Joining us at the AOC Bungalow in the Nexus Lounge during Miami Music Week 2024, Mesto spoke with Us about working with Martin Garrix, his experiences working internationally, and his major influences as a musician.
Melle Kiet Stomp – known to his fans as Mesto – is a young Dutch DJ who recently found significant success after collaborating with industry titan Martin Garrix on their single “WIEE.” Mesto has been a musician since the age of six, and he has always worked towards his dreams since he first started playing the violin. With his first official release at just 15 years old, it was clear that those dreams would soon become a reality, and now his music has made its way to thousands of fans worldwide.
While his career was already on the fast track to success, his recent work with Martin Garrix has definitely helped to broaden his audience. What many people don’t realize, however, is that his acquaintance with Garrix goes back further than you might think.
The two first met at school when Garrix played with Mesto’s sister in a band.
“She would sing there and I would just come to their shows to support in our neighborhood,” says Mesto. “And then later on, when I was fifteen we were both making music and he was already breaking through and we ran into each other at this club in our hometown. And apparently he heard one of my songs through mutual friends and he liked it.”
Aside from their collaboration, Mesto has also worked with Garrix less directly on several occasions through Garrix’s industry-leading label, STMPD RCRDS.
Despite finding success at such a young age, Mesto says he’s only recently acquired his visa to work in the US, which finally allowed him to play at Miami Music Week. The process took four months, but now he’s finally able to play shows in America and is happy to take advantage of that new opportunity.
As part of our Take5 series of fun and silly questions, we usually like to learn more about the musical influences behind an artist. In the case of Mesto, we were surprised to learn that he’s more influenced from outside the EDM genre than within, saying that he mostly listens to Indie bands along with “a certain type of emotion.”
If you’d like to learn more about Mesto, his experiences as a Dutch DJ, his production process, and his most embarrassing school moment, then why not check out the full, exclusive Nexus Radio interview? You can also follow his social media on Instagram for all the latest about his upcoming releases/concerts.
