Dutch DJ and producer Dannic had a great 2014—he was No. 30 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll, he performed on the main stage at Tomorrowland, and released his first vocal track, “Dear Life.” Early this year, Dannic spent a lot of his time in the studio, creating a remix of “Dark Warrior” for Andrew Rayel. In March he dropped “Mayday,” a collaboration with Lucky Date and Harrison, which mashes up genres — rock, booming house and huge drops—all on Hardwell’s label, Revealed Recordings. While the Netherlands native was made famous by his mash-up skills, Dannic’s production skills is now energizing his live sets from Ultra to EDC.

Hometown: Breda, Netherlands. “We’ve had a lot of figures in dance and  electronic music come from Breda including current No. 1 Hardwell, so we like to joke there is something in the water! It is still my home when I’m not on the road!”

Did growing up in Breda lead you to dance music?

I first discovered dance music from a young age, again coming back to Breda being my home before I started pursuing music as my career in 2009/2010 full time. I released my first track “Doster” as Dannic with Revealed Recordings in 2012. My most recent release, “Fonk,” was also on the imprint!

When did you know you wanted to make music for a living?

I was deejaying around bars and clubs locally playing everything from disco to electro before I refined my sound and took my own route. One of my earliest releases was actually a remix competition I won working on Funkerman’s “Automatic” track, which later got a release on Flamingo Recordings.

Where does the name Dannic come from?

It is a combination of my own name—Daan—and my sister’s name Nikki!

Who would you love to collaborate with? Whose tracks would you love to remix?

I’d love to collaborate with Fedde Le Grand—I also love Ariana Grande’s voice, she’s like a mini Mariah with a modern R&B edge.

Who are your musical inspirations?

I’m constantly inspired by my peers, meeting amazing talents such as Tom & Jame and working with my musical brother Hardwell throughout my career are just two in a long list.

Who are you listening to now?

When it comes to the speakers at home, I’m a fan of John Legend and Tiesto’s “Birthday Treatment” remix adds that dancefloor-friendly edge.

What's an integral track that makes up your set list?

I’ve recently been playing out Sick Individual’s ace mash-up of my track with Lucky Date & Harrison , “Mayday”—alongside Sebastien Ingrosso & Tommy Trash’s “Reload”—made for sending the crowds wild peak-time!

What's your favorite city in the world to play in?

There are far too many to mention in terms of favourites! It’s always a pleasure to play in far-flung places like Canada’s Montreal – New City Gas HAS to be one of my favourite venues, full of energy – but I recently played six shows in 24 hours for Kingsday (A national holiday) back home in the Netherlands, it was crazy! Like they say, there is no place like home!

Describe your musical style to someone who has never heard you before.

Positive vibes, big-room anthems and a whole lot of dancing when it comes to the live arena!

How do you like to spend your spare time when you're not producing?

Relaxing with family and friends and catching up on some serious sleep when I’m straight off the road!

If you were trapped on a desert island, what three things would you take with you?

My Sennheiser headphones (which would act as ear muffs if the desert island rescue would take a while!), A batch of Dannic merch (so I can make some SOS flags out of t-shirts!), and  some hagelslag to keep me going alongside my desert island diet. They’re traditional Dutch chocolate sprinkles. Who wouldn’t want chocolate when they’re stranded?