Nick van de Wall was a young kid passionate about music. But unlike others, he did not just listen to it, he decided to start making it. Nick began his journey towards becoming one of the biggest icons of dance music. Now we know him as the EDM superstar, Afrojack! As Smirnoff Experience brings his incredible sounds to ardent fans in Mumbai, we give you a sneak-peek into the inspiring and real story of this global sensation.
A little piano maestro at the age of 5, Nick didn’t take much time to get himself acquainted with the technique of music production and the software, Fruity Loops (now known as FL Studio) which he uses to this day. Long hours of practice and self-learning followed. Nick continued producing along with studying. After finishing school, Nick studied Graphics Design for a year. Soon he decided to pursue his love for music as his career; but not being able to make a living out of it just yet, he started working part-time at bars and catering in the city of Rotterdam. He also managed and developed fellow DJs’ websites. This gave him enough time to figure out the whole clubbing landscape of the city and work on his production simultaneously. He was only 16 years old when he landed his first gig in an old club named Las Palmas. Soon many small gigs and acts followed. His work on the production was on full throttle.
The year of 2006 took Nick to Crete (Greece). He simply played there for five months at every single club that would have him. It was the time when he mastered his craft of mixing and working the crowd with the impeccable timing with tracks. After returning home, Nick was more determined towards getting his tracks released on record labels. So he started putting more and more efforts in his production. With a little help from Sydney Samson and Laidback Luke, he landed his track “In Your Face” on Digidance, which charted to no. 60 on the Dutch top 100 and no. 3 on the Dutch top 30. This opened new doors for the talented 18 year old.
This was the same time when Nick van de Wall started playing and releasing under the legendary alias of Afrojack, which soon became synonymous to success and quality music. Many releases and remixes followed after the success of Afrojack’s first release. He even started his own record label, Wall Recordings. Seeing his hard work pay off, Nick started pushing his limits and started working more in his studio. Whenever he is not playing at a gig, he is producing. His tracks “Math” and “Do My Dance” gained support from some of the biggest names of the industry and gained major airtime on radios along with hitting Dutch top 20. With this next step, Afrojack started playing at some major festivals like Tomorrowland, Mystery Land and Sensation. The year of 2009 took his career even higher as Afrojack collaborated with David Guetta and delivered a splendid track in the form of ‘Toyfriend’. The world heard more and more of Afrojack and soon he became one of the most in demand DJ/producer globally.
Since Afrojack got hold of his space in the scene, he has always upped his game with bigger and better performances. At a very young age, he remixed tracks by the biggest names in the music industry which others could only dream of. He even won a prestigious Grammy award in 2011 for the category of Best Remix with his version of Madonna’s ‘Revolver’. The unveiling of “Take Over Control” tuned out to be an instant worldwide club and chart hit going platinum in multiple countries. He has landed collaborations with David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, Diplo and Kid Cudi to name a few from the ever growing list. His support for the upcoming talent on his own record label has given many talented artists a way into the dance music scene. With his ability of finding talent and putting out quality releases from time to time, Wall Recording has become one of the most reputed dance music labels in the industry.
Residency at some of the world’s biggest clubs is certainly an easy thing for Afrojack. With two Grammy Awards under his belt and multiple releases going platinum, it’s easy to see why. In addition to this, his huge fanbase is always ready to party and venues get sold out within a short period of time from the announcement. Today, the line-ups of established festivals can’t miss out on Afrojack. It’s no wonder that one of India’s biggest EDM music festivals, the Smirnoff Experience Music Festival is bringing this global superstar to Mumbai, much to delight of his fans.
No matter how big a name Afrojack seems today, it all started with a dream and the dedication of a passionate young boy!
Having kept his music real over the years, Afrojack and Smirnoff Experience Music Festival are the perfect combo for people who are looking for a real party. . If you are looking to unfake it, Smirnoff Experience Music Festival is the place to go for you.
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