinion as well which was cool to really give our perspective on where the scene is going and where it will end up in the future.
All in all, Spinnin’ always does a great job putting on events for ADE and we were very privileged to attend the all day events! See you next year!
Follow all socials below:
Castor & Pollux: https://www.instagram.com/castorandpolluxmusic/
Spinnin Records: https://www.instagram.com/spinninrecords/
Header: https://www.instagram.com/header_music/
Jay Hardway: https://www.instagram.com/jayhardway/
Blasterjaxx: https://www.instagram.com/blasterjaxx/
Infectious PR: https://www.instagram.com/infectiouspr_/