Mikael Weermets is a huge name in the arsenal of talent that comes out of Sweden. Given that volume of talent, you may think him to have a similar sound to his predecessors but this Swede brings to the floor a completely different vibe. He is frequently observed remarking “Fuck Genres” because he believes they restrict the artist from achieving much much more.

This is very evident in his sets, bootlegs and remixes. Mikael doesn’t believe in or care about genres. The energy that he has on and off the decks is amazing to watch and we were lucky enough to have a chat with him when he stopped in Boston.

TBB: Hi Mikael, thanks for sitting with us, we are excited to be speaking with you for the first time, how is everything?

MW: Thanks for having me, everything is good. Just a little exhausted but ready for tonight. We have been traveling a lot but its all worth it when you walk in you know.

TBB: Of course it is and we cant wait to see you up there. I was watching episode 5 of your on the road which is based on your tour in Sweden, and you basically mentioned that there are many producers besides Swedish House Mafia and Avicii that come out there. Can you name some that are not Alesso or Adrian Lux that you really like yourself?

MW: There are so many I just met a few guys a few months back thats called 9-5 that are completely unknown but they are amazing. They have one record I’ve been playing for like 6 months, every set, its just like top class so I believe in them, there is of course Albin Myers but there are so many young talents out there.

TBB: So what is your production set up look like, are you more hardware based or do you mess more with software?

MW: Both actually but now that I’m traveling its mostly everything is on the laptop because its like you never bring anything with you and most of the production is happening on tour and you go back and mix .

TBB: So just off of that do you really like doing it in your own studio back in Sweden?

MW: The final thing I always do back in my own studio.

TBB: So you wouldn’t finalize anything on tour you would do it at home.

MW: Yeah its pretty much impossible for me because I’m very picky and I need my studio and my sound and my things around me so…

TBB: Understood, so 2012 was huge for you. You toured a lot and went back home and now you’re doing this US tour. What can your fans and other producers look for you in 2013? what does it look like for releases and tours that you might be doing?

MW: Oh there’s so many things, like production wise, I’m trying to cut down on remixes this year because I did so many last year and I always feel like I never want to repeat myself. I want it to sound like me but i want them to…

TBB: ….you want to have an original piece come out….

MW: ….Every time, so I’m not doing so many remixes this year. I did this Eminem and Skylar Grey thing that just came out which is completely opposite of what I’ve done before but I felt like that was the way to do that remix.

TBB: And have you been playing that in your sets….

MW: I’ve been playing that but its hard to fit into sets but usually I just jump around genres all the time but its hard to fit stuff like that and its pretty hard on us not playing it before it was out so I haven’t had the chance. The few times i played it it really worked out really good.

TBB: And “make some noise” is something that came out earlier this year, hows that? of course it was previewed like 3-4 months ago but hows that how was the release been for you?

MW: Super good, super good, I mean I don’t make music to sell records anymore, even though it was pretty high up on the charts, it was a big success because all the DJs that i wanted to support it supported it.

TBB: Ok so that’s more relevant for you, that people actually play it…

MW: Like last year I did all these vocal records but now its time for me to do some instrumental stuff and just like more straight up club stuff.

TBB: Again like you said original pieces is that what we’re going to see in 2013 like more instrumental type music?

MW: Definitely, If you like “Make Some Noise,” you’re going to love whats coming.

TBB: alright we look forward to that. So is there any one producer you can name like that has maybe had your favorite release so far. is there somebody you forward to collaborate with that you’ve already fixed up this year?

MW: I have some collaborations coming up but they are extremely secret.

TBB: Haha, so no hints for us?

MW: Um you might say they have collaborated with like Swedish House Mafia before. they are my favorite producers for me, but if i have to name one that i look up to then it has to be Deniz,  because he does quality music and i told him when we met 4-5 years ago just hang in there because one day its going to happen…

TBB: and its happened, our team in India actually interviewed him back in January when he was there, and speaking of that do you see yourself being in India sometime soon, most of our fan base is India

MW: Things are happening. Yeah, Yeah I do want to be there.

TBB: yeah that’s awesome, so what’s been your biggest show or gig that you’ve ever played, or over the past 5 years that you remember,

MW: There’s so many, but of course Tomorrowland was fantastic and to be honest our show at Webster Hall on Saturday was probably completely insane, like thousands of people packed in at 9:30 and it was amazing I still can’t believe we sold that place out, it was insane, really insane.

TBB: Well this is our first time seeing you, we wish we could have been at the Webster show but we can’t wait for tonight. Thanks for talking to us.

Here’s a message from Mikael to all his fans in India:

You can keep up with Mikael at the following links:

Mikael Weermets Facebook
Mikael Weermets Twitter
Mikael Weermets SoundCloud
Mikael Weermets BeatPort

Interviewed by Kabir Uppal, you can find him on Twitter

Edited by – Kabir Uppal & Akshay Bhardwaj