Romanian DJ SICKOTOY joined us at our KEF pop-up studio at Nexus Lounge Amsterdam. The producer and DJ chatted about his love for ADE, his earliest memory of falling in love with music, and his latest release, ‘Bad Girls.’
Hailing from Romania, SICKOTOY (a.k.a Alex Cotoi) has developed a signature Balkan and Arabic-influenced sound that’s taken him around the globe. A Grammy-Award-winning composer and producer, he’s worked with the best of the best, including tastemakers like Pitbull, ALOK, and INNA. His latest project, ‘Bad Girls’, is a collaboration with INNA, ANTONIA, and Eva Timush. With such a powerhouse team, it’s no wonder the track is doing incredibly well domestically and on dance floors around the globe.
Sitting down with SICKOTOY, the DJ tells us he’s excited about ADE and its opportunity to make great connections as an international dance music hub. To get to know the DJ a little better, we asked him about the last time he fell in love with music. “It’d probably have been when I was ten years old,” he shares, “Nirvana’s album Smells Like Teen Spirit turned me on to music.”
When it comes to gear and quality of sound, SICKOTOY tells us that it doesn’t matter that much to him:
"It's a relative thing. The sound should be as close to the emotion you want to give with that sound. A dirty sound could be the right sound for something with dirty energy. I think you should treat every aspect of the song and sound like that, feeling-wise. These are just tools for you."
Before he heads out, we take the time to play a quick game of our Nexus Take-5 series. SICKOTOY tells us that the most ridiculous video he’s ever seen would be something by Marilyn Manson. If he could go back to any period, he’d choose the Renaissance: “All the great artists were in that period.” SICKOTOY adds that he’d love to learn Dutch next (“It’s like a mix between English and German”) and that his go-to junk food is McDonald’s. A man of taste.
To learn more about SICKOTOY, his latest track, “Bad Girls,” and his experience at ADE, check out our full-length and exclusive interview with this DJ below.
