Enchanting productions and Bangin’ live sets is probably the tip of the iceberg to describe the Dutch superstar, Nick Van de Wall, better known by his stage name, Afrojack! One of the top most DJs and producers in the current dance music scene, Afrojack is the name that is bound to appear even if you don’t follow dance music. Known for his vibrating live performances and a wide range of productions, Afrojack is a living example of dedication and hard work. As he makes his way to India for Electric Daisy Carnival, let’s take a look one deeper into the story of Afrojack.
Afrojack‘s journey started at a very young age of 5 years when Spijkenisse-born little Nick Van de Wall started taking Piano lessons. As his love towards music grew, the dream became clearer and Nick started to learn Fruity Loops ( Now known as FL Studio). After finishing school, Nick pursued Graphics Design for a year before deciding to make music his profession. Playing at local pubs and clubs, Nick made extra income by working part-time at bars and catering in the city of Rotterdam. He also developed and maintained the websites of fellow DJs. 16 years old Nick was dedicated towards his decision and was working hard to make it happen!
In 2006, he moved to Crete (Greece) where he played for five months at every club that would have him, perfecting his DJing skills. On returning home with much inspiration, Nick worked harder in the studio and soon landed his first release in 2007, “In Your Face” on Digidance. The record charted at No.60 on Dutch Top 100 and at No.3 on Dutch Top 30. The hard work had paid off, but it was only the beginning. This release was the point when Nick started playing live and releasing music under Afrojack alias.
After his first release, Afrojack delivered many quality remixes over a couple of years for the tracks like Steve Angello’s ‘Gypsy‘, David Guetta’s ‘Sexy Bitch‘, Sidney Samson’s ‘Riverside‘ and more. He also started his own label Wall Recordings in 2007 (as a sub-label of Spinnin’ Records). With his ever-growing sound, Nick started pushing more in the studio. His releases like “Math” and “Do My Dance” gained great support from big names. Afrojack started playing major festivals like Tomorrowland, Mysteryland and Sensation. 2009 saw the release of ‘Toyfriend‘, Afrojack’s collaboration with the French superstar, David Guetta.
Afrojack received international success with his 2010 release, “Take Over Control” featuring Eva Simmons, which charted and went platinum in multiple countries. In July, he delivered his Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1. It was the very same year when Afrojack entered the prestigious (at that time) DJ Mag Top 100 DJs as the highest new entry at No. 19. This was the year when he solidified his stand in the scene and the history is proof that he is here to stay. The Dutch sensation ended the year with his debut EP, Lost & Found. While he delivered spectacular releases like “The Way We See The World” (With Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Nervo) and “No Beef” (With Steve Aoki), he also grabbed the prestigious Grammy Award for the category of Best Remix with his contribution to David Guetta’s “One Love Remix” of Madonna‘s ‘Revolver‘ in 2011. Afrojack also contributed in the making of Beyoncé‘s “Run The World (Girls)” alongside Diplo and Switch.
2012 brought the exploding releases, “Can’t Stop Me” and “Rock The House” from Afrojack. He was featured alongside Ne-Yo and Nayer on the multi-platinum track by Pitbull, “Give Me Everything” and got a Grammy nomination in the Best Remix category for the remix of very same track. He also contributed as a writer on Chris Brown‘s track “Look At Me Now” featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne, which was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Song. He also won a European Border Breakers Award. Simultaneously, Afrojack headlined world’s biggest festivals like Ultra Miami, Tomorrowland and more for the first time. What a year for Afrojack!
The hype of Afrojack is real. By 2013, Afrojack was the 7th highest earning DJ in the world. Not to mention, he has been in top 10 of Top 100 DJs since 2011. Topping charts in multiple countries has become a custom for Afrojack tracks. 2013 saw the first two singles off his 2014 debut album, Forget The World. With tracks like “Ten Feet Tall“, “Dynamite” and “The Spark“, the album quickly became fans’ favourite. The ever-growing fan following of Afrojack was turning humongous.
Afrojack has been upping his game since day one without stopping. While tracks like “Turn Up The Speakers” (with Martin Garrix) moved the dancefloors around the world, he showed his versatility with dance tracks like ‘Summerthing!‘ and “Used To Have It All“.
With time, the kind of music people like, evolves and so do the artists. In 2015 Afrojack unveiled his NLW alias and release the NLW EP, which incorporated more experimental sounds brought to the mainstream dance music scene by the likes of Jack Ü and Major Lazer.
After all this success, Afrojack hasn’t forgotten how hard it was to reach here. He constantly finds and pushes new talent on his Wall Recordings which is now an independent label (since February 2016). House to the likes of KIIDA, Ravitez, Apster, D-Wayne and more, Wall is a collective of fresh takes on dance music. Afrojack also hosts an hour long weekly radio show, ‘JACKED Radio’ which features the latest music out there.
With his recent releases, Afrojack has delivered “Hollywood” with Hardwell, and “Used To Have It All” with his childhood friend Fais. He has also remixed Major Lazer‘s “Cold Water” featuring Justin Bieber and MØ. Holding the residency at world’s best clubs and touring the world to play his music is Afrojack’s lifestyle. The lineup of any major festival is incomplete without Afrojack’s name in the headliners.
A frequent guest of India, Afrojack is set to headline the debut edition of Electric Daisy Carnival India taking place during November 12 and 13 at Buddh International Circuit, Delhi NCR. A synonym of everything premium in dance music, here we give you the Artist of The Month for November 2016, Afrojack!
Grab your tickets here.
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