Artist Spotlight | DEVI

Get to know rising star DEVI in this week’s Artist Spotlight!

If you love the deeper side of house music, you should definitely be keeping an ear out for rising artist DEVI! Originally making waves with his unofficial remix of Calvin Harris’ massive tune “Bounce”, he has ascended ever since. Generating millions of plays, DEVI has gone on to rework tracks from big names like Drake to put his original twist and give them a solid electronic sound. Known for the soulful productions that center around vocals, he has generated support from the likes of Oliver Heldens, Danny Howard, and the legendary MK too. Additionally, DEVI doubles as a tastemaker who digs deep into the depths of the music scene to find quality tunes for his monthly playlists and mixes. Whether you listen to his divine remixes or quality original pieces, it is clear that DEVI is here and ready for the spotlight, check out his exclusive guest mix below and read on for our chat with him!

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 055 || DEVI on Mixcloud:

Congrats on your latest release “Next To Me”! What has the reception been from fans and other artists so far?

Thank you so much! The reception has been good. As ‘Next To Me’ is a vocal version of an older track of mine called ‘Poundcake’ I expected some mixed feedback. My old fans were expecting a brand new track but they needn’t worry – there’s plenty of original music due this year… I think the new fans and the DJs received it well so I’m happy with that.

Did you build the track with Y.A.S.’s vocals in mind? What was the production flow like on the track?

Like I said, ‘Next To Me’ is a vocal version of ‘Poundcake’. So all we needed to do is find the right vocal. The process took a while but when I heard Y.A.S’ take on it, I immediately knew that it’s the one that works and went into the studio!

https://soundcloud.com/deviofficial/sets/devi-feat-y-a-s-next-to-me

You’ve become well known not just for your original tracks, but your remixes too. Is there something specific you look for in a track to select it for a remix treatment?

Thank you, The only thing I look for is the vocal obviously, it has to fit the DEVI sound and vibe and when I hear it I know straight from the start, it’s quite a natural process. I would never remix something I don’t think fits my sound. I almost treat the remixes like an original track, I rarely use bits from the original instrumental and just make a new song from scratch.

Having already gained serious support from the likes of Oliver Heldens, Firebeatz, and Chuckie with your beats, is there a dream artist you’d like to go b2b with?

Yeah, it’s crazy to see all these huge DJ’s playing my tracks! Oliver Heldens was a big inspiration to me so I’m going to have to pick Oliver as a dream b2b. Also, I want to learn how to shuffle. *laughs*

Every month you put out a playlist of your favorite tunes, what’s your process in finding these? Is it just through promos or actually digging deep on SoundCloud?

I’ve been on SoundCloud since I started producing so I’ve become addicted to digging deep and looking for new stuff, so yeah the majority of the tracks that are on my playlists are from me just finding new stuff every month.

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As a younger artist in the scene, what do you feel has been the hardest feat to overcome?

I think the hardest thing for me lately is understanding that the music industry isn’t just about lying in your bed with a laptop every now and then and just posting stuff in SoundCloud. I’m starting to do writing sessions which is a whole new world to me. Thinking of it as a career means having discipline!

When you aren’t producing or playing music, what do you do in your downtime?

Whenever I’m not producing or not doing anything music related I’m either spending time with friends, binge watching tv series or playing video games.

What are your goals for this year?

My goal for this year is to keep my fan base (aka my fam) growing and getting more interactive with them, It’s something I haven’t been doing for years and they deserve it. And yeah just make the best music I can that I’m happy with and my fans are happy with. Just looking forward to start touring and seeing them face to face. And of course making my family proud!