Oliver Heldens' Year in Music Thus Far
Holland’s future house all-star, Oliver Heldens, is without a doubt one of the hottest act in dance music right now. He only surfaced at the tail end of 2013 with his breakout single “Gecko” that brought deep house onto the main stage. But now, he has captured the attention of dance music’s governing bodies and is on his way to the top of the music hierarchy. Although we are only two months into 2015, Oliver Heldens has already begun to make waves to make this his best year yet. He has already taken over BBC Radio 1 twice - once with his own Essential Mix and once for a Diplo & Friends Mix, released a powerhouse collaboration “You Know” with Zeds Dead, and stirred up anticipation with a teaser of his next original, “Melody.”
Let’s preface Oliver Heldens’ year by starting back at the end of 2014. In December, the Dutch producer released his chart-crushing crossover single “Last All Night (Koala)” that debuted in the UK at #2 upon release. The hype surrounding this original and Oliver Heldens skyrocketed as nobody could deny that he had an innate talent in musical production. He managed to take a seemingly underground sound and package it in a way that appealed to the masses fit for the radio. That within itself showed pure intelligence and creativity that had yet to surface in the deep house scene.
To kick off the new year, the 19-year-old producer took over for two hours on BBC Radio 1’s premier Essential Mix to give the world a greater insight into what Oliver Heldens was listening to. In the 120 minutes, Heldens managed to blend a flavorful mix of deep, future, and tech house that demonstrated the rising talent's tastemaking capabilities. The mix went viral with everyone getting down and groovy to Oliver Heldens’ signature playlist, and this move created great momentum into his next venture that he would be unleashing on the new year.
Coming out of no where, a preview surfaced a couple weeks before its release of a collaboration between Oliver Heldens and Canadian bass duo, Zeds Dead. In one sense, the collaboration made sense because of Oliver’s funky bass drops and Zeds Dead’s hard-hitting nature. On the other hand, Zeds Dead produced more experimental hip-hop and bass tracks while Oliver’s tracks were built amongst a house framework. Well, when “You Know” was finally released, there was no denying that the two were a match made in heaven. The track went straight to the top of Hype Machine and received immense support from dance music’s most premier blogs and outlets.
Without any time in between to breath, Oliver Heldens quickly moved onto his next feat which was another whack at illustrating his taste making abilities. A couple of days ago, he was asked by Mad Decent commander and EDM pioneer, Diplo, to put together an hour-long mix for the world to get their weekend started off on the right foot with. Again, Oliver Heldens nailed it. Taking a slightly different approach to groove, the Dutch talent mixed future house’s freshest tunes with his own personal compositions to craft another impressive output.
Finally, in the midst of February, Oliver Heldens teased his next upcoming original “Melody” that somewhat shocked fans with the sound that arose. Still future house in character, “Melody” presents a whirlwind of symphonic strings and organ chord slams to show fans a slightly deviant flair to Heldens’ production style. Many fans will patiently await for the release on March 16, but if the past is any indication, it will sure rise to the top of charts in no time. Overall, Oliver Heldens has accomplished in two months what some producers manage to do in a year, and his ability to spit out quality productions one after another is truly impressive.
To get a glimpse of Oliver Heldens trademark sound, check out his smash hit "Last All Night (Koala)" below on Spotify and purchase your copy on iTunes here.
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