Blasterjaxx's Thom admits he brought his father to their last Glasgow gig

THE last time Blasterjaxx’s Thom Jongkind played in Glasgow, he achieved a tour first.

For the superstar DJ brought his father along for the show.

He admitted it was nice to have a parent on the road with him saying, “Well, the last time in Glasgow was the first time I brought my father with me on tour!

“Not so much a crazy story, but a cool fun fact right?

“It was really nice having him with me.”

He added: “I actually did get a chance to see the city last time.

“We arrived early that day, so we did a little sightseeing and walked around the city centre.

“I really enjoyed the city, although the weather wasn’t that good back then.”

While he cannot guarantee his dad will be on the road with him this time around, what he can assure is that he will bring top quality beats when he plays the o2 Academy on Saturday, January 28 as part of dance promoters Colours 22nd birthday celebrations.

“The set will have lots of energy and new music,” he boasted.

He added: “ We have some really cool stuff coming up and I always enjoy playing new tracks in my sets to see the reactions of the fans.

"The Scottish fans are always super energetic and probably one of the best crowds to play for in Europe."

The star will be flying solo despite Blasterjaxx being a duo.

His co-producer Idir Makhlaf took a step back to focus on the music production citing panic attacks while on tour as the main reason.

The unusual set-up, however, has not stopped the pair, who hail from The Hague in Holland, from preserving their place as one of the biggest dance acts around.

But then again this is an act who have dipped into different dance styles which has broadened their appeal with Thom now insisting their current music is best described as the “old hard Blasterjaxx sound”

He explained: “ Last year, we felt like we needed to change our sound but got stuck in the creative process.

“We’ve figured that we really found joy in going back to the sounds that we originally made, which resulted in our latest track No Sleep.

“There’s still a lot of hunger for those big room sounds, so that’s good news for us!”

This year. the duo will continue to focus on the music in a bid to reach a bigger fan base.

Thom said: "We will keep on doing what we love to do, spend more time on the quality of our music, and reach a bigger fan base.

"And of course, we are bringing our label Maxximize Records to the next level."

He added: "We’ve just celebrated our one-year anniversary and are extremely happy with how everything developed.

"We’ve released 20 powerful tracks in the first year, and now some bigger guys like Dannic and DBSTF are jumping on to release on our label as well. Really happy with that!"

Through focusing on the music, the duo might become as iconic as fellow Dutchman Tiesto, who they admit to admiring.

Thom said: "I admire everyone, every DJ has its own quality specially Tiesto for his legendary status."

Despite admiration for Tiesto, Blasterjaxx's Thom explained that if they had to collaborate with anyone, it would be a certain Reggaeton star.

Thom said: "We don’t really have a wishlist, but if I have to say a name I’d say Daddy Yankee.

"Maybe it’s not something you expect from us but we really like to experiment with different styles and already made a bootleg of his track Gasolina."

For now, however, they will be focusing on their mini album instead of a collaboration.

Thom said: "We’ve got something big scheduled on a short term, sort of a mini album.

"It’s the first time for us that we release such an EP/album, so we’re really excited for that.

"Can’t tell you that much yet, just wait for it!"

Aside from the music, the boys do like to unwind from the pressures of being a DJ although this is something Thom finds a bit more difficult.

He said: "Most of the time I’m involved with music in some way.

"At the times I’m not, I like to hang out with friends, play video games or just watch a movie."

For any wannabe DJs or producer, the best advice that Thom can give to break into the industry is for them to create their own sound.

He said: "My advice is try to create your own sound and style, and don’t give up if your track won’t get a release on the first attempt."

Blasterjaxx's Thom will play his set on Saturday, January 28 at the o2 Academy Glasgow. Tickets are £24.50 plus booking fee and are available from Tickets Scotland and Skiddle.

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