DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s music festival Soundstorm will on Thursday get underway with a long list of international performers lined up to take to the stage, including Danish DJ Morten.
The music producer was set to delight fans in Riyadh on Dec. 18 at MDLBEAST’s long-awaited event and it will be the star’s first time performing in the Kingdom.
The 39-year-old told Arab News: “I have a lot of new music that I cannot wait to try out … I’m excited to feel the energy from the people there.
“I’m so happy to perform my music for the Saudi Arabian people. We make music for the people, and it’s very important for me that people all over the world get to hear my music,” he said.
Morten has taken the industry by storm over the past year with his new “Future Rave” project, started with friend and French DJ David Guetta.
“Me and David have actually been working on a song specially for this show the last few weeks. So, we are going to be premiering a new record that is very much inspired by the sounds of the Middle East. So, I’m excited to try this out,” he added.
The Arab world is no stranger to the star who, during his Arab News interview, spoke a few Arabic words he picked up years ago from Arab friends in Denmark.
The DJ also listens to some of the region’s most popular classic hits including Egyptian singer Amr Diab’s “Habibi Ya Nour El Ein” and Bahaa Sultan’s “Oum O’af.”
A few years ago, Morten made a record — which he released in Denmark — titled “Hamra,” which means red, and is also a district in Beirut. “It’s a very Middle Eastern-inspired record,” he said, adding that he would “love” to collaborate with DJs and singers from Saudi Arabia. “In the Middle East we use a different scale, music wise, and I love music from the Middle East.”
Morten began his career in Denmark at the age of 13. When he joined a youth club to do after-school activities, he met a DJ instructor from New York named Kim. “I started with him and right away was completely hooked. I thought it was the coolest thing,” he said.
“When I was 18, my mom helped me buy a DJ booth. I had it in my room when I lived with her, and all my friends would just hangout in my place all the time. I would just DJ for hours and hours every day,” he added.
The day Morten decided to take his passion seriously was when he was invited, by an acquaintance, to play music at a club. “There were like 1,800 people at the club; I didn’t know. But I killed it and after that I could call myself a DJ and it became a huge passion of mine.”
The music sensation has worked with numerous DJs including Steve Aoki and the late Swedish record producer Avicii, but the one artist Morten is looking to collaborate with is the Swedish singer and songwriter Robyn. “I really, really love her. My dream collaboration would be to work with her,” he said.
The DJ’s advice to Saudi Arabia’s up-and-coming talent was to, “follow their passion.”
He added: “I know it sounds cliche, but they have to make something that they love. With how the situation is in the world right now, a really good idea is to have a big online presence; to work hard on having people seeing you and hearing your music online is a big part of what we do today.”