OVERDRIVE: Although Rotterdam-born Oliver is part of the vibrant Dutch dance music scene, he is a passionate fan of British dance.
By Geoffrey Rowlands
57 was the combined age of the three people who created the smash hit single, Gecko (Overdrive). Singer Becky Hill has since turned 20 but her co-lyricist, MNEK, and producer / DJ Oliver Heldens are still just 19.
“I was actually 18 when I devised the original track,” Oliver revealed. “It spent months in the top 10 on the Beatport chart and was a big dance chart hit all over Europe.
“But Gecko made little impression on the mainstream charts. I knew it was a great tune but there were no lyrics. I wanted to make a version with lyrics to see if this could become a mainstream hit.”
Although Rotterdam-born Oliver is part of the vibrant Dutch dance music scene, he is a passionate fan of British dance. He was well aware of Becky’s vocal and lyrical prowess through her work with Wilkinson and Rudimental.
“I loved Becky’s voice. I felt she was the perfect person to work with on the vocal version of Gecko. She was already writing songs with MNEK for her own album so it was natural for the two of them to work together on a lyric. I couldn’t have been happier with what they did and Becky’s vocal was amazing.”
The finished product has topped the UK singles chart and become a massive international mainstream hit. “We’ve achieved everything and more that I could have possibly hoped. I thought a lyrical version of Gecko could do well in mainstream charts. But the kind of success we’ve had is way beyond anything I might have expected.”
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Oliver did not have any great desire to forge a career in music.
“I began producing as a hobby. One of my friends did want to be a producer and he was responsible for getting me into music. He showed me how to use FL Studio when I was 12. That got me started but I was just producing for fun, not with any thought that I might work in the music business.
“Seeing Hardwell perform at my school party made me think about music as a career possibility. I loved what he did and really got into the house music Hardwell played. Fedde Le Grand and Bingo Players were other early influences. I was inspired by the inventiveness in their work.”
Oliver posted his own creations on SoundCloud. This was how he came to be discovered by label bosses at Spinnin’ Records. “My first tracks on Spinnin’ were supported by Tiesto. He played them in his DJ sets and started to follow me on Twitter. This meant I could ‘direct message’ him my new tracks. He replied immediately after hearing Gecko saying he wanted to sign it to his Musical Freedom label.”
In addition to his own output, Oliver has earned acclaim for remixes of songs by other dance music artists, most notably the Martin Garrix track, Animals. He also curates a one-hour radio show which anyone can hear on demand at (no www.) soundcloud.com/heldeepradio. A recent posting here is Oliver’s new tune, Koala, which will become available on August 4.
“Everything keeps me pretty busy. But I love what I do so it doesn’t feel like work. It’s the same as making tracks for fun like when I was a kid. The only difference now is my hobby has become my career.”
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Talking Heads
Talking Heads have been described as one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the 1980s.
Formed in New York by Scottish-born singer, songwriter and frontman David Byrne, their career spanned from 1975 to ’91. But the band’s last concert tour was in 1983 to support their Speaking in Tongues album.
It was three performances during this tour at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles which were captured on film by renowned director Jonathan Demme. The resulting documentary, Stop Making Sense, was hailed as “one of the greatest rock movies ever made.”
Originally released in April, 1984, the 15th anniversary remixed and remastered DVD is still available. The 30th anniversary was initially commemorated by a limited cinema re-release and the film has now been released digitally via iTunes movies.
The songs from Stop Making Sense are posted in 15 segments at www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4prFmbjZ7M&list=PL61pE8sCeeh_EvPf7CxD0PMaSmFLiJQ84. Many more Talking Heads videos and full albums can be found on YouTube by typing their name in the website search box.
Yahoo Screen/Live Nation
Live Nation has teamed with Yahoo Screen to bring users a live concert every day. The new service kicked off last week with a performance by The Dave Matthews Band at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. It continued with concerts by The Fray, The Neighbourhood and Kiss. Tonight’s show features Everclear with Jurassic 5, 311, Wiz Khalifa and Ray LaMontagne lined up for the next few days.
Full schedule details are posted at (no www.) screen.yahoo.com/live/. Unfortunately, the shows are all staged in America so performances occur during the early hours of the morning Qatar time. However, there are plans for many concerts to be archived for later viewing on demand.
Usher
Dance music stars Diplo and Skrillex are the most surprising guest artists on Usher’s upcoming eighth studio album. Renowned for slower numbers with funky production, uptempo dance and disco seems to be the general theme of his new material.
A prime example can be heard now with the release of album track She Came to Give it to You. Featuring raps by Nicki Minaj, the song has a disco production provided by Pharrell Williams. No video has been made as yet but an audio posting is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiRSkLzoMaM.
More typical of Usher is the previously released track, Good Kisser. The video is available to view at www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lQtoRFaLsA. Yet even this song has been given a dance remix by British duo Disclosure. The audio is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgKWctJBM24.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd have confirmed an October release for their next album, The Endless River. The songs are not new but have never previously been released. They date back to 1993 and were recorded during the making of the band’s last studio album, The Division Bell.
The album features performances by keyboardist Rick Wright who died in 2008. It has been described as his swansong. Although originally conceived as an entirely instrumental work, lyrics have now been added to some of the songs. Long-time Pink Floyd backing singer Durga McBroom-Hudson has made her contributions with David Gilmour adding his own lead vocals.
One disappointment for many fans is the non-involvement of Roger Waters. He quit the band in 1985 so did not participate in the 1993-’94 recording sessions. Despite this, some fans have suggested Roger should have been invited to join David Gilmour and Nick Mason in finishing off the songs on The Endless River.
Nathassia Devine
The Kate Bush of dance music is how critics have described Nathassia Devine. Her debut album, Cosmic, has just been released. It sees the half Dutch, half Indian singer explore a range of Euro-dance beats in 13 songs which she says are about “the mysteries of our universe.”
Three versions of lead single, Alien Eyes, can be heard at (no www.) myspace.com/nathassiadevine/music/songs. The video for her latest single, In My Head, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuqGNiHJMjc.
More of her music, along with free downloads of remixes for both singles, can be found at (no www.) soundcloud.com/nathassiadevine.