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Every once in a while, you come across a rare trailblazer like the young Dutch star Oliver Heldens, who stands out from the crowd with his distinctive sound.
A genuine superstar who counts No. 1 hits and hundreds of millions of streams to his name, he is at the vanguard of the new generation of house music stars.
As much as Oliver Heldens is one of the most prolific and successful producers, he is also a relentless perfectionist. He works tirelessly in his studio to craft new sounds and directions at every opportunity, and he’s a truly dedicated artist who refuses to cut corners. This attitude to innovation also saw him launch his spectacular HI-LO side project, which pushes his intricate and forward-thinking production aesthetic to its limits through the filter of hyperactive bass music.
His career has been a whirlwind of mind-boggling success since he signed to Spinnin’ Records in 2013, aged just 18. After a run of successful singles with the Dutch powerhouse, Tiësto picked up his massive Gecko, which became his breakthrough track. Pete Tong’s FFRR imprint snapped it up and took it to the UK No. 1 spot with a vocal from Becky Hill, with the record eventually receiving Platinum sales status. It also hit No. 2 on Beatport and stayed at No. 1 in their Deep House chart for a month, while follow-up Koala (Last All Night) hit No. 5 in the UK chart and achieved Silver sales certification. Remixes for Coldplay, Martin Garrix, Robin Thicke, Disclosure, and Calvin Harris followed, and his tour diary continued to get busier and busier.
As well as being one of the most talented producers in the game, he’s also officially the world’s favorite house DJ. Landing at #8 in the 2016 DJ Mag Top 100, he was the highest house entry in the chart for the second year. His residencies at Omnia Las Vegas and Ushuaïa Ibiza continue to place him at the epicenters of the global DJ circuit and keep him spreading his eclectic, high-octane sound to hundreds of thousands of clubbers throughout the year.
His stature on the world stages continues to grow, with the most prominent festivals like Glastonbury, Coachella and Lollapalooza all booking him and securing his status as a major crossover act in addition to headline slots at the cream of EDM events like Tomorrowland and EDC. As well as his globally broadcast Heldeep Radio sessions, he currently holds down one of the rotation slots on BBC Radio 1’s prestigious Residency show with syndications in more than 50 countries worldwide and an average of 500k plays per week across Apple Music, SoundCloud, and YouTube. He also continues to value the synergy of collaborations, with both Space Sheep alongside Chocolate Puma and Good Life with Ida Corr doing significant damage in 2016, with the latter featuring as part of the blockbuster video game Watch Dogs 2.
Aside from the music, Heldens always likes to go one step further with his ideas to ensure that every element of his creative game truly stands out. Whether that’s with his hilarious social media high jinx and antics on his massive channels, harnessing the power of his fanbase to create a dance craze for his track Flamingo, or creating his own Deep Water vitamin drink, there’s never a dull moment in his world.
