photo by Dragonfly Kuala Lumpur
Mike Willemsen known by his stage name Mike Williams, is a Dutch DJ, record producer, musician and remixer from Holland, a country famous for pushing out amazing talent in the world of Dance Music.
Under his mentorship with Tiësto, Willemsen has developed his trademark bounce sound that’s garnered him other hit singles. At the end of 2018, Willemsen dropped “Wait Another Day” with Mesto, a big room club song that features Willemsen’s classic strong melody and jumpy drop. The peak-time club track scored over three million streams on Spotify.
We managed to catch up with him and had a little interview session during his tour to Dragonfly Club, Kuala Lumpur. Special thanks to Dragonfly Club Kuala Lumpur for this exclusive interview!
Concertkaki: Hello Mike! First off, welcome back to Kuala Lumpur. As this is your second time in Malaysia, how does it feel to be back?
Mike Williams: It feels so good to be back. Honestly, 2 years away from Malaysia has been way too long.
Concertkaki: Congratulations on your collaboration with Hardwell that has already hit over 15 million streams on the track “I’m not Sorry”. What are your thoughts on the tracks’ success?
Mike Williams: I think that there is a very good combination between our sounds. The combo that we have gives a very catchy tone to our track, and I think that you can really hear that we both worked on the production of the track together, which doesn’t happen very often anymore in this industry.
Concertkaki: What was it like working with Robert (Hardwell)?
Mike Williams: It was really nice, Robert is such a nice and calm guy. Spending a whole day working on a track with a big DJ like Robert was an honor.
Concertkaki: You just released your new track, “Day or Night”. Tell us a little about it.
Mike Williams: Well, “Day or Night” is a festival club track, and I decided to give it more energy than normal. Not only that, it has some good vocals during the break, and it’s very melodic – something that I am quite passionate about.
Concertkaki: You played at the Tomorrowland Mainstage this year, what was that like? Do share your thoughts on the experience.
Mike Williams: It was nice to be able to play the first weekend at a smaller stage to get used to the crowd again. The Mainstage set was crazy, and I was so nervous in the beginning. But all that nervousness went away the moment I got on stage and it looked as though everyone enjoyed the set. Not only that, the livestream of the festival looked extremely good.
Concertkaki: We heard that you’ve just finished the Music Circus over in Osaka last week. Would you like to share the experiences you had there?
Mike Williams: Japan is always amazing, the shows that we’ve done there have all been amazing. We did a show over here in Malaysia about 2 years ago? Then again, I had a smaller profile and did not have that many fans back then. Now I have grown as an artist and have a lot more fans than before. Malaysia is a really cool country to play in.
Concertkaki: With all that said, what do you think makes European music festivals different from that of Asian music festivals?
Mike Williams: The main difference would have to be the crowd – the crowd in Europe is very different from the crowd in Asia. Not only that, the crowd in every European county is also different. There are a lot more festivals in Europe especially in summer, but after that, a lot of festivals will start happening over in Asia. You can’t really compare the 2 continents, they are so different from each other.
Concertkaki: “On Tour with Mike Williams” has reached Season 3 Episode 5 already. Can you tell us about your vlog series?
Mike Williams: “On Tour with Mike Williams” is a vlog series that I am doing with my sister, and we are trying to show everyone the ins and outs of touring, as well as the “behind the scenes” of being an artist. These “behind the scenes” include the merchandising, management and daily things that an artist has to do which the public usually does not see. There is so much more to being an artist that meets the eye.
Concertkaki: Who is your favourite electronic producer at this moment? Also, are there any producers that have influenced you in your musical journey so far?
Mike Williams: I listen to a lot of diff artists. I don’t focus on just one artist, although I think that KSHMR is a really talented producer. Recently worked with Nicky Romero on a track which was really cool, Hardwell and R3HAB and tiesto as well. Well, I do listen to a lot of different artists and I don’t have just one favourite artist. I think that KSHMR is a really talented producer. I’ve been able to work with many talented artists recently with the likes of Nicky Romero, Hardwell, R3HAB and Tiesto being the standout ones.
Concertkaki: Finally, what are you looking forward to most for the rest of 2019?
Mike Williams: It’s already September! There is still a lot more that is still to come from me, ADE being one of them. After that, I’ll be having a couple more tours in Asia, then it’s back to the US for me.
Concertkaki: Hello Mike! First off, welcome back to Kuala Lumpur. As this is your second time in Malaysia, how does it feel to be back?
Mike Williams: It feels so good to be back. Honestly, 2 years away from Malaysia has been way too long.
Concertkaki: Congratulations on your collaboration with Hardwell that has already hit over 15 million streams on the track “I’m not Sorry”. What are your thoughts on the tracks’ success?
Mike Williams: I think that there is a very good combination between our sounds. The combo that we have gives a very catchy tone to our track, and I think that you can really hear that we both worked on the production of the track together, which doesn’t happen very often anymore in this industry.
Concertkaki: What was it like working with Robert (Hardwell)?
Mike Williams: It was really nice, Robert is such a nice and calm guy. Spending a whole day working on a track with a big DJ like Robert was an honor.
Concertkaki: You just released your new track, “Day or Night”. Tell us a little about it.
Mike Williams: Well, “Day or Night” is a festival club track, and I decided to give it more energy than normal. Not only that, it has some good vocals during the break, and it’s very melodic – something that I am quite passionate about.
Concertkaki: You played at the Tomorrowland Mainstage this year, what was that like? Do share your thoughts on the experience.
Mike Williams: It was nice to be able to play the first weekend at a smaller stage to get used to the crowd again. The Mainstage set was crazy, and I was so nervous in the beginning. But all that nervousness went away the moment I got on stage and it looked as though everyone enjoyed the set. Not only that, the livestream of the festival looked extremely good.
Concertkaki: We heard that you’ve just finished the Music Circus over in Osaka last week. Would you like to share the experiences you had there?
Mike Williams: Japan is always amazing, the shows that we’ve done there have all been amazing. We did a show over here in Malaysia about 2 years ago? Then again, I had a smaller profile and did not have that many fans back then. Now I have grown as an artist and have a lot more fans than before. Malaysia is a really cool country to play in.
Concertkaki: With all that said, what do you think makes European music festivals different from that of Asian music festivals?
Mike Williams: The main difference would have to be the crowd – the crowd in Europe is very different from the crowd in Asia. Not only that, the crowd in every European county is also different. There are a lot more festivals in Europe especially in summer, but after that, a lot of festivals will start happening over in Asia. You can’t really compare the 2 continents, they are so different from each other.
Concertkaki: “On Tour with Mike Williams” has reached Season 3 Episode 5 already. Can you tell us about your vlog series?
Mike Williams: “On Tour with Mike Williams” is a vlog series that I am doing with my sister, and we are trying to show everyone the ins and outs of touring, as well as the “behind the scenes” of being an artist. These “behind the scenes” include the merchandising, management and daily things that an artist has to do which the public usually does not see. There is so much more to being an artist that meets the eye.
Concertkaki: Who is your favourite electronic producer at this moment? Also, are there any producers that have influenced you in your musical journey so far?
Mike Williams: I listen to a lot of diff artists. I don’t focus on just one artist, although I think that KSHMR is a really talented producer. Recently worked with Nicky Romero on a track which was really cool, Hardwell and R3HAB and tiesto as well. Well, I do listen to a lot of different artists and I don’t have just one favourite artist. I think that KSHMR is a really talented producer. I’ve been able to work with many talented artists recently with the likes of Nicky Romero, Hardwell, R3HAB and Tiesto being the standout ones.
Concertkaki: Finally, what are you looking forward to most for the rest of 2019?
Mike Williams: It’s already September! There is still a lot more that is still to come from me, ADE being one of them. After that, I’ll be having a couple more tours in Asia, then it’s back to the US for me.