Nick van de Wall, also known as Afrojack, is a producer from the Netherlands. He has worked on many EDM genres, beginning in the noughties with minimalist and stripped-down genres. In the 2010s, he has specialized in maximalist genres, and the creation of Moombatton has been partially attributed to him. More recently, Afrojack has worked on including more pop influences through his experimentation with other genres.
Nick van de Wall became musical very early in life. Afrojack played his first piano at just five. He quickly became interested in making his music after discovering the iconic music-making program, Fruit Loops. His DJ career began when he found Rotterdam’s dance music scene, which inspired the producer to start mixing.
After five months playing DJ sets across the Mediterranian, he won his first record deal with Digidance, allowing Afrojack to produce his first professional track. The chaotic techno of ‘In Your Face’ reflected an iconic noughties dance scene and showed the world what was to come.
In 2007, Afrojack started his label, allowing the producer to sign artists and release music independently. For example, Afrojack used wall Recordings to release the iconic club banger ‘Drop Down (Do My Dance).’ As a result, Afrojack’s label has become one of the world’s biggest EDM labels having featured artists such as David Guetta, Steve Aoki, and Laidback Luke.
Following the success of his early releases, opportunities began to fly at Afrojack. He performed to adoring fans at Tomorrowland and Sensation, where he indeed attracted the industry’s attention. The producer was quickly asked to collaborate with David Guetta on the album One Love. Afrojack’s momentum could not be stopped, and by 2010 he had achieved his first UK top 40. ‘Take Over Control’ was an influential electro-pop hit that sounds more like an EDM track released in 2021 than in 2010.
2010 also brought the world Afrojack’s first studio album. Lost and Found was a minimalist dance album featuring some of Afrojack’s finest unreleased work. It essentially deals in techno tracks with a touch of the psychedelic. Lost and Found is well worth a listen if you miss the late noughties’ dance scene.
In 2012, Afrojack achieved global success for the first time. He signed a deal to have tracks released worldwide with Universal and Island. The result was his first move into the international charts with his single ‘As Your Friend.’ The track features robotic vocals from Chris Brown, which lit up the clubs of Ibiza and Ayia Napa for years.
Afrojack continued to work on new music, and he released the singles’ The Spark’ and ‘Ten Feet Tall.’ Fans soon learned the reason for this foray into new music when the producer announced his upcoming album: Forget the World. On this album, the producer told his fans to follow their hearts and not let other people get in the way. As a result, the album was a huge success and featured the likes of Snoop Dogg and Wizz Khalifa.
Over the following years, Afrojack continued to release music at an impressive rate as he gradually moved towards maximalism and hip hop and R&B. This adaptation led to the 2018 release of his album Press Play. Press Play features some impressive production, and it sounds massive.
Since 2018, Afrojack has continued to collaborate with a vast array of artists to make incredible tracks. Although he has not teased or released any more albums, his work has earned him 8th, 9th, and 7th in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs award over the past three years. So keep an eye on his social media or listen to Nexus Radio to stay up-to-date with his latest releases.
