Kevin de Vries is a young and coming producer based in Berlin. Having support from big names like Adam Beyer, Sven Vath or Richie Hawtin he has released on different seminal techno labels like Drumcode or Suara.
In 2017 Kevin started to play international shows including festivals like Extrema Outdoor and Nature One, but also played in renowned clubs like Watergate, Melkweg or Sisyphos to name a few. He was also included with a Remix by dutch legend Secret Cinema on his latest EP ‘Infinity’ on Unrilis, and one of his tracks was included in the recent Tale of Us fabric compilation.
We had the chance to talk with Kevin De Vries as he is about to release his latest EP ‘Aurora’ on Alan Fitzpatrick’s We Are The Brave.
Electronic Groove: Hi Kevin, thanks for your time. You are currently based in Berlin, can you give us some background on how you got involved with dance music and how you ended up living in that city?
Kevin De Vries: Hey guys, thanks so much for having me. Sure! Before I moved to Berlin, I was living in a small village, close to Cologne. When I was 16 years old I went to my first electro party in a club called Bootshaus which is based in the same city. It’s a really cool club with a great sound system and last year I had the honor to play there for the first time by myself. This was a really special gig for me, because that’s where my first experience with a big club and nightlife was back in the days. Since then, I fell in love with the feeling and vibe that can exist in a club, with so many like-minded people under one roof. The reason why I started to produce music was the movie ‘Berlin Calling’ with Paul Kalkbrenner playing the main character, which I watched in 2014 for the first time. Back then I got also fascinated by the city of Berlin. It’s a city that never sleeps, with a huge nightlife scene. If you want, you can party there for seven days in a week, and there is always something new or interesting to discover. It’s also a place for me where I can get a lot of musical inspiration from. Whether it is from just walking outside or visiting a club.
EG: You come from a 2017 with many achievements. What can you tell about last year?
Kevin De Vries: 2017 was really special year for me. I played my first big festival gigs during summer and had a lot of shows in clubs all around Europe, in places I had never played before. I also had my first India tour in with stops in Goa, Hyderabad and Delhi, this was a really nice adventure. A bunch of tracks also came out on different labels that I was really happy with. Besides meeting so many beautiful and interesting people during last year, a lot of great things happened and I am very thankful for that!
EG: You are about to release your latest EP on Alan Fitzpatrick’s label We Are the Brave. Tell us about this new project?
Kevin De Vries: I actually made ‘Aurora’ and ‘Nemesis’ nearly a year ago and tested them in a lot at gigs I played. The feedback I got was amazing. To be releasing new material on Alan Fitzpatrick’s label is a dream come true. I have been a long time fan of his music and the label is really growing with so many great releases. I can’t wait!
EG: In terms of releases, what should we expect for the rest of 2018?
Kevin De Vries: Besides the EP for Alan, I will be on a compilation this summer from which I can’t announce the name yet unfortunately. There will be also a remix coming out on Sasha Carassi’s label ‘Phobiq’. Another EP is planned for autumn as well as a track on a well-known compilation in December. I’m really happy that my way of continuing to develop my sound is being picked up so well.
EG: How was the recent Drumcode event at Watergate. Can you describe your experience?
Kevin De Vries: It was really amazing! We all had a great time, started out at a dinner, and then onto the club afterwards. We all checked out each other’s sets and had a lot of fun, real family vibes! You can really feel that Drumcode is a sort of family. I played the closing slot downstairs from 6 am after Enrico Sangiuliano, although there was no real closing time scheduled! When the sun came up and shined through the windows, I started to adjust the music, and felt the energy of the crowd, everybody was in such a happy mood! It was a magical morning and I played the last record around 1 pm! It was a really special moment and I think I played one of my best long sets ever.
EG: Are there any special events planned for the summer?
Kevin De Vries: Yes there are! I will have my debut on Tale of Us for their Afterlife Party at Hï Ibiza in August, so this is one of the biggest highlights of this year. Also, I am going to be playing at some awesome festivals including Labyrinth Open, Habitat Festival, Floorfiller and Burning Beach to name a few. You can also find me in some great clubs during summer, but I can’t announce them just yet – sorry! What I can tell you now is that I’ll start with my own residency in Tama club (Poznań, Poland), which I’m really excited for! The first one is at the end of May. So yeah, I can’t wait until it’s summer.
EG: Can you share a few of your favorite tracks on rotation?
Kevin De Vries: The upcoming Johannes Volk on Cocoon is on fire! Especially the A-Side, it’s a massive track. The Tale of Us Remix from Café del Mar is another one of my favs to play at the moment.
Follow Kevin De Vries:
https://www.facebook.com/kevindevriesmusic
https://soundcloud.com/kevindevries
