Less Is More with Lost Frequencies: Music That Makes You Feel Good [Interview]

By now, Lost Frequencies has become a household name in the world of dance. With his festive and show-stopping live appearances, to the absolute magic of sound he continues to create in the studio, Felix De Laet has engraved his place as one of the most feel-good, endeared, and rhythmic names in the game right now.

It’s safe to say Lost Frequencies gained a fanbase quite rapidly with music that is fitting for just about any occasion…literally. From globally renowned festivals to his own North American Tour, to the living rooms of millions of fans, Lost Frequencies’ strength and power thrive off of his natural ability to produce music that can be enjoyed by all ages, from all corners of the world. From the motherland of festivals, Tomorrowland, to numerous other enormous crowds at EDC Las Vegas, Untold, Together, Creamfields, ADE, Coachella, and more, this is still only the beginning chapter for this young champ.

The Belgian superstar has seamlessly permeated the barriers of the scene, establishing himself and his name as that of its own sound, apart from the rest. In 2014 De Laet released his first single after signing with esteemed Dutch label Armada Music – “Are You With Me,” which remains the fan-favorite track to date, as it is the perfect demonstration of the feel-good vibe Lost Frequencies gives off. A forever classic jam, “Are You With Me” is his upbeat take on a sample from American country singer Easton Corbin’s identically titled song. Hitting peak positions on global dance charts that spanned several months, this track was an immediate hit and an undeniable crowd-pleaser.

2016 saw the release of De Laet’s debut studio album Less Is More, which boasts hit single “Beautiful Life” featuring Sandro Cavazza, as well as smash collaboration “Reality” with Janieck Devy, “All or Nothing” featuring Axel Ehnström, “What Is Love 2016” – his revival of the old-school classic, and of course his chart-topping staple “Are You With Me.” The title humbly describes the sound of the album – less is more. Typical of De Laet’s style, it is home to tracks of his signature sound while also exploring new and different avenues. “Are You With Me,” “Reality,” and ‘Beautiful Life” alone have gathered major worldwide recognition, landing Lost Frequencies with gold, platinum, and double platinum awards in dozens of countries. With over half a billion streams on Spotify and #1 spots on the world’s most renowned charts, including the UK Singles Chart, what’s next for the young and ambitious producer?

Still in the early stages of his ascending career, Felix De Laet has many milestones still to look forward to and bundles of music yet to be made. There’s no telling where his already wildly successful career will take him, however we know it will be somewhere to continue bringing happiness in the form of his art to his ever-growing fan base.

Listen to his recent “Crazy” collaboration with Zonderling:

To officially kick off 2018’s festival season, we celebrated in Miami during Music Week with Lost Frequencies before he hit the decks at SiriusXM’s House of Chill. Catch up below on his eventful week full of pool parties & friends, fun-loving music, and of course, Coronas!

The Nocturnal Times Q&A with Lost Frequencies:

The Nocturnal Times: We’ve returned once again to commence another Miami Music Week, this year during Ultra’s special 20th Anniversary. How does it feel being in Miami today?

Lost Frequencies: I love to be in Miami because for example when I walk here in the streets, I see so many people, so many friends and producers everywhere – so it’s really fun to be here and to see everybody.

The Nocturnal Times: Let’s talk a bit about your plans for the week. Yesterday you played the DJ Mag Sessions party – how was it?

Lost Frequencies: It was really fun! It was really funny because everybody was playing more techy music the whole afternoon, and I was the first one who wasn’t going to play any kind of tech, and so I played my stuff but everybody was happy with the music, so I was happy.

The Nocturnal Times: In that case, how do you react when you’re playing for a crowd and maybe they don’t receive the music as well as you’d hoped? How do you adapt in that moment?

Lost Frequencies: Well I have a few tracks and I see what they prefer in the track, and from there I can go on and see what I will do onward.

The Nocturnal Times: Jumping back to this week’s appearances, earlier today you were at Nexus Radio’s Nexus Lounge. What can you tell us about the afternoon?

Lost Frequencies: That was also fun! That was such a small set – 30 minutes. It was nice, and here also (SiriusXM) 30 minutes, so I’m drinking my Corona!

The Nocturnal Times: What does the rest of your time in Miami look like?

Lost Frequencies: Tomorrow I have my Lost Frequencies & Friends party with Robin Schulz, HI-LO, Dada Life, Zonderling…I’m really excited because it’s going to be at the Delano – I love it there so I’m really happy to be playing. The whole vibe is going to be very feel-good and I think we will have a very good time.

The Nocturnal Times: Are you still finding time to go watch your friends play some shows this week?

Lost Frequencies: Not really actually, because I have a show every day. I at least see my friends playing where I am, but I’m not really going to see them because it’s also always a hassle to travel around.

The Nocturnal Times: After MMW wraps up, what are you most looking forward to in the coming months?

Lost Frequencies: I am really excited because I am working on a whole live thing right now, between not one single DJ, but a few on stage – one drummer, I’m on the keys, another guy on the keyboards, also on the guitar, so I’m really excited to work on that because I feel like it’ll be big and I can do a show and then do a whole tour with that.

The Nocturnal Times: You consistently put out very “vibey,” feel-good tunes. How have you developed that sound over the years since you’ve been producing?

Lost Frequencies: I don’t know, at some point I just wanted to produce music that gives me a really good feeling and really good vibes, that if you listen to and you close your eyes you really enjoy, and that’s what happened, so I started to make my music better and better and I started working with singers and other guys, and at the end I am very happy with how things are going now.

The Nocturnal Times: Did you come from a point where you used to be just a kid on the other side of the crowd? A superfan?

Lost Frequencies: Oh yeah! I was a really big, big fan of Dada Life, and I’ve been to their shows and I love it so much. Their album was the first album I’ve bought – I was a really big fan, and to have them in my lineup here tomorrow, I’m really excited!

Nocturnal Times: How does it feel to be at the point where you are working with and playing shows beside these artists that you’ve admired for so long?

Lost Frequencies: It’s awesome – I was on a whole tour with Don Diablo, who I was also a big fan of, and to meet the guy and be able to tour with him for a whole month was really amazing because he’s also a really nice guy.

The Nocturnal Times: Diving a bit further into your music, can you tell us a little bit about your Lost Radio Show?

Lost Frequencies: So I have the Lost Radio Show in Belgium, and we try to send you some videos every month. Mostly we have two radios in Belgium – in the French part and the Dutch part. In the radio show I have like a Lost Radio classics, where I push one track more than the others, and I basically just put music that I like. It doesn’t have a really specific kind, because sometimes I have a track that really is not my style of music but I just put it in because it is music that I like.

The Nocturnal Times: Switching over to touring a bit, if you take a look back on the extensive list of crowds and shows you’ve played in the past, can you think of one or a couple that stick out in your head as unforgettable?

Lost Frequencies: Yeah, there was one – I was at a festival and I was playing before Skrillex, in Montenegro in Europe, and I was really scared because I thought it was like, a whole drum and bass festival, so I was really scared and was like “what am I doing here?” It has nothing to do with what I’m going to play, and then I was thinking that everybody in the crowd was going to be like bassheads and they are going to think my set is really weak, and so I arrived and I played for one hour straight and it was completely fire. It was amazing! I was so scared, and the fact that I was so scared made it so much more amazing.

The Nocturnal Times: This seems to happen more often than you’d think, where sets that go somewhat different than you’d expect end up being some of the best and most memorable.

Lost Frequencies: Yes, so, for example, Tomorrowland, you expect a lot, so when you arrive and there is a lot, it’s what you expected. But when you arrive and you’re like, “oh this is going to be bad,” and then it’s really amazing then you’re like woah this was REALLY cool.

The Nocturnal Times: If you take a look back, are there any collaborations or tracks that you’ve listened to that are particular favorites to jam to?

Lost Frequencies: I love the whole Flume album – the last one I think is really good but the one before it I was really a big fan of. “Insane” from his album is probably one of my favorite tracks ever.

The Nocturnal Times: Tough question, but if you had to decide on your top few tracks or artists ever, what/who would they be?

Lost Frequencies: It is really hard! I would go for Bob Marley, one from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and one Flume track. I also really love to listen to Indie Rock, just guitars and guys singing – I really like that.

The Nocturnal Times: Name one track you’re currently jamming most to.

Lost Frequencies: Kaleo – “Way Down We Go” is a really nice track – really cool music.

Nocturnal Times: Stepping back to look at 2018 as a whole, what else can we expect from you?

Lost Frequencies: I’m going to release hopefully a small album in September/October, because I had one single like one/two months ago, and I’m going to release one single next month, and I think I am going to make a small album with the two tracks on it and push it so I am really excited. It’s really exciting to see how people react because there are my two last singles – my previous single was with Zonderling who are Dutch producers, and that was another sound from what I usually do. My other one before was with Netsky, which is also a completely other producer and the sound was completely different from what I usually do, but people really like it and I was really happy to do something different that people still enjoy.

Featured photos via Lost Frequencies’ Facebook and Nexus Radio FM