The Nocturnal Times Exclusive Interview: NERVO

Mim and Olivia Nervo started out as songwriters before becoming internationally-acclaimed DJs

Nervo, hailing from Australia, has been songwriting and producing for more than a decade. Sisters Mim and Olivia Nervo recently took the #44 spot on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll this year, played at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and played a Breast Cancer Awareness event at Lavo NY.

Getting their start in 2005, the girls are responsible for writing material for Miley Cyrus, David Guetta, The Pussycat Dolls, Kesha, Armin van Buuren, Kylie Minogue, Avicii, Winter Gordon, and more. Nervo has been called upon for remixing duties by Kay Perry (“California Gurls”), Beyonce (“Grown Woman”), Cyndi Lauper (“Time After Time”), and Cobra Starship (“Hot Mess”), among others.

When it comes to their own productions, the ladies have created dozens of memorable tunes, including “Reason” with Hook N Sling, “Hold On,” “Like Home” with Nicky Romero, “The Way We See The World” with Afrojack and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, “You’re Gonna Love Again,” and “Lightning Strikes” with Steve Aoki and Tony Junior. This year, Nervo released singles “Bulletproof” ft. Harrison Miya, “Let It Go” ft. Nicky Romero, “Did We Forget” ft. Amba Shepherd, “People Grinnin’” ft. The Child Of Lov, and “Anywhere You Go” ft. Timmy Trumpet.

In 2015, Nervo released their debut studio album, Collateral, which hit the #1 spot on iTunes, and included collaborations with Dev, Au Revoir Simone, Nile Rodgers, and more. Whether traveling the world as sought-after DJs, or playing some of the world’s biggest festival main stages (Tomorrowland, Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival, Creamfields), Nervo shares some of their recent experiences with us in this Nocturnal Times exclusive.

Read The Nocturnal Times exclusive interview with Nervo:

The Nocturnal Times: Did your upbringing influence your decision to pursue music and did you always know you wanted to work together?

NERVO: We have always had a passion for music and it was solidified at an early age when we learned to play the piano. From teenagers onwards though we started going to music festivals seeing the performers play was a great inspiration as well.  We will never forget seeing prodigy live and deciding right there that we wanted to be part of this.  Working together was a natural move for us as we have similar tastes, love to be together and are each other’s biggest supporters.

The Nocturnal Times: At what point did you realize you wanted to make the shift over from songwriters and producers to singers and producers of your own material?

NERVO: Well, we got our big break as songwriters and after our song for David Guetta and Kelly Rowland on “When Love Takes Over” won a Grammy, and we needed other challenges. Plus we had so many ideas and a lot of music on our hard drive so it just made sense to put it out ourselves, as NERVO.

The Nocturnal Times: Can you recall the first track you recorded together that you wrote and/or provided vocals on that was released (or not released)?

NERVO: Yes, it was a really bad tune we made in Melbourne, Australia. We wrote it in our bedroom. We thought it was the best thing ever and burned so many copies of it and gave it to all our friends to play in the CD players. I can’t remember the name, but I remember it sounded like a Gloria Estefan record. LOL!

The Nocturnal Times: NERVO played a show at Lavo NY on Thurs., Oct. 27th for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What can you share about your experience playing Lavo and how was this show different for you?

NERVO: LAVO is always a great show for us.  We love the people there and the promoters are always great to us.  Being able to push Breast cancer Awareness Month and help give a portion of the preoceeds back to charity always hits a special place in our hearts.  We raised over 115K for #DrinkPink, Electric Family and #TittiesTittiesYEAH

The Nocturnal Times: In addition to the show for Breast Cancer Awareness, you’re also selling NERVO Electric Family bracelets. All proceeds from the sale of these bracelets go to breast cancer research. How and why did you come up with this fantastic and charitable concept?

NERVO: We are always looking for unique ways to give back to Cancer research and we felt this was something tangible that the fans would like and be able to take home while at the same time helps a great cause.  Every time you see this on someone’s wrist you know they helped beat Cancer. We choose breast cancer because our mum was diagnosed a few years back. Thankfully she is in remission now so we are all very grateful for the research and support that is out there.

The Nocturnal Times: Amsterdam Dance Event recently wrapped up in Holland. What can you share about your experience this year?

NERVO: This is always a great event and we played some amazing shows, launched a new label, and were so excited to be voted the world’s top female DJ’s again!  Thank you!

The Nocturnal Times: During ADE, it was revealed that you partnered with Armada Music on your very owl label. What can you share with The Nocturnal Times readers about how this came together?

NERVO: Well we have worked with Armada in the past and always had a great relationship with them so to be able to partner with them on a label and be able to release other artist’s music along with our own is a great opportunity.  To be able to discover new artists and push all types of music to our fans (and hopefully new people) is something we are really looking forward to!

The Nocturnal Times: What are some of your goals for NERVO now that you’ve joined forces with such a reputable label such as Armada Music?

NERVO: We have always been fans of all genres of music and although we release more of a pop product for our releases this gives us the opportunity to release all genres of music underneath and showcase some other artist’s talents that you may not know we work with or even listen to.

The Nocturnal Times: Before kicking off your DJ career, you produced and/or wrote hit singles for numerous pop stars such as Miley Cyrus, Pussycat Dolls, Afrojack, Kylie Minogue, Ke$ha, David Guetta, and many more. Which of your previous production/songwriting projects stand out most to you and why?

NERVO: We enjoyed working with every single one of those artists. All of them shaped us and helped us get to where we are today. Many are still great friends too and hopefully we will be doing more with them in the future 🙂

The Nocturnal Times: You’ve had the opportunity to travel the globe as acclaimed DJs and producers. Playing countless festivals and nightclub gigs, what have been some of your wildest and craziest experiences on the road that you can recall thus far?

NERVO: Tomorrowland Brazil has definitely been a highlight. And our NERVONation parties around the world (Ibiza, Miami) are always great fun too. We are really looking forward to Lollapalooza in 2017, they have such great line up and I think we are playing six festivals with them!

The Nocturnal Times: Do any of the cities you’ve played stand out most to you and why? Which do you always look forward to returning to? Are there any cities or countries you haven’t played yet that you hope to one day?

NERVO: We always love going back to Ibiza every year and had an amazing year this year at Ushuaia. We also really love going back to Mykonos every year!

The Nocturnal Times: Who would you say is your dream collaboration?

NERVO: Justin Bieber 😉 And Imogen Heap, and Eminem and Lauren Hill and so many others. The list basically never ends.

The Nocturnal Times: Where do you hope to be five years from now?

NERVO: We hope to be making music that inspires us.

For more on EDM and trance releases on the label, visit the recently relaunched Armada Music website.

For more information, visit nervomusic.com. Keep up with the latest NERVO news by following them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.