Written By: Kylie Vesey & Cale Hackfath

 

Bobby Neon is fast becoming one of the most talked-about names on the Trance scene. With his track being featured on Armin van Buuren’s “A State Of Trance” in 2017 and was the first artist signed to MaRLo’s label “Reaching Altitude”. 

 

Bobby Neon has been in the music industry for many years, but building his profile and success was not one that came overnight. Bobby Neon is not only an incredible Trance and Hardstyle DJ (Weaver), he devles in production, stage design, lighting and works alongside some of the biggest event companies here in Australia to create incredible festivals. He has reached where he is today through hard work, dedication and an epic love for the industry; qualities we so admire.

 

We sat down with the very humble Bobby Neon for an impromptu interview following his set at the premiere of Pandora’s Box,Brisbane. Our initial thoughts are that he is a man of great things to come! 

 

Come with us as we step Behind The Decks with Bobby Neon. 

 

Kylie & Cale: First of all, thank you so much for this interview, it's great to see artists happy to sit down and talk about all things music. You're set tonight was absolute fire, having not seen you play before, we were blown away! Congratulations on producing such an amazing show.

BN: No problem at all and thanks heaps, glad you liked it!

 

Kylie: How and where did Bobby Neon evolve, as you already have your hardstyle platform under Wever? 

BN: The Bobby Neon project has been going now for 5 years, when I started the project it was more of a joke. I was at a big Stereosonic party and one of my mates was like “you should start writing house music” and I was like “what do I call myself? Bobby Neon?" We all laughed about it! 6 months later I was like “here's my first Bobby Neon track” and from there I continued to produce under Bobby Neon.

 

Cale: Talking about the name, Bobby Neon, where did it come from how did you choose it? 

BN: It came from me joking with my mates about calling myself "Bobby Neon '' at that Stereosonic party. My real name is Rob, so it connects well. It's always kind of connected to my real name.

 

Kylie: You have tracks that have been featured on A State of Trance. What is it like to be featured on Armin van Buuren’s signature brand and label?

BN: If you are writing trance music, that is where you want to be, on ASOT. So it was a great honour to be featured on A State Of Trance. I started off doing house music and I've been friends with MaRLo for 15 years. I sent him some of my music and didn't even realise he started playing it. From there it progressed to Reaching Altitude and I started to get support from Armin, but it kind of happened out of nowhere for me. 

 

Kylie: Does having both Armin and MaRLo playing your tracks give you more exposure? 

BN: It's not like I've made 2 tracks and then I'm going to make it instantly. Just because Armin has played my tracks, doesn't mean I'm going to get a world tour around Europe or America, it means he's played that track. Unless it's a hit and everyone is playing it, really it doesn't mean anything. So you need to keep pushing and creating those tracks to gain exposure.

​

Cale: Has there been a set that stands out to you as the next step in your life, where you go “Wow I'm playing this right now”.

BN: I guess it was part of the Reaching Altitude shows, I did the shows in Adelaide and I played directly after MaRLo and it was awesome. 

 

Kylie: How do you find the trance scene here in Australia, as more recently we have begun to see it grow?

BN: The trance scene here in Australia is really tough. Unless you are a really big DJ, there is no Trance scene. I am just lucky that MaRLo is supporting new artists. He's supporting the AVAO guys and if it wasn't for MaRLo, then guys like me wouldn't get a chance. 

 

Kylie: You've dropped tracks on MaRLo’s label Reaching Altitude label and are now signed to the label, how did that all begin, how did he find you? 

BN: MaRLo and I have been friends for a long time. When he started the label he reached out and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. I was the first guy to release a track on his label apart from MaRLo being the first-ever release.he track was  "The Shadows". Before being signed to Reaching Altitude, I sent all my stuff to other labels and I was getting rejected everywhere. Reaching Altitude picked me up and I haven't looked back since.

 

Kylie: How hard is it for Dj's now to get noticed by a label and what do they have to do to make themselves stand out? 

BN: It's so hard; if you don't have like 20,000 followers, or a big social media presence, noone is going to sign your music. Even when I was doing this 5 years ago I was doing a VLOG, recording myself going "Hey guys I've just sent a track to Revealad, hopefully I hear back”' and no one ever responded to me,that was horrible. In the early days I was writing more EDM house music than Trance, then I started writing more cross over music, sent it to MaRLo and he was like “it’s different, it’s innovative! I'm going to start a label, do you want to be apart of it?” As soon as he started the label, it was great as it is so hard to get noticed. You really need to have the whole package and something unique to stand out.

 

Cale: When sending in a new track to MaRLo, once he listens, does he give you feedback on the tracks and tell you how you are progressing? 

BN: Absolutely! As mentioned earlier, the first track I released on his label "The Shadows" originally had vocals on it and then when MaRLo reviewed it, he thought it would work better without them. So when the track was released, it was just a instrumental. Little things like that I got feedback on, but most of my stuff following that has progressed without too much feedback.

 

Kylie: What advice would you give to an up and coming DJ, as it can be hard work? 

BN: Just to be patient. It's not that it is hard work; if you can write a banger and you think it's a banger, it doesn't mean that everyone else thinks it's a banger. You have to write good music but it has to be consistent and it has to be some sort of brand, a niche, behind it, otherwise no one is going to care. Your name could be Joe Blow, but there's so many Joe Blows out there, your music has to be something different

Cale: So you mean take your own piece of the pie I guess?

BN: Not so much that, but you need to stand out you have to have the whole package.
 

Cale: How do you find the DJ scene has changed over the years? 

Kylie: Do you think it is now harder to be a DJ then say 10 years ago due to having to have the whole package?

BN: Back in the day, when I first started around you know 20 years ago it was about DJing and mixing, now it's more like a business. You gotta have a brand, you need to have a social media presence, you have to have strong music, it's not just “I've written this sick track, let’s get it signed.”

It's harder to be known, but it's a lot easier to make music because of the technology. Now you can just buy a program and anyone can make music. Back in the day, you could buy a program but you had to have the synths, the sounds, whereas now it's all in one.

 

Kylie: Do you find that creates more of a challenge and potentially saturates the market more, as it is a lot easier to create music now?

BN: I think that for people that are serious about music, it's a full-time job. It's not just like “I'm going to do this as a side project” if you want to succeed, it has to be full time. 

 

Kylie: What would you say your style is now? 

Cale: Like what genre do you class yourself as currently? 

BN: I guess I would say it’s the Reaching Altitude style; their music is a mix of  Big Room and Psy-based as well; it’s anything from 134 - 138BPM.Name another DJ that you would say is playing a whole set like MaRLo is now (referring to MaRLo’s Tech Energy sets), it's not really happening. Maybe the AVAO boys play a similar style, but there are not many people playing that sound anymore. It used to be the Armada Captivating and a few other labels, but even their music is more commercial vocal Trance. There are no full Big Room bangers anymore, and MaRLo is really supporting that style for his label. So I would say that's my current style.

 

Cale: Is it good having a foot in both doors, in both Hardstyle and Trance? As Hardstyle is an up and coming genre, then you have Trance which is a genre that has always been in the industry.

BN: I don't really see it like that, I just like writing music. I've always been into Trance, I've always been into Hardstyle, UK hardcore, I like everything!

 

Kylie: What can we expect from Bobby Neon in the next 6 -12 months? 

BN: I have 2 more tracks coming out on Reaching Altitude. I have an original and a remix both with Hit The Base and another 2 or 3 more originals I need to finish. But whatever is part of their label I'll stick with them.

Cale: Could we see some new Weaver stuff released this year? 

BN: Oh yeah, there's heaps, one came out January 31st. I have like around 10 other tracks still yet to be released. Everyone is playing that Switch edit that I did as well, which is pretty insane. 

Cale: That track was one of the biggest tracks played at Knockout Festival this year and I saw Darren Styles perform it and it was EPIC! Well done!

 

This year is going to be a huge one for Bobby Neon, with new music being released of Hit The Base and on MaRLo’s Reaching Altitude label. We are sure that we will be seeing a lot more from this Hardstyle-cross-trance legend. Until then, we will be following Bobby Neon closely, waiting for what is next to come. Be sure to get around Bobby Neon and show some support for our Aussie talent by following him on his socials. 

​

​

​

​