Raving Raeanne catches up with Ummet Ozcan
Ummet Ozcan is no new face in electronic music. The dutch producer has steadily been building an impressive reputation by releasing hits like “Reboot” and “The Box," that skyrocketed Ummet’s popularity and high acclaim from peers and fans alike. Most recently collaborating on his new smashing track “Revolution," alongside R3hab and Nervo, Ummet Ozcan has become an unstoppable force within dance music. Only at the beginning of his journey towards DJ superstardom, Ozcan is a name to keep an eye on.
What made you interested in becoming a DJ? How old were you?
UO: Back in the days, my elder brother always bought these funny compilation CD's with house hits.. I really loved these tunes and once I got my first keyboard I tried to play them over and over again. When I managed to connect the keyboard to a PC it all started… And here we are, many years later and still producing, Dj-ing and dedicated to making music.
Did you have a musical background?
UO: I taught myself how to the play keyboards, guitar etc, so I am not an educated musician, but I can manage very well. More or less, all sorts of instruments have my attention.
How did your collaboration with Nervo and R3hab on "Revolution" come about? What was it like working with them?
UO: It has been an amazing collab, and I am very satisfied with the record and video clip. It originally started as a basic song and R3hab came up with some cool ideas and introduced the Nervo girls to me. They instantly loved the track so they came up with these great vocals and lyrics. The team is excellent!
How was it to shoot the music video for "Revolution" in the middle of the dessert? Who came up with the concept?
UO: Together with the director Jaakko we came up with this Mad Max Thunderdome kind of atmosphere. Imagine a post–war situation.. The scenery in the desert is breathtaking, you almost can't hear any noise. It's very impressive.
We've had a great team and crew and there were a lot of crazy people who joined us to be part of the Revolutionaries… It was a very long day, but it definitely turned out to be a great video..
What was like remixing Sander van Doorn's 'Neon'? How did that come about?
UO: Sander asked me to do a special remix of Neon. I kinda liked the melody from the start, so when your really 'feel' a record, a remix is great fun to do.
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
UO: Oh that's a tough one, I am open to any cool collab!
What is your dream venue or festival where you would like to play?
UO: I have played Tomorrowland, and that is most certainly one of the best festivals in the world. I am pretty sure I will play there again:) But there are many other awesome festivals, every continent has a few big ones.
Is there anything new we should be looking out for from you?
UO: Well that must be my collab with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. We did a track together called "Jaguar" and that's a killer