{"id":227752,"date":"2026-01-29T18:17:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T23:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2026\/01\/29\/afrojack-on-his-club-alias-kapuchon-the-grammys-and-why-modern-djs-producers-are-not-purists-2\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T18:17:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T23:17:05","slug":"afrojack-on-his-club-alias-kapuchon-the-grammys-and-why-modern-djs-producers-are-not-purists-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2026\/01\/29\/afrojack-on-his-club-alias-kapuchon-the-grammys-and-why-modern-djs-producers-are-not-purists-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Afrojack on His Club Alias Kapuchon, The Grammys and Why Modern DJs & Producers \u2018Are Not\u00a0Purists\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tHalfway into 2025, Afrojack<\/a> had a revelation. Since the pandemic, the producer born Nick van de Wall had been, he says, \u201cvery focused on maintaining the business, so making sure Afrojack fans are happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs such, he was focused on making new music, building his Wall Recordings label, playing shows around the world and, when events started again, and putting together the countless edits these performances require. By mid-2025 he realized his business was sound and as such, \u201cI just want to do what I love, and that\u2019s making music purely for the dancefloor and not thinking about commercial appeal or streams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the producer regularly plays some of the biggest stages in dance music, he\u2019s recently found satisfaction in playing more underground music in rooms where no one knows who he is, something he\u2019s been able to pull off via his alias, Kapuchon. Showing up under this moniker during a Miss Monique set at H\u00ef Ibiza last summer, he found the crowd wasn\u2019t responding to the music because they knew Afrojack was playing it, but because they really liked it. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey were looking at me like, \u2018Is that Afrojack?’\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was just me as a guy playing music, and that was the only form of communication. When I play those records and they hit and I see people\u2019s faces go like, \u2018Yeah!,\u2019 that\u2019s my feeling of accomplishment for the year. I\u2019m super happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tExisting on this wavelength of the scene has in fact been so satisfying that in March, Afrojack is embarking on the seven-date Kapuchon Presents Afrojack Tour, which will take him to seven clubs across North America including Sound in Los Angeles, Refuge in Brooklyn and StereoBar in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile seeing one of the marquee mainstage artists of the EDM era and beyond on a club tour might be surprising, Afrojack says this in this era of dance music, the rules around genres and which type of artists can play them are \u2014 at least among artists themselves \u2014 dissolved. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to see that we don\u2019t have to be split by genres,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone can do everything, and I like that.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHere, he talks about new freedoms in the scene, the \u201cbattle\u201d of breaking through as a new artists and more. <\/p>\n

\n\tDo you think the scene generally used to be more siloed and that artists like yourself had to just play what your known sound was?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s more complicated than just the sound. People that go out identify themselves as certain groups. You have people that go to techno parties and say EDM is for for normies. There are people that go hear electronica like Aphex Twin, Nicolas Jaar or Trentem\u00f8ller and say techno is for amateurs. This is how people try identifying themselves with a genre to say, \u201cWe\u2019re more advanced than you.\u201d I don\u2019t know why. I\u2019ve studied a lot of psychology, but to this day I do not understand why people want to feel better than other people.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre you feeling that evolve?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe nice thing now is to see that the DJs and producers don\u2019t feel like this. The DJs and producers are not purists overall. Someone like Charlotte [de Witte] wouldn\u2019t not play a record because I was part of it, or because it\u2019s accessible or has too much commercial appeal. A song is a song. It\u2019s weird if you listen to a song in a certain way because of who made it. I\u2019m very happy to see now that more people are accepting of this fact. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere are so many conversations within the dance world that do have to do with these social and genre hierarchies you\u2019re talking talking about. That sense of competition and elitism can be really exhausting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, but it\u2019s been like this forever.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut you\u2019re saying that the DJs are not playing into it as much as the fans are?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tExactly. And it\u2019s also because there\u2019s some living legends now \u2014 if you look at Carl Cox or Richie Hawtin or Ti\u00ebsto or Armin [van Buuren], they\u2019ve been around for so long that they can kind of supersede the opinion of the younger generation of DJs. If a newer DJ says, \u201cI think this\u201d and then Carl Cox says \u201cIt\u2019s actually like this,\u201d you can\u2019t really say anything, because It\u2019s Carl Cox. You have to give it to him. <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Chilly<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t20 Questions With Richie Hawtin: Talks Unconventional Collaboration With Chilly Gonzales & Why \u2018In a Way, It\u2019s Always Been Business\u00a0Techno\u2019\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tIt\u2019s a blessing that we exist in a genre where many of the legends and pioneers are still around. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. There\u2019s a lot of bad things about social media, but one of the good things is that it\u2019s made the relationship and understanding between the artist and the dance floor person, the party goer, the listener, super close. There is a bit less mystery, but at the same time, there\u2019s more understanding, because now you have direct access to the mind of the artist behind the music.<\/p>\n

\n\tHas that closeness in any way affected your career and what you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI was watching this interview recently, about how these days, musicians have to build their brand. I posted it on my Instagram. I love making music. I love DJing. I hate going on social media like, \u201cHello, this my brand new song. Please do this dance, because then the streams will go up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSome people messaged me that they agree, and they sent some other memes about like, when Thom Yorke used to release a record, he wouldn\u2019t go out and say, \u201cHey, now we\u2019re going to do this so you\u2019ll stream the record.\u201d It\u2019s a different life now. You see a lot of artists getting booked because of social media fame or followings, people getting famous for making sexy faces at girls and taking off their shirts while playing a Suno-generated Afro-house remix of some pop song from the \u201990s.<\/p>\n

\n\tOoh, let it fly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m not going to name any names. I\u2019m happy for these people, that they get to have success in any type of way. But at the same time, I\u2019m like, I\u2019m supposed to compete with this? I love music, and I love the success I\u2019ve been given by my fans and by just the way things panned out. But it does really make me think, like, a few hours a day on making a social media strategy to promote my music, or am I going to use this time to make more music?<\/p>\n

\n\tHow are you striking that balance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m lucky to be in a position where I can afford to have a team to focus on the social media stuff, but it\u2019s definitely a problem for a lot of artists. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s your advice for those people who are just starting out, or who don\u2019t have your level of success?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI think the only way to compete with it is to have pure authenticity and to show the authenticity. Instead of trying to say something for the camera, just go live for eight hours while making music. You don\u2019t have to say anything, just show your craft. If you show your craft enough, it will work.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s hard, man, especially now, since you\u2019re competing with six packs, models, influencers, AI generated reels of a car crashes or a cat touching electrical wires or some s\u2013t. Suddenly it\u2019s not just about music, it\u2019s about attention. It\u2019s a tough battle.<\/p>\n

\n\tGiven that you became successful before the dominance of social media, do you get to bypass all of this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI definitely think I\u2019ve been very lucky to have been here for a while. I\u2019ve had relationships with promoters for 10 or 15, years. I\u2019m kind of in a safe space, as long as people enjoy my sets and my music. But for a new artist right now to break through, oh my god. I sign artists. I have a label. We do artist development. It used to be that if you have one great song and can DJ well, you have a career. <\/p>\n

\n\tNow, you need to have one great song, then 20 really good songs in the same year, and you need to do great sets, and you need to immediately do 100 shows in the first year for no money in order to cement yourself as an upcoming DJ.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tSnubs & Surprises in the 2026 Dance\/Electronic Grammy\u00a0Nominations\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tDo you think that there are artists who are as big as they are for the wrong reasons?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tTiny ones, but to really get big, you need so much authenticity. I have not seen anyone who became a worldwide success selling 10,000 or 20,000-capacity venues because of fake s\u2013t.<\/p>\n

\n\tSure, like no one on that level can really be faking it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tLike Rampa and Keinemusik, they made the hit of the summer [with \u201cMove.\u201d] They\u2019ve also been doing this type of music for 20 years. It\u2019s not like they just showed up and said \u201cLet\u2019s do some some relaxing Afro-house music.\u201d No, they made really cool underground records for 15 years. They did the struggle. It\u2019s not like they appeared out of nowhere. Same thing with Mau P<\/a>. He was doing production work as an EDM producer for like, 10 years before he started the Mau P project. For the last five or so years it\u2019s been banger after banger, and his sets are amazing.<\/p>\n

\n\tSame thing with John Summit<\/a>. He had \u201cWhere You Are\u201d and \u201cShiver\u201d and this amazing line of releases on his on his Experts Only label. He does the five hour sets. He does the eight hour sets. He pays homage to people like Green Velvet from Chicago. He did the tech house tutorials. People want to hate and say \u201coh it\u2019s cheesy\u201d or \u201cit\u2019s commercial\u201d because he\u2019s famous. But if you look at what him and people like him are actually doing, they\u2019re putting in the work. <\/p>\n

\n\tThis is what I\u2019m telling the kids we have signed to my label or the Wall Pro Academy. If you put in the work and put yourself out to the world, it will come. But these days, you need to put out a lot. It\u2019s not one song anymore. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Grammys are this weekend and the nominees include Skrillex, Fred again.., Kaytranada and Disclosure, with the nominees having dozens nominations between them over the years. As someone who\u2019s won a Grammy, do you think there\u2019s a reason the artists you just mentioned aren\u2019t breaking through in the Grammys lane?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tKaytranada is more likely to get nominated than anyone I just mentioned because [artists like us] represent DJ and party culture, and that\u2019s not artsy, and the Grammy are supposed to be artsy. I\u2019m not that guy. I don\u2019t want to play the part of being artsy or whatever. We live in a capitalist world. This is the way it is. If you go on social media and do a campaign, your song will have more success and you will sell more tickets. I don\u2019t like it, but this is how it is.<\/p>\n

\n\tA lot of artists choose to present themselves in an artsier way, but that\u2019s also a system, I had this conversation a long time ago about selling out, because I did a song with Pitbull<\/a>. They said \u201cAh, you sold out.\u201d I was like, Pitbull is an artist that\u2019s been making music for 10 years, and he\u2019s really successful, so people probably like his music. Then he he calls me like \u201cYo, I really like this song. Can I sing on it?\u201d Am I going to say no because he\u2019s too commercial? Because if I would say no because it\u2019s too commercial, then technically I\u2019m selling out, because I\u2019m saying no to another person to protect my income.<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, to protect your image.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, but this is the thing \u2014 if you\u2019re protecting your image, you\u2019re selling out to your image. Instead of trying to build an image, just be you\u2026 You won\u2019t get respected by certain groups or certain types of cultures, because they need images for their own identification. They identify with certain images. So it\u2019s not the best thing to do from a commercial perspective, but as a human being, I think it\u2019s the greatest thing, because you don\u2019t have to think about your decisions. It\u2019s not like, \u201cI don\u2019t know if I want to work with this guy, because maybe they\u2019re gonna think I\u2019m less cool.\u201d From a musical perspective, that\u2019s not very friendly.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Afrojack,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tDavid Guetta, Sia & Afrojack Perform \u2018Titanium\u2019 Live Together For the First Time Ever at Ultra Music Festival 2025:\u00a0Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tWas that always your approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI didn\u2019t do it once, and that was with [not putting my name on] \u201cTitanium,\u201d because at that time I thought I was too cool. This comes with the pressure of being young and getting more famous and being like, \u201cI\u2019ve gotta protect it.\u201d That\u2019s the only time I made the decision not to put my name on something. I like to say I learned from my mistake, but I don\u2019t know if it was a mistake, because I\u2019m very happy with where I am today. It\u2019s definitely something I wouldn\u2019t do again. It\u2019s also what I try to tell people. If you are who you are, people will understand. I said the same thing 15 years ago and I say it again like \u2014 do you like chicken?<\/p>\n

\n\tUh, yes I eat chicken.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSo today you might eat chicken, tomorrow you might eat steak, the next day you might eat vegetables, and the day after that you might eat a cookie. Just because you love one thing doesn\u2019t have to mean you are only that thing. This is what I\u2019m trying to tell people.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Halfway into 2025, Afrojack had a revelation. Since the pandemic, the producer born Nick van de Wall had been, he says, \u201cvery focused on maintaining the business, so making sure Afrojack fans are happy.\u201d As such, he was focused on making new music, building his Wall Recordings label, playing shows around the world and, when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227752\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}