2012’s hottest rising EDM star and David Guetta protégée Nicky Romero always had a smash on his hands when he decided to hook up with polished producer Calvin Harris, after the pair turned heads when they jumped behind the decks together at a revered party at Mansion party at the Miami Winter Conference this year. However, “Iron” has ended up being even more monumental than anyone could have predicted, screaming to the #1 of the Beatport charts.
Romero himself was one of the big stars at this year’s ADE conference in his homecountry of Holland earlier this month, hosting his own Protocol Recordings party on the Wednesday night, which had a special appearance from his celebrated mentor David Guetta, as well as appearing at Guetta’s own World Tour event on the Friday night. In addition, he graduated from his spot last year on the ‘Next Generation’ panel, to hosting his own personal Q&A session on Saturday mornin. So after a week like that, it was Romero was looking fairly exhausted by the time he talked to VIBE on Saturday afternoon; though he still had plenty of love for his compatriot Harris.
“I met Calvin a long time ago, and he wanted to have something for his new album,” Romero told VIBE. “I had a beat that I didn’t know what to do with. I made it for the Electric Daisy Carnival, just so I would be able to play some new music, and I sent it to him, and he said, ‘oh man, these chords are just screaming for vocals. I hope you’ll let me do something with this!’ And I was like sure, go for it. It’s gonna be on his album 18 Months, so I’m happy that it’s come together. He’s a real super talent.”
Romero naturally also had plenty of praise for David Guetta, whose support was one of the factors that secured the Dutchman’s boost into the EDM stratosphere. “His approach was something that really opened up a lot of doors, and drew a lot of new people into the scene.”
However, Romero was also resolute that he’s committed to bringing his own unique approach to the table, as his career develops. “Let me also say this,” he told VIBE. “I’m also looking for a way to change the music industry again still, and I’ve got my eyes open for ways to do that. If’s something that I try to live for, and if that’s something that you manage to do, then it means that things stay fresh and you’ll stay in the picture for a longer time.”