The name Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, popularly abbreviated as DVLM, is one that sparks off instant recognition, that too of massive proportions, in the dance music spectrum. Hailing from the swinging land of Belgium, this thriving production project is the mastery of a dance-god duo consisting of brothers Dimitri and Michael Thivaios, who keep the fame within the family. Slowly and steadily, the two have risen in the ranks of fame to become the most sought-after name in the industry, performing their live mix of foot-tapping, hand-crashing sound along with some class-A MC action, leaving their audiences in a zealous frenzy of wayward footwork and jumping heels. Known to stir up some of the greatest festival raves and hard-hitting electro house jams that pump energy into your very blood vessels, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike cover a broad range spanning from the classic EDM to big room to dashes of deep house, thus it no surprise that they were our top candidates for Artist Of The Month for October 2016.
Starting off as DJ’s at a young age, both Dimitri and Mike shared a passion and inclination towards the music scene as they kicked things off bright and early, making small appearances at clubs and as resident DJs at BeatFM. Dimitri then packed his suitcases and escaped to Europe for a bit in 1999, touring the country until he finally settled at a Resident DJ position at Space and Privilege in Ibiza in 2003. He then moved to Zante, Greece, where he remained as a Resident DJ for Amnesia and The End in 2006. It was only in autumn 2006 that Dimitri came back to Belgium and set up shot with his little brother who had branded himself as Like Mike, sharing an apartment with a studio where they toiled for their breakthrough creation, even producing their first release ‘La Cocaina’ in 2007. And thus emerged a success story as two brothers assumed the avatar of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, with nothing but pure hope and talent to stand upon on their path to success.
Success came to them in the form of appreciation when their track ‘Work That Body’ received a nod of notice by Axwell, who subsequently entrusted them with a remix of ‘Rotterdam City of Love’ by Abel Ramos for his label Axtone. The rest, as they say, is harmonic history!
What can truly be regarded as the turning point for the two is at Tomorrowland in 2011, since their hometown-based rager gave them the opportunity and platform to expose to the world their pumped up sound by producing the soundtrack for the festival’s after-movie, leaving heads banging long after the credits had rolled through. Consequently, they managed to garner enough to set up and establish Smash The House Records, which was to serve as their very own record label establishment. Securing the Best Breakthrough Act’ award at the 2013 International Dance Music Awards (IDMAs), they also made an appearance as the hosts for Tomorrowland, producing the mighty anthem “Tomorrow (Give in to the Night)” with Dada Life and Tara McDonald, which was released by the duo’s own label.
This theme of putting forth an anthem for Tomorrowland prolonged and even today, the Belgium bliss festival would be incomplete without the energy-riddled DVLM sound for their anthems, with powerful singles like “The Way We See the World” and ‘Chattahoochee’ to follow as the rich sound they were known for, with the latter arriving at #1 on the significant Beatport charts in a timespan of less than 3 days. After that, such a sensational rate became a common occurrence, with their Martin Garrix collaborative effort ‘Tremor’ broke through charts and pulled in bustling vibes at festivals like Tomorrowland and Ultra Music, making them and their tracks a musical force to reckon with.
Come 2015, the release of ‘The Hum’, a deliciously catchy “Wolf Of Wall Street” inspired track, prospered immediately, gaining a cushy seat atop Beatport charts as the producers had become known to do.
Sometime in August 2015, DVLM delved into a deep house sound, experimenting with Ne-Yo to create ‘Higher Place’, which turned into a commendable gain in their stockpile, becoming the most Shazam-ed track of Tomorrowland 2015 and being dedicated a #1 spot in the Belgian charts, as well as on the Billboard Dance chart. They also scored headlining features at some of the world’s most awe-inspiring stage performances, including securing a residency at the luxury-spun Hakkasan in Las Vegas and Amnesia terrace.
It was in October 2015 that success hit them as hard as a meteor shower, when the dynamic powerhouse of a pair were declared the #1 DJs by the most coveted media name in the EDM scene: DJ Mag, dethroning and climbing over the ranks of even Hardwell, who had to be content with slot no. 2 as he gave way for the duo to leave behind their infectious imprint on the world.
This shone right through as the DVLM organised ‘Bringing The Madness 3.0’ concert, a live audio-visual delight of a platform adopted by the pair to introduce their unreleased ID’s and records of their label Smash The House, saw a mammoth sell out of 40,000 tickets in under 40 minutes, an occurrence thought only to be true to music gods like Coldplay, Madonna and Beyonce, thus leading to an additional 3rd date to the run of shows and a steady increase in the tickets to a 60,000 people capacity.
As their ascent magnified year by year, it surprised few when on May 9 2016 their release ‘Melody’ climbed its way onto the #1 spot on Beatport charts and also ended up becoming the Belgian National Football Team’s official anthem, thus broadening their horizons as their path was cemented.
2016 also saw the brother’s surpassing all their limits as they accepted the ‘Best Global DJ’ Award for the second year in a row, in addition to winning the ‘Best Big Room DJ’, and ‘Best Music Video’ for ‘The Hum’, which peaked as #1 in the singles chart in Belgium at the EMPO Awards, Mexico, making their home country a proud spectator as they picked up a Platinum Record, soaring above the stormy skies of the electronic music world.
Of course, their repertoire stretches to include the smashing remixes they offered up featuring efforts by a stream of popular artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul, as well as maintained a favourable relationship with Apple’s Beats 1’s host Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong and Danny Howard, only adding to their overall image of being the season’s most accomplished and energetic artists to grace the stage.
Their presence becomes a constant praise as the duo stuns the world with their originally hardcore and addictive sound, capturing the hearts of millions and successfully gaining 7.7 million Facebook likes, over 2 million collective Twitter followers, 2 million Instagram fans and an amount upward of 375 million YouTube views.
With progress booming for these mighty producers, the brothers continue their expanse into the music electrical circuit, dancing to the tunes of the deeply satisfying electronic music industry, but indirectly leave behind a reminder of all their achievements, making their feats all the more memorable.
Now, after having built up the steadiest image and being a fan favourite world over, DVLM are back to grace their thousands of screeching fans in India with their power-packed presence. If you’re one of those awaiting this roller coaster ride, be sure to check out their full tour schedule below, and don’t forget to carry your pair of shades because these two shining talents promise to dazzle you with an epic performance!
Sunday, 9th October – Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Mumbai
Saturday, 8th October – Hitex Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad
Make sure to grab your tickets for Hyderabad and Mumbai.
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