With their sultry vocals and intoxicating energy, HOVR is rising through the ranks of dance music on their own terms.
Based in Berlin, HOVR has managed to captivate the hearts and ears of an ever-growing audience with their infectious melodies. From performing at college parties to one of Burning Man's most prestigious art cars, HOVR's story is one of love, dedication, and unbridled authenticity.
Still riding high on its first release of 2023, Do you want some acid?HOVR are taking a break from touring the Indonesian tropics, escaping the Berlin winter and working feverishly on their upcoming 2024 releases. Several of those records can be found on their new mix of melodic house and indie dance on YouTube.
We sat down with HOVR to talk about his meteoric rise over the past few years, his experience as a touring artist, ideas for emerging artists, and much more.
EDM.com: You recently shared your first release of 2024 with “Do You Want Some Acid?” and “My warrior.” Tell us about the story behind these songs and your process while making them.
HOVR: The songs on this EP vary greatly in style and meaning, but I appreciate their diversity on one record. It reflects my own tastes, which range between the energetic and playful, and the reflective and serene.
The acid song is a tribute to my favorite synthesizer, the TB-303, although the subtle double meaning makes it fun to listen to on a dance floor. There's enough serious music out there already.
“My Warrior” features Lemonella, a fellow South African-born DJ but also an incredible poet who wrote some incredibly powerful words that I accompanied with my instrumental. I interpret her voice as a statement about how dance and music can be a form of resistance against oppression. I'm happy that those two tracks have found a loving home on 3000 Grad, a great label, which also produces an amazing annual festival in Germany.
EDM.com: You started playing the piano when you were five years old. How did your journey with music progress over the years and when did you fall in love with listening to and producing dance music?
HOVR: Music has always been my foundation and my link to the world. I never intended to make it my career, preferring to keep it as a cherished hobby. I can easily say that making music has kept me afloat during my upbringing in the German countryside, which was shit at times. And yes, my piano education started very early, but I took a long break during puberty, which is one of the few I regret today. Fortunately, I changed instruments and focused on guitar, so I never stopped making music. After moving to Berlin 10 years ago to study, my university friend Max and I organized some free student parties at our university. Fun fact: we had MCR-T perform one of their first sets at two of those events. It is a joy to see it grow over the years.
Anyway, my first appearances as a DJ were opening sets at my own events. Someone discovered me there, booked me to play the 9am closing time at their nightclub (which I took ALL my friends to) and things took off pretty quickly from there. I produced music for 3 years before releasing my first song. For the past few years it has been my full-time job and I have never been happier, although it is definitely not the most stable career option.
It's not another shot
EDM.com: You've come a long way since your debut single “Ostsee” back in 2020. What's one of the most memorable moments of growth you've had since then?
HOVR: Many artists find it difficult to listen to their music from long ago, myself included. In fact, I haven't heard “Ostsee” in quite some time. Honestly, I don't love it anymore, mainly because I hear my lack of courage to sing properly and loudly into the microphone. I'm glad it's still there as a sign of progress.
A very memorable moment of growth that comes to mind was the winter of 2022, more specifically the weeks in which I released “My Voice” on Stil vor Talent. I saw dozens of videos on Instagram of DJs playing my song all over the world, which made me very happy. Some songs got hundreds of thousands of clicks on Spotify before, but they were geared more towards a listening audience than a dancing audience. Seeing a dance floor go crazy with the hits of your original production in a different way.
EDM.com: As a prolific touring artist, how do you deal with the stress and physical toll of constantly being on the road? What do you like most and least about touring?
HOVR: I haven't gotten to the point where dealing with jet lag is a regular part of my week. Most of my tours are focused on Europe and some longer tours on other continents, but despite that I can feel the effects regularly. After 70 shows in 2022, I decided to aim for a more modest 50 shows a year, which made last year much better for my mental health.
My Most and Least Favorites: I love the information the tours give you about local nightlife cultures. I have learned a lot about what nightclubs, raves and festivals can mean to various communities and this has given me great purpose. What I like least is that most weekends I'm not home. Many of my friends work when I have free time and vice versa. Maintaining a healthy social life and relationship at home can be difficult.
EDM.com: What was your experience performing at Burning Man like and how did it come about? Do you plan to return this year?
HOVR: Burning Man was definitely the biggest moment of my career so far. When I received the lucky invitation from a friend and fan in the US to experience and play at Burning Man, I couldn't believe it until I had the ticket in my hand. I played one of the biggest and most musically relevant art cars on the beach, Maxa, at dawn, right after Carlita, whose sets I adore, and opened the set with an original of mine. It was very emotional, but of course Burning Man was much more than that show.
The whole week was full of incredible experiences, new friendships, a “bad art tour” that I will never forget, inventing missions in the place for the people who had their morning coffee, crying profusely in the temple, dancing in the mud with my camp, being stuck indefinitely at camp due to rain, cheering at a reenactment of Mad Max's Thunderdome, watching Be Svendsen play on a carpet in front of a small audience, spontaneously hosting an Italo Disco dinner …I could go on forever. . But you get the point. It's crazy and I'm sure I'll be back.
See the original article for embedded media.
EDM.com: If you could share three ideas to guide smaller artists who might be looking up to you, what would they be?
HOVR: 1: Don't be fooled by toxic positivity. The amount of times I heard “follow your dreams” makes me sick. Success in the performing arts, and especially music, depends largely on the effect your work has on others. If the music you're making doesn't really seem to connect even after a while, the right choice may be to switch to another style, medium, or art form. I'm incredibly glad I left my slow-moving singer-songwriter career when I was 19, because he gave me the space I needed to explore electronic music a few years later, which a lot more people resonated with. Agility is key.
2: Finish the songs. Do not drown in drafts. Instead, learn your craft: I mean harmonies, frequencies, tools, etc. It's some preliminary work, but it's worth it. Whether you then decide on a global star career, sampling '90s trash on the best trance dancefloor hits out there (looking at you, DJ Daddy Trance) or creating your acoustic fingerprint by recording original samples, having a both intellectual and intuitive understanding of what it really is. What happens in the music you're making really helps. A great way to learn how to produce is to remake your favorites!
3: Build a network. I have a couple of dear producer friends in my bubble who I sent music back and forth with. Trust your ears, of course, but also trust the ears of others. And yes, a network is also important for getting bookings, but I recommend that you stay away from “I'll book you, you book me” offers, since what you want is to be booked for your music and nothing else, TRUE? Joining a team, building scenarios and friendships, co-producing tracks, that's the kind of networking I recommend.
EDM.com: What are your plans for 2024? Are you working on something interesting that you would like to share with us?
HOVR: I'm excited to be releasing a song on This Never Happened in May, which is the label of melodic house genius Lane 8. I've heard and played many of their releases and couldn't be more excited! Also, I have some good international summer dates in the works, including a couple of dates in Europe, with more to be announced.
HOVR CONTINUES:
Facebook: facebook.com/hovrmusic
Instagram: instagram.com/hovrmusic
Spotify: spoti.fi/3UTeNjj
thanks to our partners at edm.com
