When you think of dance music, certain countries come to mind – England, Germany, Italy, Sweden – but what about Estonia? The former Soviet Union nation has spawned N-Euro, a spikey hair popstar whose infectious ditty "Love on the Line" is making waves with a catchy refrain that gets etched in your head after the first listen. With a racy music video and dynamic live performances, watch for N-Euro to start a love revolution.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: How was the Winter Music Conference for you?
N-Euro: It was actually terrific because we made so many new friends
and new contacts. I was amazed because of the dance music community
and family; it was great.
RS: Was this your first time in the U.S.?
N-Euro: No, actually I was in the U.S. last year, in Austin, Texas.
And I have been in LA a couple of times also.
RS: What's the dance music scene like in Estonia?
N-Euro: It's like Estonian, it's like European. We have some
excellent DJs from Estonia, but we have also all these artists from
all over Europe - Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, etc.
RS: Is it more of a commercial scene or more of an underground
scene there?
N-Euro: Actually both. And I think this underground stuff is also
quite well developed in Estonia. We have some really good DJs, but
probably nobody knows about them in the U.S.
RS: Coming from the Soviet Union, is there a different background
to the dance music vocabulary than say the standard European
countries?
N-Euro: Yes, I guess because actually we didn't have freedom for over
fifty years, so obviously it's a totally different background than you
have in the U.S. But we developed quite quickly and now it's quite the
same as in the U.S., we have the same big names.
RS: The video for "Lover On The Line" is kind of hot. Where did
the idea for that come from?
N-Euro: From my head, from my head. Because actually this song is so
simple, so we needed a relevant video, and so it has lots of beautiful
girls and one strange guy with spiky hair.
RS: Which would be you?
N-Euro: Yes.
RS: Talking about the spiky hair, how long does that take to do each day?
N-Euro: It usually takes like seven/eight hours. I am doing this in
the nighttime, because it's really hard work, actually. My concerts
usually start when I'm doing my hair.
RS: What was the inspiration for the hair?
N-Euro: Freedom, liberty, love.
RS: So it is based on the Statue of Liberty?
N-Euro: Kind of, but it wasn't like the main idea. It came out later.
I just started to do a spike, to look a bit different than other dance
music artists, because usually dance music artists have a really
common image. But I'm a bit strange, that's why the spike. I think all
artists need their own image, and they all must be a bit different
than others, the image or songs or whatever. Even "Lover On The Line"
is probably a bit different than other europop songs. And obviously
it's totally different than dance music in the U.S.
