The stars must've been
aligned just right when Nick van de Wall (better known
as Afrojack) saw his first ray of light. Music was his
first love since his early youth. He started playing
piano when he was only five. Being a very creative
student, Afrojack spent most of his time listening to
all kinds of music while studying. It was no surprise
that it didn't take him long to turn the tables and
start making music instead of just listening to it.
At the age of 11, Afrojack
gets hold of a program called Fruity loops. At this
point in time his talent and passion for creating music
truly surfaces. Rapidly acquainting himself with and
appreciating Fruity Loops, it becomes his program of
choice, which he uses to this day. Afrojack finishes
school and decides to proceed with his musical career.
Not being able to make a living out of it yet, he starts
to work part-time in bars and catering. Now he has more
than enough time to discover the club scene in
Rotterdam, starting with his first night out in the old
club Las Palmas when he was only 16 years old. After
this, many club nights, side-jobs, small DJ-gigs for the
fun of deejaying and a lot of studio time followed.
In 2006 he sets off to
Crete (Greece) deejaying for five full months straight
in every club that would have him, learning the craft
and making his first ‘flight hours’. It was also in
Crete where he landed his first small hit, called ‘F*ck
Detroit’. When returning home to the Netherlands, he was
fired up and started producing more and more tracks,
determined to get ihis productions released on a label.
With a little help from Sidney Samson and Laidback Luke,
Digidance decides to give it a shot, and it worked;
‘Afrojack - In Your Face’ scored #60 in the Dutch Top
100 and #3 in the Dutch dance Top 30. Not too bad for
the first release of an 18 year old kid.
In 2007 Nick starts
performing under the name Afrojack, determined to try to
make it to the top as a DJ and producer. Track after
track and remix after remix follows and he even starts
his own label ‘Wall Recordings’. Afrojack is rarely seen
outside of his studio. When he's not deejaying, he is
producing and it starts to pay off. His tracks start
being supported by international DJ's like Josh Wink,
Dave Clarke, Laidback Luke, Fedde Le Grand, Marco V and
Benny Rodrigues.
In 2008 he hits the clubs
with ‘Math’ and ‘Do My Dance’ and both tracks get picked
up by every big name in the industry. Afrojack hooks up
with the Partysquad to add vocals to “Do My Dance”and a
couple of weeks later, the ‘Drop Down (Do My Dance)’
co-op mix is born. This track hits the Dutch top 20 and
gets crowned "Tune of the Week" by the biggest Dutch
radio stations. Afrojack starts appearing at many
important festivals, like Mystery Land, Tomorrowland (Belgium),
Extrema Outdoor and Sensation.
The world heard more and
more from Afrojack in 2009 and it didn’t take a long
time for David Guetta to notice Afrojack’s talent. They
decided to meet up in the studio, which resulted in ‘Toyfriend’,
a collaboration between the two, and an Afrojack remix
of Guetta’s track ‘Sexy Bitch’. Afrojack also played at
David Guetta’s ‘F*** Me I’m Famous’-events.
Befitting his position as
the leading figure of the Dutch new wave, his success
stretches far beyond his home turf; 2010 has seen him
become one of the most in demand DJ/producers of any
nationality.
With a peerless
reputation as a producer , his signature style is
bringing him the kind of remix requests that most dance
artists will only ever dream of. (for example Lady
Gaga’s ‘Alejandro’ and Madonna’s ‘Revolver’)
Gig-wise, he’s rocked the
world’s biggest floors including Pacha Ibiza, Miami
Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival in LA.
Afrojack’s rise to fame
as a producer has brought him a roll call of A-list
champions – from Pete Tong to David Guetta, and Josh
Wink to Fedde Le Grand, along the way collaborating with
some of the world’s most respected producers and artists
like David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Diplo, Kid Cudi, Pitbull
and Black Eyed Peas.
His
most recent single, ‘Take Over Control ft. Eva Simons’,
is currently one of the hottest club anthems on the
planet, not least in the UK where it’s been championed
by Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Pete Tong. The track also hit
No 2. on Beatport and has already reached over 1 million
views on YouTube.
In 2011 Afrojack was rewarded with the respectable
Grammy award for the remix of Madonna’s ‘Revolver’ in
collaboration with David Guetta.
Respected by his colleague DJ’s for his production
skills and loved by clubbers for his dancefloor bombs
and energetic performances, Afrojack is setting new
standards in the industry.