House hero Dilby on his meteoric rise and his exclusive mix for The Night Bazaar

Originally from New Zealand, Dilby is taking the world by storm with his unique take on underground music.

Crafted from a classic house and techno palette but presented with a fresh modern twist. His sound is rich, warm and musical, but aimed squarely at the dance floor.

His music is a mainstay at the top of the charts on Beatport, where he is amongst the highest selling artists in Deep House thanks in part to his No.1 smash hit ‘Remember Me’.

4

In 2022 Beatport named Dilby No.3 in the top trending artists in House (inc. House, Deep House, Tech House, Afro House). He has achieved several genre-specific top 10’s on iTunes and racked up millions of streams on Spotify.

Dilby’s passion and talent for electronic music is evident in the creative and innovative sound coming from his studio. A sound that sees him featured on some of the scene’s most iconic and respected labels and as an in-demand remixer, having worked his magic for artists including Mihai Popoviciu, Oliver Schories, Collective Machine, Tom & Collins amongst others.

4

A firm favourite amongst tastemaker DJ’s his music is regularly championed by a diverse range of top-tier artists from Hot Since 82 to Diplo, Mark Knight to Nicole Moudaber, who proclaimed his single Tomahawk to be one her most played tracks of the year.

After making the move to Berlin in 2012 he quickly rose through the ranks to become a regular favourite in the house and techno mecca’s top clubs and festivals. In recent years Dilby’s global recognition has seen him develop an in-demand DJ schedule, touring across Europe, Russia, South and Central America and Australasia.

We caught up with Dilby to talk to him about his career to date, plus he recorded an exclusive mix for us and talks us through his approach to recording it in the interview. Listen to his exclusive mix for The Night Bazaar Sessions HERE and read our interview with him below.

Can you tell us a bit about your start in electronic music. What came first, DJing or producing?

I started DJing in 2000 after getting the bug from attending local raves in my teens. I messed around with production here and there but it wasn’t until around 2009 that I started taking it more seriously and actually dedicating a bit of time and effort to start to learn the craft properly.

How long did it take before you started to make satisfying progress with your career?

Read Related Also: Alec Baldwin gets into heated confrontation with anti-Israel protesters in NYC: ‘Shut the f–k up’

This is a tough one to be honest. I am very driven and big on setting goals, but on the flip side it can be difficult to actually take the time to stop and smell the roses. I probably should take more time to appreciate different achievements when they happen. But speaking generally, there was a time around 2019 where I made a conscious decision to focus on writing music for myself rather than trying to make music for a label or following any hype or trends. Once I made this shift people started to resonate more with what I was doing and I started working with the labels and artists I really connect with.

I first came across your music through your remixes. You have produced some amazing versions of tracks by a myriad of amazing producers. Which ones stand out for you the most?

Thanks, that’s really cool to hear! I really enjoy the process of remixing and love to try and find my own way to interpret the original material. I have been super lucky to be invited to remix some of my favourite artists like Mihai Popoviciu, Oliver Schories and Collective Machine, but I think my favourite remix I have done was Hoten’s track Mana on 43 Degrees. It works every time I play it and was hammered by some big DJ’s like Joris Voorn, Eelke Kleijn and Chus to name a few. I’ve played it in almost every set since I finished the remix and it works every time!

How did moving from New Zealand to Berlin affect your career?

It changed everything to be honest. It allowed me to transition to working full time for music and make it a career instead of a hobby. It wasn’t always easy, but being in Europe presented a lot of opportunities to make contacts and immerse myself in the industry. New Zealand is a beautiful country but it’s very small and isolated. New Zealand’s population is only slightly more than that of Berlin, let alone Europe, so there are a lot more opportunities here. That said, there are some really cool things happening in New Zealand, like my buddy Logan Baker’s amazing boutique festival Shipwrecked. It’s small but absolutely world class, I can’t wait to be back there!

4

What releases have you got coming up that you are excited about and can tell us about? I heard you are taking a break from performing to concentrate on your studio work currently?

I just had my debut on Steve Bug’s legendary label Poker Flat Recordings which is a very proud moment! I have an EP that just dropped on Ohral and an EP with Klaus:elle, my friends from Switzerland in January. There is some very exciting stuff that’s still under wraps, watch this space. And as you mentioned, I’m currently taking some time off touring to wrap up a bunch of originals and remixes for next year. But I’ll be back on the road by the end of January with tours in Australia / NZ, Mexico and South America.

4

Can you tell us about your Deep House Masterclass on Fader pro. It’s great to see you giving back and sharing your knowledge and expertise with up and coming artists.

It’s really exciting to be working with Fader Pro. They’re pretty much the biggest brand in thisspace so it was quite an honour when they approached me a bout working together. It was a really fun process putting the course together and the feedback has been awesome. It feels so satisfying getting messages from people telling me how much it helped them with their production. I also have a youtube channel HERE where I regularly post production content, but I definitely plan to do more of these long form courses in the future. Watch this space!

You have recorded a mix for our sessions on The Night Bazaar. What can we expect?

I think it’s a good representation of me musically with a diverse cross section of house music ranging from deeper to more driving. Of course there are plenty of my own new and unreleased bits in there too!