Exclusive Interview With Ummet Ozcan Before His Show At New City Gas
Last weekend, I sat down with the most inspiring and talented Dj Ummet Ozcan. We discussed his future on the EDM scene and how it can be resolved. Ummet has a lot of interesting tracks and collaborations he will be displaying in a few months. His success has climbed dramatically due to his passion and love for music.
Taylor: 1) Are you ready for New City Gas Tonight? Have you ever been to Montreal before?
Ummet: I have been to Montreal many times over the past few years. I have not yet had the opportunity to experience New City Gas. I heard it was a crazy venue and a good vibe. Last year I played at Circus after hours, which was really fun. I have heard such good feedback on New City Gas. The crowd looks wild and I could not be more excited to have Montreal listed in my North American Tour.
Taylor: 2) Give me a preview of what your going to have in your set tonight.
Ummet: Tonights set will be filled with a bunch of new remixes as well as new music I have been working on. I did a new remix for Tiesto’s new single called ‘ Wasted’ which I will definitely play. I can not wait to show you guys what I have been working on.
Taylor: 3) What country are you from? has the EDM scene ever been big in your town?
Ummet: I’m originally from Holland but with Turkish roots. The EDM scene has been very big there since I was a teenager. We had dance music playing on radio stations for over 20 years now.
I’m glad this movement expanded to the rest of the world. Around the whole world it is great to see how people connect over music as it touches each individual. Dance music today is bigger then ever, more Djs are being discovered for their creativity and differences. I could not be more proud that this has grown in a positive way.
Taylor: 4) Which record labels and DJ’s have you been supported by?
Ummet: A lot of my music is released on labels like Doorn Records, Spinnin Records and occasionally Revealed Recordings. The Dj’s who support me a lot are Sander Van Doorn, Armin Van Buuren, R3hab, Nervo, Tiesto, Hardwell and so many more. Its great to get the credits from these people.
Taylor: 5) Over the past couple of years, dance music has been blowing up and becoming extremely popular. A lot of the older generation is claiming that the newer generation lacks creativity with track selection, everyone seems to be relying on the same songs and a lot of the music is starting to sound the same. Do you share a similar opinion? If so, do you try to avoid using over played songs in your sets?
Ummet: I always try to refresh my sets with new mashups and bootlegs.I try to be very different and creative while in the process of making it. On the other side of coming from a DJ’s perspective, the crowd goes nuts while playing over heard songs. So to educate the crowd a bit more, I like to make my own version of the song so it does not sound the same. The crowd still goes nuts, and I always get positive vibes back.
Taylor: 6) Since you’re always traveling non stop, is their a city that sparks your creativity to produce new music?
Ummet: Most of the time I make my music in the studio when im back at home. When I’m on the plane or bus you can not really produce, so when I have ideas I must mark them down and hope for the best.
Taylor:7) Speaking of your productions, ‘Revolution’ and Raise Your Hands Up’ have been #1 on beatport for many months. Tell me a bit of the creative process while producing these songs.
Ummet: R3hab and myself have been friends for a while. We play a lot at the same Music Festivals as well as like the same sound. It was very easy working with him because of our similarities. When I was working on ‘Revolution’ R3hab joined me in the studio. We decided it would sound better if we had vocals. So we called up Nervo and asked the girls if they were interested in singing for us as well as helping out on the track. We all did not expect that our song would reach #1. So were very proud of our success and we have more songs coming out together. ‘Raise Your Hands Up’ was created by just fooling around in the studio. As soon as I got the rhythm in my head, I immediately put it into my computer and started working on it. It was a fun song to work on.
Taylor: 8) Tell me a bit about your Remix from Tiesto’s song ‘Wasted’
Ummet: When I first heard the song, I fell in love with it. I really wanted to make my own version so I went in the studio for a few days and just worked with it. As soon as I was done I sent it over to Tiesto and he also loved it. It is such a cool track and I get always major feedback when I play it.
Taylor: 9) You’ve been in the scene just a few years now, has your success shocked you in anyway? Or did you expect to blow up this quickly?
Ummet: You have a goal that you always want to reach. My goal was always to be positive no matter what. It all starts with passion, if you are willing to dedicate all your time you will reach success. I love making music and I love what I do. If I didn’t have success, i would still be making music because thats what I love doing. I don’t care for the fame, I care more about the hard work that goes into music making. I started making music because It was my passion and my hobby.
Taylor: 10) Any new collaborations, tracks, remixes you would like to tell us about? What should your fans expect in the future? What impact will 2014 have on you and everyone.
Ummet: I have a lot of new music coming out. R3hab and myself are working on a new track coming out very soon. I am also working on a track with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. 2014 will be filled with new projects that im excited to share.
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