The unstoppable – Orjan Nilsen

He’s in it for the love of music. For the fun, the smiles and the shared passion. Flying all over the world from the upper north of Norway, the gifted DJ and producer keeps discovering new challenges and ways of reading the crowd. He may not have won that IDMA for ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’, but his debut album ‘In My Opinion’ left an inerasable impression along the way. Just released and continuing to rock the global crowds, is his collab ‘Belter’ with Armin van Buuren. And there’s plenty more goodies on the way. This week’s Artist of the Week, is Ørjan Nilsen.

Hey Orjan! What’s up? Recovered from what surely was a heavy weekend of partying?Orjan:”Hi there! ah yes, right now just chilling back home with my lovely little daughter! So I’m fully recovered and ready for the next gig!”

You played at A State of Trance 550 in Den Bosch to a 10.000+ strong crowd. Sweaty hands before you started? Played everything you wanted to play?Orjan:”Have to admit, I was a bit nervous an hour before I started to play, but when it was like 15-20 minutes before it was my turn? I just wanted to start my set!! And yes, more or less, you always find yourself wanting to play more with just a 1:15 hour set!”

This week, we’ve named you our Artist of the Week, to celebrate the release of ‘Belter’! Now, collaborating with Armin van Buuren…how many times did you need to pinch yourself?Orjan:”Haha, have to admit I was over the moon when Armin asked if I wanted to do a collab with him, it has been a lifelong dream! And the best part was when we started sending stuff back and forth over skype, it didn’t take long before we had something really cool to work on!”

It sure is a belter of a tune though! Was it hard to make a combo of Armin’s & your sound? Or did it go naturally?Orjan:”Well that’s the thing, it went fast and natural, I think we both had a pretty good idea of what we wanted in the track, and we definitely wanted it to sound like both of us!! Who knows, maybe there’ll be another collab quite soon which doesn’t sound like either of us. ;)”

Next up, is the loud and big-room fuelled tune of ‘Amsterdam’. What sort of connection do you have with the city?
Orjan:”I LOVE Amsterdam and Holland in general, I’m always a little bit more pumped up when I know the final destination is Amsterdam! Now, I can’t take credit for the title though, that one goes to mr. Ruben de Ronde who actually named the tune after listening to it, so I can thank him for the track title!”

You’ve also mixed one of the 5 CD’s of the A State of Trance 550 compilation. What can we expect to hear?Orjan:”Some of my all time favorite tracks which should never be forgotten, some of my own ‘classics’ if you will and of course a couple of the recent tracks! I think it’s a good blend and I really enjoyed making it!”

Knowing you, you’ve got plenty more exciting stuff coming in these next few weeks. What’s coming up for Team Orjan to enjoy?Orjan:”Oh well quite a lot actually! Still developing my new radio show/podcast, new mix-compilation in the making, world tours and of COURSE maaany new tracks, which I hope my Team will enjoy!”

Summer is about to kick in and we can’t wait for the festival season to start! At which ones will we be able to catch you playing?
Orjan:”Many! Tomorrowland, Electronic Family, Global Gathering, Emporium +++ So there should be plenty of opportunities for people to get me see me somewhere around the globe this summer!”