Exclusive Interview with ROBBE

Robbe collaborated with JOKA and Syzzix on a hardstyle cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,” which appeared on her 2011 album.

TikTok users began using the original song in dance videos of the Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) dance from the Netflix program “Wednesday” after the original song began to get a lot of traction.

Bloody Mary was released by the German record label Future House Cloud on January 27. Robbe and JOKA are collaborating daily on new hardstyle tunes for distribution on streaming services in the upcoming year.

Robbe is one of the most successful EDM musicians in Finland, with over a million people listening to his music each month. His music has been released by Warner, Sony, Bounce & Bass, Loudkult, and Magic Records, among other leading EDM companies. Check out the exclusive interview with him and his rendition of Bloody Mary below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

ROBBE: Everything started when my mum put me into music school from 1 to 9 years old, then in 2017 I started to DJ and produce music and I have been doing it ever since and loved every single second!

2. Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?

ROBBE: All the music production and DJing has been self-taught by watching YouTube videos, trial and error and years of working hard.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘ROBBE’?

ROBBE: Skrillex and DJ Snake have been my biggest influences. Skrillex, because Bangarang was the first EDM track that I listened to in 2012, and DJ Snake because of the variety of genres and sounds that he dabbles in his productions. Ever since I was young I have been called Robbe by my friends, my real name is Robin, so it came kind of naturally.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

ROBBE: I would say that my sound is always evolving and getting better by each track, but the key elements would emotional breaks with powerful drops!

5. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

ROBBE: I feel blessed by the amount of people listening to and enjoying my music, so I would say I’m very fulfilled!

6. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

ROBBE: Each track starts completely different, sometimes I get a track sent to me as a collab and I work on that, or hear a cool sound and build something around it, or even just by scrolling TikTok and hearing something cool and making something in the same genre.

7. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

ROBBE: To keep pushing and staying creative even tho times can get tough sometimes.

8. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

ROBBE: 2 of my proudest moments have been gaining 100.000.000 streams on Spotify, and going viral on Instagram as a Reel sound with close to 300.000.000 views!

9. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

ROBBE: I appreciate constructive criticism, but if I see that it’s negative, or someone hating on me or my music, I just block that user and try to move on and forget about it.

10. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

ROBBE: I feel most comfortable working alone in my studio, because my workflow is a lot fastest on my own computer because I know where everything is, but I also love to DJ in front of a live audience and seeing people reactions when I’m playing a new track!