SHOWTEK X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [ STORY BEHIND THE NAME, DABBLING IN OTHER GENRES, GETTING READY FOR 2022]

Showtek is a revered Dutch DJ/producer duo consisting of Wouter Janssen and Sjoerd Janssen, who’ve been actively producing their unique take on dance music since 2001. The brothers dominated the underground hardstyle scene until 2011. They were most known for their songs,  ‘FTS’ , ‘The Colours Of The Harder Style’ and ‘Black’, just to name a few. After a decade of being on top of the hardstyle scene, selling out solo shows and releasing two artists’ albums it was time for a change and a new challenge. 

The following year, their style of dance music slightly shifted with the onset of the EDM boom, which paid off in the form of multiple groundbreaking smash hits. These include 2012’s collaborative track with Hardwell, ‘How We Do’, 2013’s ‘Get Loose’, ‘Cannonball’, ‘Booyah’, ‘We Like To Party’, 2014’s ‘Bouncer’, and platinum-awarded ‘Bad’ with David Guetta and VASSY, all of which currently collectively sit at an impressive 564,000,000 combined streams via Spotify and almost 1 billion views on YouTube to-date. Nearing two decades since its inception, this well-established act is now creatively pursuing the world of pop in full force, with a worldly, culturally-infused urban flair.

THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Wouter and Sjoerd, Glad to have you on Canadian Ravers how are you doing?

W: Thank you! Feeling inspired!

S: Doing great! Just moved into my new place in LA, so it’s been hectic but good!

CR: Tell us a little bit about yourselves, your musical journey and where did the name ‘Showtek’ come from?

W: We are two brothers from Eindhoven, in The Netherlands. Started making music out of a passion for music. Wouter played the piano since he was a kid and had a love for hip-hop and dance music. Sjoerd was captured by harder styles of dance, and when we combined our passion and common interest Showtek was born which has our initials in it.

S: Yes, it was originally Sjowteck! (Sjo from Sjoerd and ow - from Wouter). We then changed it to SHOWTECK because it sounded better. The TECK comes from us loving TECHNO music and that’s what we started to produce first back in 2000. When our first single was pressed on vinyl, it came out wrong and it said: Showtek , which looked even better! We decided to keep it!

CR: Vérité hasn't been around for very long, how did you connect with her, and what were your inspirations for the track ‘Pour It Down’?

W: Vérité is a great singer. She was introduced by a friend from NYC where I (Wouter) live part time. We both love her writing and the sound of vocals.

S: The idea was to produce a pop/house song with a good vibe. Something that you can listen to in a club, in the car, or on the beach. It’s just a vibe!

CR: You guys have been in the scene for so long and have changed your style of music as the scene has evolved, what is that one genre you like to dabble in that your followers might not be aware of?

W: We both love 'drum n bass' influenced dance music, so be prepared. 

S: Yeah, acts like Prodigy, Faithless, and Rudimental inspired us a lot! We like to blend music and cultures, so it never gets boring!

CR: Since you guys have been to Canada before, which show has left the best impression on you? Are you planning to come back this year?

W: We both spend a lot of time in Toronto. Sjoerd is in Montreal a lot, Wouter in Toronto. Canada is an amazing country, beautiful scenery, great people, and just one of the best places in the world!

S: Yes, both our spouses are Canadian! I go there 3 times a year to visit family and obviously do shows! We just played ILESONIQ in Montreal not too long ago and it was super cool, but obviously there are great parties everywhere! I have to mention that I love Vancouver too, it’s an amazing city!

CR: As a DJ/Producer, what is the best advice you’ve received and who gave it to you?

W: There hasn't been one particular quote or direction someone gave us, but I think the freedom of following our curiosity which our mom always supported is the best thing that happened to us. It's very important to let someone figure out their path in life. Advice is only applicable if it is mouldable to an individual situation, otherwise it's too personal and not relevant, and just someone's own experience.

S: We have worked with a lot of different artists and from all of them we have learned something: Tiësto, Major Lazer, David Guetta, etc. It’s very important to be open-minded and don’t let your ego block your growth!

CR: We know it is fun producing/DJing with your brother, has there ever been a disagreement between you two over a track you produced?

W: You have to disagree in a group or multiple person situation in order to find common ground, that’s also the only way to move forward. So yeah many of these moments, but they are relative. We try to treat Showtek as a thing we're both committed to in our own way, doing what's best for Showtek.

S: I knocked wouter’s teeth out a few times, but for the rest it’s all love :)

CR: SKINK, your record label, consistently releases new music from established and emerging

artists alike. Is there any advice you’d share with aspiring producers?

W: Don't follow the trends, create your own.

S: I agree. We try to create a platform for musicians and producers who can have creative freedom to make something fresh and innovative.

CR: What is a regular day like for you guys when you are not producing music and DJing?

W: I'm in the studio all the time. I like my coffee break and workouts. We both work out a lot.

S: We are actually always working, if we are not producing music we are on the road. But on real off days, I spend time with my wife or friends. No matter what day it is, I always manage to get a workout in.

CR: What are some of your goals for 2022, anything our readers should know about?

W: We are working on our album and a couple of collaboration projects; we will push out way more music!! The pandemic was a great time to focus on production, new ideas, reinventing the sound, the direction, and creating unique and fresh ideas.

S: On a personal level, I’ve spent a lot of time with my friends and family over the last two years. It made me realize how precious those relationships are. Work will always be number one, but the time I had with my friends and family is very special and I need to keep that happening.

Lightning Round

Texting or talking?

W: Depends on the day, mostly text

S: Talking

Coffee or tea?

W: Coffee in the morning, tea at night

S: Same here

Hard liquor or Wine?

W: WINE

S: Kombucha

Cake or pie?

W: Apple Pie

S: Apple Pie, YES!

Hot dogs or hamburgers

W: Burger (Beyond ) We don’t eat meat

S: Impossible burger is good too :)

Xbox or PlayStation?

W: PlayStation

S: Nintendo haha

Movie theatre or arcade?

W: Movie Theatre

S: Movies

Guitar or piano?

W: Piano first

S: Samples, haha

Marvel or DC Comics?

W: No preference

S: Marvel

Dog or cat?

W: Dog

S: Dogsssssss

Hot weather or cold weather?

W: Man, this is impossible, 50/50

S: Fuck, I love the cold, but I need some sun!! 50/50

SHOWTEK SOCIALS

JONAH X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [GETTING INTO THE SCENE, RESIDENCY, CRYPTO & NFTS]

Dropping out of law school to pursue his creative ambitions, Jonah started out as a photographer/videographer, touring the world with the likes of R3HAB, Justin Mylo, Martin Garrix and Zedd. Stuck in Las Vegas last year due to the pandemic, Jonah decided to teach himself to DJ, acting on advice from his good friends in the industry. In August 2021, he played the first-ever edition of zed. run, and the following week was invited to be part of Ookay’s show at Marquee, where he joined him for a special b2b slot as well as playing solo. Days later he played a b2b set with Zedd and Gryffin in the Hamptons, arranged by Zedd himself. In September 2021, he released his first single ‘I Found Love’ and has a host of new music ready to come for 2022.

THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Jonah, glad to have you on Canadianravers, how are you doing?

J: Hey! Thank you for having me. I’m doing great…resting after a super busy, super fun week. 
CR: Dropping out of law school to pursue photography/videography and now DJing? How was is transitioning from all that and has anything stuck with you since you first stepped into the music scene?

J: It’s definitely been a crazy journey. I think my biggest takeaway throughout all the different transitions has been that “quitting” is usually talked about negatively, but I’m a huge believer in “smart quitting” … Growing up, a lot of us are guided towards making big life decisions early on…do you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an athlete, etc…and if you deviate from that path you’re often looked at as a quitter, but I think it’s completely normal for our interests to change and sometimes quitting and moving on to the next thing is smart. I’ve found that it doesn’t matter what I’m doing, happiness has to be at the core of it, and if it’s not there, or stops being there, I have to reevaluate what I’m doing. 

CR: How does it feel to have a residency at ZOUK at such a young age and perform alongside Zedd on NYE?

J: It’s absolutely crazy and the feeling is amazing. I’ve been living in Vegas for a little over a year now but I’ve spent a lot of time going to the clubs here over the last 5 years, and to see my face on the biggest billboard in all of Vegas, announcing my shows at Zouk, as a DJ… is an insane feeling. I honestly don’t think it’s completely processed yet. It’s weird because on the one hand, it feels absolutely crazy, and on the other hand, it feels equal to normal. 

To have my first show be NYE with Zedd was so cool. NYE is one of my favourite days of the year. It’s the day where almost everyone in the world wants to party. The expectations are high, and everyone wants to have the best time ever. A LOT of my friends flew out to Vegas for it, including my Dad who traveled all the way from Malta to be there, and the night ended up being even better than I expected. Honestly one of the most fun nights of my life. And to top it all off, doing it with Zedd was the cherry on the cake! 

I Gotta give a shout-out to all my friends who flew out to Vegas, my team, and Brent Freed & Alex Trillo from Zouk who made it all possible! 

CR: We know you've been hanging out with Zedd a lot, has he become a mentor for you?

J: Zedd has been an amazing friend for a while now, and over the last 2 years has become a brother to me. As I transitioned into making music & DJing, it’s been fun to see our relationship change with it. I’ve always said that he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, but he’s also extremely talented. So to be able to run ideas by him, share songs with each other, etc…is absolutely amazing!          

I would say on top of all that, though, he’s just been so supportive of everything I’m doing. Early on, seeing the confidence he had in me being able to perform, really made a big difference. It may have not looked like it from the outside, but I definitely had some doubts early on when I started DJing. But it looked like I was the only one having these doubts. Having the support of not just my friends but other artists as well was crucial to get over it. 

We also love to DJ after parties together where we throw down some fire “semi-deep house” b2b sets. This has been a lot of fun but it also felt like practice. When I was up there on NYE, it just felt like one big after-party.  

CR: Your recent track ‘I Found Love’ is such a banger, what was the inspiration behind that track?

J: Thank you! This is the first song I ever released. I started working on it during the pandemic; and I was foreseeing that the clubs would start to reopen and people would want to party hard…so I knew I wanted to make a club banger. When I heard the vocals I instantly connected with the lyrics, even though they’re super simple, just because I felt that I had just rediscovered my deep love for music through DJing and producing. There’s no better feeling than when purpose meets passion.

CR: To get inspiration for your future tracks, what genres do you currently listen to?

J: I legit listen to all genres, all the time - house music, classical music, jazz, hip hop…literally all genres serve a purpose throughout the day. In fact, when I’m in the studio, the first thing I like to do is listen to a bunch of songs from different genres, almost to get all the inspiration but also to not have any bias towards one specific genre. 

Right now I’m really liking this “house meets bass house” sound; with more melodic, tech-house type intros and build-ups, but a more bass house type of drop. Still, as I play more shows, I want stuff that can go hard at the club. 

CR: Out of all the performances so far, which one was the most memorable so far?

J: My favourite has got to be NYE at Zouk Nightclub in Vegas with Zedd. It’s not only my first show at Zouk but also my first show in Las Vegas. Vegas has recently become my home but also has been life-changing over the last few years. I met most of the people I’m closest to, in Vegas. So to be able to celebrate the new year, DJing at an amazing venue like Zouk, with Zedd and all our friends…I couldn’t think of a better way to end 2021 & start 2022. 

The energy was also so crazy at the show. I was scheduled to play from 1:45-3:45 and ended up going till 4:30 because people just kept wanting more…so we kept going. Moments like this are amazing because this is exactly why I started DJing…because I wanted to be able to keep the party going. 

CR: We heard you’re interested in Crypto & NFTs, can you tell us more about this? 

J: This space is so fascinating for me. It’s moving so fast and there are so many opportunities right now just because everyone is so hyped about the industry, so naturally, everyone wants to chat about it and try to figure out a way to get involved. 

I’ve been trying to get involved in projects that I believe in from a long-term standpoint. With NFTs, I’m always looking for stuff that I like. I always think about it from the angle that if the NFTs lose value over time, I at least want something that I can look at as a reminder of the time we’re living in! 

CR: When you are not performing or producing music, what does an average day look like for JONAH?

J: I usually start my day around 7:30 am with a spa session with my roommate, Richard Blankenship. We use this time to catch up on some stuff and talk about what we have to accomplish during the day. We also work together on a lot of investments; both new opportunities and businesses we’re involved in. We both work from home unless we have meetings to go to. Each day is different, but some constants are: I try to go to the gym or play tennis once a day, and go to the spa at the beginning of the day (and maybe at the end too). We just got a puppy, so we've been spending a lot of time with him. 

The best thing about Vegas is that people we know fly here all the time, so there’s usually always a business dinner at the end of the day with someone different.

So, it’s always unpredictable, as Vegas usually goes. That’s the beauty of it. I hate routines BUT I do love my daily rituals. 

CR: Since it is the New Year, what is your New Year Resolution and What is 2022 looking like for you?

J: To be honest I’m not a big new year’s resolution guy. I set goals all the time and add new ones as they come up…but I don’t like to restrict myself within one calendar year. In 2021, I confirmed that I really want to go all-in on my music career, and so in 2022, my goal is to do just that. I want to be able to not only go on a world tour but to take all my friends with me. I think that’s the goal. 

This year I’m working on a lot of new music, some amazing collabs, I have my Vegas residency and other shows I’m playing. I’m also working on an NFT project on the side that I’m hoping to launch soon. So overall, I expect this to be an amazing year. 

LIGHTNING ROUND

Texting or calling? Texting 

Coffee or tea? Coffee

Hard liquor or Wine? Hard Liquor

Cake or pie? Cake

Hot dogs or hamburgers? Hamburgers

Xbox or PlayStation? Xbox

Movie theatre or arcade? Movie Theatre 

Guitar or piano? Piano

Marvel or DC Comics? Marvel

Dog or cat? Dog

Hot weather or cold weather? Hot

FOLLOW JONAH 

PAUL MARSHMAN X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [RECENT TRACK, TALK OF THE 'THE MAIN ROOM', GENRE INSPIRING THE FUTURE PROJECTS]

THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Paul, glad to have you on Canadian Ravers again, how are you doing? 

PM: Going very well thank you, Summer, has just hit Adelaide & really looking forward to some time off in the next couple of weeks. 

CR: Tell us a little bit about yourself and did you always want to be a Producer/DJ?

PM: Sure can! I am a Local DJ Producer from Adelaide Australia; I have been in the scene for nearly 12 years now & still love it like the day I started.

CR: Can you tell us a little bit about how you came up with such an emotionally charged track as 'If It Wasn't For You'? 

PM: Honestly it was the vocalist who placed the pure emotion into the sound writing around the vocal was something I had not done before but loved every moment of it & I really feel the sounds perfectly fit the vocal to let it shine the way it does.

CR: Your radio show on Fresh 92.7 ‘The Mainroom’ has more than 150 Episodes, does it still feel surreal as your first episode? Also, if you could change something on the show what would it be? 

PM: It Sure did, I've always wanted my own show & a place to showcase the best new & most upfront big room tracks. One thing I would change is talking a little more on the show although id rather just let the music do the talking  

CR: We know the Electronic scene is huge in Australia, how did the culture and scene influence you as an artist? Also, which club in Australia is your favourite to attend (we know Australia is a big place you can even narrow it down to the city)?

PM: It had a massive impact on me , I still remember being a punter at my favourite club HQ & all I ever wanted to do was be good enough to play on the big stage. 

CR: Which Australian artist is on your radar that you might want to collaborate with in the future? |

PM: Marcus Santoro 

CR: What other genres are you currently listening to get inspired for your future projects?

PM: Progressive house is my number one, but also really digging tech at the moment. 

CR: We are almost into the holidays, what are the plans for holidays this year?

PM: Some time spent with those closest to me a couple of shows & a couple of quiet drinks. 

CR: Any Plans for NYE and what is 2022 looking like for you? 

PM: NYE I will be playing the opening night at the brand-new super club here in Adelaide. Covid restrictions are currently still in place but hoping we can be back dancing by then. 

LIGHTNING ROUND

Texting or talking? - Talking 

Coffee or tea? - Coffee 

Hard liquor or Wine? - Wine 

Cake or pie? - Pie 

Hot dogs or hamburgers? - Hamburgers 

Xbox or PlayStation? - Playstation

Movie theatre or arcade? - Arcade 

Guitar or piano? - Piano 

Marvel or DC Comics? - Marvel 

Dog or cat? - Dog 

Hot weather or cold weather? Hot 

FOLLOW PAUL MARSHMAN