DJ Mag Malaysia #002 DJ Mag Malaysia #002 | Page 52

Who's in Town

The 3 words which best describe Ørjan Nilsen; Hardworking, Dedicated and Energetic! This
N o r w e g i a n D J / P r o d u c e r u p h o l d s h i s V i k i n g s p i r i t s a n d u s e s i t t o m a k e b e a u t i f u l Tr a n c e a n d
H o u s e m u s i c . K n o w n f o r h i s e n e r g e t i c p e r s o n a l i t y, f a n s k e e p s c o m i n g b a c k f o r m o r e a s h e
always have surprises up his sleeves when he is on decks. DJ MAG Malaysia caught up with
Ørjan Nilsen to talk all things music.
1. We feel that this is only the start of
s o m e t h i n g b i g g e r, w h a t d o y o u h a v e p l a n n e d
for 2016?
I’ve got a few plans up my sleeve for this
y e a r. R i g h t n o w I a m c e l e b r a t i n g t e n y e a r s
anniversary with Armada. There will be a lot
of remixes of my old tracks from different and
new artist and I am also planning to make an
album as well. Hopefully it will be done in 3
to 4 months.
2. What made you realized that this was the
industry for you?
Well, I’ve watched a couple of videos back in
t h e d a y s o f T i ë s t o a n d A r m i n d u r i n g I n t e r c i t y,
Sensation and stuffs like that and I was
hooked with the idea of standing in front of
that many people playing music. I’ve always
thought that I was going to be in the music
industry because I’ve always been a musician.
When I was 14 years old I started producing,
and when I was 16 years old I started DJing.
Somewhere when I was in school I figured
that I really needed to work on it.
3 . Yo u ’ v e s a i d t h a t y o u s t a r t e d p r o d u c i n g
when you were 14 years old. Is there any
particular instrument that you can play?
I play the piano and I’ve played the clarinet,
and drums. Well, I do sing a little bit and play
the guitar here and there. Well, like I said, I
knew I was doing to do something with music
but I wasn’t quite sure at that time in life. So,
when I figured out I could make music on my
o w n , I s t a r t e d t o f o l l o w m y s o u n d w i t h Tr a n c e
and House music.
4 . Te l l u s m o r e a b o u t y o u r r e c o r d l a b e l “ I n
M y O p i n i o n” w h i c h i s u n d e r A r m a d a M u s i c .
B a s i c a l l y, w h e n I f i g u r e d o u t t h e n a m e o f
m y f i r s t a l b u m , ‘ I n M y O p i n i o n ’, i t w a s w h a t
I wanted music to be. Not only that, my
p e r s o n a l o p i n i o n c h a n g e s c o n s t a n t l y. A l l t h e
music signed under this label is in my opinion,
my manager and I wanted to have an outlet
for tracks, which we thought, was good to be
s i g n e d . S o f a r, w e ’ v e b e e n r e c e i v i n g a l o t o f
d e m o s , a n d w e’ ve b e e n g e t t i n g s o m a ny g o o d
track s from good producers.

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5. Since you are constantly on tour as well,
how do you find time to produce?
I work fast. Sometimes I could make a track in
a d a y. B u t i t i s a l s o i m p o r t a n t t o p l a n a h e a d
and make time to produce in the studio. If I
had 2 – 3 months on the road, I’ll make sure I
have at least 2 – 3 weeks at home to produce
and make time for my daughter as well. I try
to combine it, and it usually works for me and
thankfully I am a fast producer as well.
6. How would you describe your sound
to somebody that has never seen you
performance?
I am very energetic, sometimes maybe too
energetic cause I’m jumping a lot. My music
style is very much based on groove and also
melodies. I really like melodies. I think people
will have a nice experience going to one of
my shows, because I never know what I am
g o i n g t o p l a y, w h i c h a l s o m e a n s t h e y c a n n o t
predict what I am going to play as well. I think
they would always be surprised during my
performance.
7. What is a secret talent, which you have
that your fans might not know about?
Well, I could sing. But it’s one of those talents
that I don’t want to show to the people quite
yet. I would consider using my own vocals in
my tracks, but we will see how that goes. I
have to write the melody and some lyrics
before I can start on this.
8 . W h a t w a s t h e w e i r d e s t /c r a z i e s t t h i n g
you’ve seen with your own eyes during an
event, which you performed at?
There was one guy who goes for these shows
in North America. He basically shaves his
c h e s t h a i r i n t o l o g o s l i k e ‘ A S t a t e O f Tr a n c e ’.
It’s kind of freaky but really funny as well.
9. What is you
performing?

favourite

moments

when

My favourite thing when I am performing is
that moment when I play a track that some
p e o p l e h a v e b e e n w a i t i n g f o r. I t ’ s a l s o b e c a u s e
I could see the smile on their faces.