Over the weekend, Jordy Dazz returned to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and gave fans an unforgettable night. The Dutch DJ/producer who was in our country a year ago, made his way to Zouk Club KL on November 21st (Friday) to play a long awaited set at Mainroom.
Fortunately for us, we managed to catch up with Jordy to find out how he’s been doing and if he has anything new planned for us.
Hey Jordy! Welcome back, it’s lovely to have you back here in KL. What were you looking forward to most when you found out you were returning to this side of the world?
Hey! Thank you, it’s great to be back. I’m very excited to be back in KL. I think it was almost a year ago or over a year ago when I was here and I had a good time so I’m looking forward to it again.
And is there anything in particular that you are expecting from tonight?
Erm…well, in Asia, the people are always super enthusiastic and there’s always a lot of energy. The fans here, they really know the dance music and they love singing along so yeah, I’m expecting a lot of energy from tonight.
Before we go further into your career, let’s talk about your background a little. You dropped out of college to get into production, yes? What was that like and what made you decide to do that?
To be honest, it went pretty organically. Music has always been in my mind, ever since lower school days. I don’t know, I finished high school and kept on studying but after 3 to 4 months, I decided that this was not something I wanted to do with my life. I really wanted to play as a DJ and educate myself with producing music so I quit school and from that point on I had residencies in my hometown, I think 3, maybe 4 nights a week. I basically started DJing a lot at the time and about 8 months after, I got a job at a record store. Back in the day they still sold vinyl, you know before Beatport and the internet was blowing up? Anyway, it was the same store I always got my music from and I was really happy they offered me a job. I worked from Mondays to Thursdays and I played on the weekends so to me, it was the perfect thing because I got to be with music all the time. I really think dropping out of college was one of the best decisions I could have made at that point because it was so clear that I wanted to make music and the only way to do that was to spend as much as time as possible doing that and it was exactly what I did.
Well, we think it’s great that you went after your dream(s). Who would you say was your biggest inspiration back then?
I listened to Marco V a lot. He always had a specific kind of groove going on and you could tell within 5 seconds that it was a Marco V track and that was and still is something I always have at the back at my head. Now when I’m producing, I always remind myself that people should be able to tell that it is a Jordy Dazz track from the start. The best compliment I always get is that people always instantly recognises that a particular track is a Jordy Dazz track. I don’t really know what it is, but maybe it’s the groove, the little bit of swing in it − I like the groovy kind of stuff but it still has to be energetic of course. Anyway, to follow up on your question, Marco V was definitely one of my biggest inspirations back then. There weren’t so many different genres back then, it’s so different from how it is right now. Back then it was just dance music, trance or however you call it − I mean it had small different branches but that’s the part I loved most from that period. Because during that period of time, people never really knew what to expect and they always had an open mind to dance music as a whole when they attended dance music festivals. A lot of dance music festivals and DJs were inspiring to me back then but I must say Marco V was my biggest inspiration.
You have gotten so much attention and support from other producers like Hardwell, Tiësto and many others, what is it like to have world renowned producers play your tracks and also play alongside of them?
Oh yeah. It’s a big compliment to say the least. I’ve known Hardwell for over 9 years and he’s been supporting me since day one. He really likes my sound and that’s why I release a lot of my music on Revealed Recordings. Also, guys like Tiësto and Knife Party, they support my music like crazy. Another big compliment I got from Knife Party was that they really like my sound, from the mixdown to the mastering and that’s a big compliment to me because I do that stuff all by myself and I spend a lot of time on the final stages of the track to make the sound perfect. To me, Knife Party are the Gods of how music should sound, you know? So to get a compliment from them, saying that my music sounds amazing, is probably one of the biggest compliment I can get. It’s always very cool to see that other big DJs are supporting my music because it gives me fuel to keep on doing what I do and it’s like a direct way of showing that my music is relevant and that people like what I do.
That’s amazing. You’ve played smaller shows from clubs to mega festivals across the globe, is there one particular festival that you would love to cross off your bucket list?
Hmm…that’s the thing, there are so many cool parties across the world and there is something unique about every festival. I recently played at the Mácháč Festival in Czech Republic with Showtek, Nervo and Carnage, it was a really big show and the crowd just went crazy so I loved that one. Creamfields this year was amazing to me as well, obviously Creamfields have been around for years and years so to play at that festival was truly amazing. Still on my bucket list is of course, Ultra Music Festival in Miami, I would love to play that one.
And what are you working on right now – collaborations/originals?
Both actually. A lot of collaborations are coming up. I am working on a track with Cobra Effect, another track I did with Thomas Newson is finished now so it’s coming out really soon. I also just did a remix for Fergie, there are a lot of new originals that I am working on. Oh, I’m also starting a collaboration with Firebeatz very soon and one more with Julian Galore – a guy who’s releasing a lot of music on Revealed Recordings. He’s such a musical guy and he’s big into melodies and I love that about him so yeah, a lot of stuff in the works.
Cool. We look forward to them. Lastly, if there ever was a movie about you and your life, which actor would you pick to play your character?
Oh my God. That’s a really nice question. Haha. It’s a really horrible one as well because I have no clue. I don’t know actually, no clue but it would be cool if Jim Carrey could play me. I love Jim Carrey and he’s the first name that popped in my head.
Well, you could just always play the part yourself.
Oh, that would be cool as well but I think I’m a bad actor. Haha.
Haha thanks so much Jordy! It was great talking to you.
Thank you. See you out there tonight!
As always, we can’t thank our good friends at Zouk Club KL enough for making this interview happen. For more on Jordy Dazz, follow him on these platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here’s “Battle” by Jordy Dazz & Bassjackers. Enjoy!