Bringing dance music to speakers all over the world, Vicetone dropped their awesome new EP, titled “Departing Reality”, and we were lucky enough to interview them. Determined to take listeners on a journey, this Dutch DJ duo sends us out of our reality as the EP brings fired-up beats and unforgettable vocals through our speakers. The release of this “Departing Reality” EP by Vicetone acts as the follow-up to their single “The World Has A Heartbeat“, and they’ve since released another single from this EP, titled “Voices In My Head” in collaboration with Chelsea Collins.
Vicetone are a Dutch DJ duo consisting of Ruben Den Boer and Victor Pool. They have made the list of the Top 100 DJs in DJ Mag consecutively from 2013 – 2015 and returned to the list in 2019 for the year, although we reckon they’ll reappear on the list again soon. They have earned over 1 billion streams combined across platforms to date, bringing dance music to lovers all over the world. They have had a variety of successes including charting on the US Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart at number 23 with their song “Something Strange” which featured Haley Reinhart. Their most-streamed Spotify song to date is “Astronomia” in collaboration with Tony Igy which has over 319 million streams and has gone on to chart globally and been certified platinum and gold in Sweden, Norway, Italy, Germany, France, Poland, and Denmark; with their single “Nevada” featuring Cozi Zuehlsdorff behind at 226 million streams, on the platform. They have released tonnes of singles and have worked with the likes of Nicky Romero, Collin McLoughlin, Foster The People, and Allie X; whilst they have remixed singles for the likes of Adele, Cash Cash, Maroon 5, Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa, Kelly Clarkson, and Alesso. They’re certainly making their name known in the music industry and they’re bound to go viral again with another one of their songs soon. Vicetone recently dropped a new EP titled “Departing Reality” that has been gaining momentum.
Taking time out to answer our questions via email, Vicetone chatted about their addicting new EP, “Departing Reality”, their success to date, how they approach producing and remixing tracks, and their excitement to play their new songs out on the road at gigs and festivals.
Congratulations on the release of your EP “Departing Reality”! Can you tell us more about the concept and inspiration behind the EP?
The tracks on the EP each give us that lovely feeling of floating away from reality when you listen to the music – the blissful escapism that music evokes in us. That’s the idea behind the EP – songs that help you depart reality.
You mentioned that the EP, “Represents the feeling of floating away and having your worries disappear when you’re listening to music that really hits you.” Can you go into more depth about that, and what tracks in the world make you feel this way, too?
Lots and lots of tracks from our childhood made us feel this way. Victor really loved Justin Timberlake’s Justified album, Ruben really loved Tiësto’s older albums. Music from all across the genre spectrum give us this feeling, and it’s one of our favorite things about music for us.
It’s been a few years since your last EP release. How does it feel to be sharing this new body of work with your fans, and what can they expect from the musical direction and sonic experience of “Departing Reality”?
It feels great! We released our album “Legacy” in 2021, so it felt like the right time to release an EP again. The musical direction on the EP is a combination of the classic Vicetone sound, but with a few creative twists on each song. I feel that our fans will be able to tell that it’s Vicetone, but it still sounds fresh enough that it also feels like something new and different.
“Dopamine Junkie”, one of the tracks on the EP, features Ben Samama. How did the collaboration with Ben Samama come about, and what was it like working together on this song?
Ben actually emailed us the acapella for this record, and we wanted to change a bunch of things about the original topline to make it fit with our music. We then worked with him to make edits and improve on the vocal, and it was a great experience working with him on this song.
Throughout your career, you’ve consistently crafted emotionally charged dance music with meticulous attention to detail. How do you ensure that your music resonates with listeners on both an emotional and energetic level?
It feels very natural to us to incorporate emotional elements into our music – it’s a quality we always gravitated towards in our career.
Your music has amassed over 1 billion combined streams across all platforms, showcasing a global reach and dedicated fanbase. How does it feel to see your music connect with so many people around the world, and what role do your fans play in shaping your artistic journey?
It feels amazing. We feel very fortunate to have been able to be professional musicians for over a decade now – and it still feels in a way like we’re getting started. We’re as ambitious and excited about our future music as we were in the beginning, but it’s also good to be grateful for the wonderful journey we’ve had so far. We’re very fortunate and we have our fans to thank for it.
With previous hits like “Astronomia” and “Nevada” achieving tremendous success and charting globally, how do you approach creating music that balances commercial appeal while staying true to your artistic vision?
We don’t think about commercial success at all when producing music. We didn’t expect “Nevada” to do anything commercially at all, we just knew we really loved the track. “Astronomia” we released for free (!) for two years, before it got signed to a label. It’s now 5x platinum and gold in multiple countries, which is just crazy considering how we released it for free, obviously having zero expectations for any commercial success.
As a Dutch DJ duo, you’ve been recognised as one of the Top 100 DJs in DJ Mag, and your music has reached fans worldwide. How do you think your Dutch roots have influenced your sound and contributed to your success in the electronic music scene?
Dutch music culture has fully embraced dance music as a genre since we were little kids. So we grew up listening to a ton of early dance music. That has undoubtedly helped us shape our musical taste and preferences. It’s great to grow up in The Netherlands if you aspire to become a music producer in the dance world.
You’ve had the opportunity to remix songs by several well-known artists. How do you approach remixing a track and putting your own spin on it, while still paying homage to the original version?
Making a remix is fun, since you already know what elements you have to incorporate into the remix. In our case, we almost always only use the vocal, and strip out the rest and make it our own. But making original music is much more challenging in contrast, and honestly also more fulfilling for us. Starting from a completely blank slate, making a new idea from scratch is extremely enjoyable and fulfilling for us.
The music industry is constantly evolving and changing. How do you stay inspired and motivated to continually push boundaries and explore new sounds and techniques in your music?
It’s what we love to do the most! As long as we focus on the joy of creating music, the rest will fall into place. We’ve always believed in this and it’s held true for our entire career.
In addition to producing music, you’ve also had success as touring artists. How do you approach translating your studio productions into engaging live performances, and what can fans expect from your upcoming “Departed Reality” summer tour?
Our fans can expect a lot of energy! We will take them on a journey they won’t forget. We can’t wait to see how our fans will react to the new songs and the new edits we’ve made specifically for this upcoming tour.
What are your future goals and aspirations as artists? Are there any particular collaborations, venues, or festivals that you have on your bucket list?
We have lots of big plans and dreams, but right now we want to finish up all these new musical ideas that we’re really excited about – and plan for a big 2024.
What message or piece of advice would you give to aspiring DJs and producers who are looking to make their mark in the music industry?
If it’s your life’s passion and your biggest dream, then work extremely hard for it! We dropped out of college to pursue music and it was the easiest and best decision in our lives. We both spent 24/7 in the studio in the beginning and we were happier than ever. It felt like we were doing what we were meant to do. So the advice would be, if you’re in it for the passion and the love for music, sacrifice other things in your life and chase your passion relentlessly.
Finally, do you have a message to your fans who are set to depart reality with your awesome new EP?
We hope you love the new EP and we can’t wait to see you at one of our shows this year!
Thank you, Vicetone, for taking the time out to answer our questions. We absolutely love the new EP, “Departing Reality”, and we’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since it got released. We’re excited to watch your career go from strength to strength.
“Departing Reality”, the new EP by Vicetone, is available to download and stream, right now, across all platforms, via Departed Records. We highly suggest you check out Vicetone’s artist page and listen to more of their previously released tracks, as there’s some absolutely incredible releases among their awesome discography – you’re totally missing out if you haven’t heard any of their songs before today.