Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike are set to perform in the city as part of the Sunburn Arena tour
When you think of DJ duos, multiple names come to your mind such as Daft Punk, The Chainsmokers, Axwell & Ingrosso, Bassjackers, Disclosure and many more and one name that is right up there, at the top, is Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. The Belgian-Greek duo includes brothers Dimitri Thivaios and Michael Thivaios and they know everything about being at the top of their game. Some of their hits include When I Grow Up, Complicated, Feel Your Love, Crowd Control and more. Now, the duo is all set to take the stage in Bengaluru for their India tour with Sunburn Arena and we get chatty with Dimitri to know everything about their upcoming performance.
You performed in India last year too. How are you planning to make this year’s performance more memorable and different than the previous one?
It’s been a year since we last touched down in India for a tour and since then we’ve spent a lot of time in the studio, working on fresh music. So fans can expect a lot of new IDs, special edits and other surprises from this set.
As siblings, how did the idea of working together and becoming DJs start for you?
I left home early to pursue being a DJ and ended up working in several European holiday resorts, DJing, before I ended up in Ibiza. Not long afterwards Mike came out to join me. Eventually, when we both ended up back home in Belgium, we started working together on music, building a studio and everything just kind of grew from there.
Over the course of your career, did you influence each other in terms of your music?
We’ve both got very different personal tastes when it comes to music, but that is also why we work so well together as a duo. We bring different flavours, ideas and inspiration to the creative process. It’s this fluid creativity that allows us to be so expansive with our genre direction.
Tell us about your most memorable part while being in India.
After what felt like a lifetime away following the pandemic, being back in India last year ranks as a hugely memorable occasion for us. The fans were so up for the shows and the love from the crowd was insane, it made the tour just an incredible experience, so, we’re super excited to be coming back and doing it all again this year!
Are you planning to discover more of India this year?
Absolutely! Hopefully, we’ll have more time on this tour to check out more of what India has to offer to us.
Consistency is the key and you have shown that by being at the top. How do you try to be better every day and be updated with the latest trends in music?
For us, we’re just passionate about electronic music and this scene. We live and breathe itevery day. We love being in the studio, discovering new music, playing shows and connecting with the fans. So, it’s just a natural feeling for us to embrace the changes we see in the scene and evolve our own style and methods in this way.
When starting out, who were your major inspirations?
DJs like Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Sven Vath, Pete Tong, plus many others, were all huge inspirations for us in the early years and continue to be a source of influence today. Their dedication to the art and how they’ve evolved with the scene is amazing.
You perform all across the globe and almost every month. How do you prepare yourself to be at your best for every performance?
The key is looking after yourself. Eating well, exercising, giving yourself time to unwind and relax. We always want to give the fans a cent percent when it comes to delivering the best show we can.
Tell us about the way you work on every song? How do you go about it?
We mostly work on early track ideas separate from each other and then come together to see what we feel works and if something clicks then we’ll jump into that project. So, at any one time, we’ve always got multiple projects happening, but often these ideas never become a track.
What can your listeners expect from you in 2024?
Our debut album Rewind + Repeat.
Also read: Thermal and a Quarter is all set to rock on!
INR 1,000 onwards. November 25, 4 pm. Aruani Grid, Dommasandra.
Email: alwin@newindianexpress.com
X: @al_ben_so