27-YEAR-OLD DUTCH DJ, PRODUCER, AND FUTURE HOUSE PIONEER OLIVER HELDENS CONTINUES TO EVOLVE IN MARRYING THE MAINSTREAM WITH THE AVANT-GARDE

BY MADELYN DAWSON

BORN: The Rotterdam, Netherlands native was born in February 1995

SOUND: An artist that eschews genres, Heldens’ wide-reaching sound connects new generation, deep house metallic club anthems with big room, festival-ready mainstream house beats.

BIG BREAK: In 2013, already with a few singles under his belt, Heldens earned the support of fellow Dutchman and DJ Tiesto, who signed his single “Gecko” to his label Musical Freedom. With its punchy beats and dramatic drop, Gecko remains among Heldens’ most popular songs. A vocal version of the track was recorded with English singer Becky Hill, and the project reached number 1 on the UK charts.

NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Heldens’ career as a house DJ has been more than prolific: he has run the gamut of the festival set, appearing at Coachella, Glastonbury, and Lollapalooza, among many others. He has over 1 billion collective streams on Spotify. His love for club anthems, new and old, has led to his successful remixing of KISS’s “I Was Made For Loving You,” Chic’s “Le Freak,” Charlie Puth’s “Attention,” and even Katy Perry’s “Chained To The Rhythm.” In 2015, he was ranked #12 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 higher than any other house DJ. The very nature of his sound has ushered in a new generation of club anthems and metallic house beats. Heldens, though, certainly has more tricks up his sleeve. In 2015 he launched his own label Heldeep Records. The first track released on Heldeep was by an outfit called HI-LO. The Dutch DJ later revealed that HI-LO was his own darker, bass house alter-ego, the name derived from a reversal of his own “OLI H.”

LATEST WORK: Heldens remains more than acquainted with the festival stage, but most recently he is focusing on experimenting with writing, producing, and mixing his own tracks for HI-LO. Heldeep rose in popularity, and became an avenue to bring due recognition to lesser-known DJs and producers. Today, Heldens can be found further exploring the different facets of his sound, notably collaborating with artists involved in the Techno scene.

CHILDHOOD SKILL: Heldens was a highly decorated chess player as a youngster, winning several competitions in his native Netherlands.

Oliver Heldens
oliverheldens.com