In the midst of Amsterdam Dance Event madness, we got a chance to sit down with Tony Junior who spoke about his music, relationship, and more. This Dutch DJ/producer, who’s well known for his party vibes and music, talks about his efforts to move away from the crazy lifestyle. Previously nicknamed “the booty monster,” Tony opened up about how his relationship with famous Dutch singer/actress Maan has changed his perspective.
Can you talk about your new music and things you have in the works?
I just signed two records on Smash the House. That’s pretty bada**. And it’s a platform I never released on,. It feels very cool to be part of the Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike family, you know? They’re crazy guys. I’m a crazy guy, so I think it’s a good fit.
Are you trying to create music with the party vibes all the time?
Yeah, but I actually released some softer tracks in the last months. A couple of weeks ago I released some about my grandfather. It’s a very emotional song. It just came out one week ago, but now it’s time to bring the club vibes.
Do you get any pushback with your normal fan base?
Yeah, a lot of reactions are like where’s the old Tony Junior? But to be honest this song is pretty bada**. You know? So they definitely dig it. But, I will make them happy soon. I think for Tony Junior it’s going to be back to the club festival music. We had two years that every DJ thought he could have hits on the radio and Spotify. You know what I mean? And now because everyone did it and it’s not that easy. Everyone’s like “uh oh, what should I do now,” and now I think everyone will go back to his roots or do a new thing, but for me it’s everyone is saying yeah you should do like the hard stuff you did before. And that’s the main path and on the side I can do whatever I want.
How many releases do you aim to do in like a month or a couple months?
It’s whatever I feel. Just sometimes it’s like five a year. Sometimes ten, but I’m definitely aiming for at least six club tracks this year and two or three let’s call it the “commercial ones.” I also like to do some bootlegs in between. Not for release, but I can send them around to other DJs, my friends, and after two or three months give it away for free or whatever. Sometimes it can get a release, because one of my latest bootlegs Chase the Sun was fully supported by Tiesto, and he was like I want to f***ing sign it, but we couldn’t get the publishing…
What is like the craziest thing that’s happened in your career?
No, you know at this moment I have a girlfriend. I’m super happy with her, and what’s in the past is in the past. I had crazy stuff. Trust me. But Tony Junior two years ago, he was single, he did whatever the f*** he wants, he showed booties on Instagram, whatever. And girls were like “booty monster”. I had a lot of fun when I was younger, but now I’m like super happy with my girlfriend. I found what loving someone is and it’s so much more meaningful than lust. I found someone that’s amazing. She’s a singer as well. She’s very famous in Holland and we connect so good, so I’d rather say that.
In Holland, I was on television. I just did a big television show as well, and there’s a lot of s*** out there. I kind of changed my image to not like a nice guy or a different guy, but away from the booty monster. I’m super happy in my relationship right now because she was like, she’s like, she won the Voice of Holland in 2016, and she’s one of the only ones that’s still super f***ing big here. And that was a pretty big thing, so management wise, we had to, I was very booty-monsterish, and she’s like a nice girl. Like all the guys want to have her. So I kind of had to, I wanted to change my image with girls. It’s more of a grown up thing, so that’s why I don’t answer the crazy questions.
Are there any fears that you have, like performing?
Every f***’ing show. I have to throw up always. That’s why I drink. I only drink when I do shows, so I never drink during the week. I don’t do drugs. I never did drugs, so, but I’m always nervous, so I take one or two vodkas, and I’m, it makes me more comfortable. When I hit the stage, it’s good. It doesn’t matter if it’s two hundred people or twenty thousand, I’m always scared. But it keeps me focused.
Where is your favorite place to perform?
Holland, because I can sleep in my own bed haha. No, it’s whatever. I cannot say specifically this country because then all the other countries would be like… No, but like, you have some very cool places. You’ve got the Guava Beach Bar, you’ve got the other one on Cypress. Yeah, but if I had to choose between festival or club, I’d go for club.
When you tour, is it a lot of pressure for you? Or do you enjoy it?
I have a severe homesickness, so I don’t tour for like a month, because I would f***ing die. I hate it. And so my maximum is like 10 days and then I go back. But I try to eat healthy, I sometimes I try to sport, never go, but I try to sometimes. And you know it’s, I just, when I was young I always was a weird kid. I never slept and I slept for four hours and then I went to school and I was super young, and my mom didn’t get me into bed. She was like alright, do whatever. So I’m used to weird ways of sleep.
If you were to collaborate with one person right now who would it be? EDM and Non-EDM
Kyle Harris in, Out Dave Grohl.
Stream ‘Better Part Of Me’ below
