Martin Garrix in Dubai: I don’t regret anything

2015 has been a year of change for Martin Garrix. In August, the 19-year-old Dutch DJ announced he’d be leaving MusicAllStars Management and Spinnin’ Records after working with them for three years. He wrote candidly about the split on his Facebook page.

“From the beginning of this year I tried to get back the ownership rights of my music from Spinnin’ Records and to keep my confidence in MAS,” he said. “I am extremely disappointed that the discussions have not led to a change in the agreements or return of the ownership rights, and that is why I nullified them.”

Just this month, Spinnin’ transferred ownership of the songs back to Garrix, but he had already announced his next venture: he’d be starting his own label.

Garrix will be in good company. In 2009, DJ Tiesto left his label to start Musical Freedom. A year after that, Calvin Harris started Fly Eye Records. A couple of years later, David Guetta started Jack Back Records. That same year, Avicii released music to his label, Le7els.

Of course, there’s the fact that Garrix signed to Spinnin’ Records when he was only 16. Does he wish he hadn’t done it so young?

“No, I don’t regret anything. But I would do [things] different [if] I could turn back time,” he told tabloid!, ahead of his New Year’s Eve performance at Meydan Racecourse.

In 2013, Garrix broke out with his UK No 1 single, Animals, and over the next two years released the EPs Gold Skies (2014) and Break through the Silence (2015). Now, amidst rumours that his next release will be titled +x, he said he’s “working on a lot of music but there is no date for an album yet.”

But there was plenty more to talk about, from owing his career to Tiesto to the wonky warm-up DJs he could do without.

Do you remember the moment you decided, “I want to do this for the rest of my life”?

I already knew I wanted to be doing this for a long, long time, but when I decided to drop out of school and switch to a school for producers, I found out that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

What were some of the rookie mistakes you made when you were starting out?

As a rookie, I didn’t have that much knowledge on the business side of things. So I did make some mistakes. But hey, I learned, I learned a lot growing up as an artist. And I’m in a new phase of my career now where I’m much more involved in everything that’s going on.

What’s your biggest pet peeve as a DJ?

Awful warm-up DJs. Luckily, I get to bring a lot of my DJ friends on tour now who will play before or after me, which works amazing as we have the same taste in music.

You’re currently No 3 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJ list. Do you think you’ll beat Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Hardwell to No 1?

It’s not something I focus on, so I have no clue.

Have you ever met someone from the entertainment world and found yourself star struck?

After Tiesto’s performance during the Olympics back in 2004 [Garrix was 12] I wanted to become a DJ. So when meeting him for the first time, you might say that I was a bit star struck, but I think I played it cool. I get to meet a lot of people in the industry and it still feels weird... at times I still find myself star struck and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I’m just a normal Dutch guy.

At 19, you’re one of the youngest DJs out there. Is it a different experience playing countries where the entry age is 21+?

At first it felt weird playing clubs where I normally wasn’t allowed to get in myself. Now I’m pretty used to it. I don’t see it as a disadvantage anymore.

How do you feel about your song Animals, now that it’s taken on a life of its own?

Animals is probably the most important track in my career, who knows where I would stand now without it. I still always play it in my sets, however, I don’t really like listening to it as [I did] before, after playing it so many times.

What’s the one thing you would do differently in your career if you had the chance?

I can’t really think of something. I’m quite happy [with] how it goes so far.

If you weren’t DJing for a living, what do you think you would be doing?

I would be in school, probably.

What are your three favourite songs on your set right now?

Axwell – Waiting For So Long (Gloria), GTA & Skrillex - Red Lips, Zonderling - Crazy for You.

What can people expect from your set in Dubai?

A: It’s New Year’s Eve, so expect that we’re going out with a bang. A big bang! Can’t wait to be back in Dubai.

*Three ticket categories are still available for Martin Garrix’s Meydan Racecourse show, ranging between Dh599, Dh1,250 and Dh1,800. Tickets are available on platinumlist.net. For more information, check out martingarrixdubai.com.