Although most commonly known as 1 half of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Belgian artist Like Mike has never been afraid to step out from the box and deliver something truly unique. This solo project grew from his need to dig deeper into the sounds of his early years and young adulthood, a blend of genres that were the soundtrack to his life. Now revisiting and experimenting with a more underground style, Like Mike has delivered hits such as ‘Right Into You’ alongside Claptone and ‘Pineapple Tacos’ with Tube & Berger. Before he stepped on stage for a solo set at Tomorrowland, we had the pleasure to speak with Like Mike on a number of topics.
After 3 years away, how does it feel to be back here at Tomorrowland these past 3 weeks?
It’s amazing, a little sad knowing that it’s almost over and now it takes another year before the magic happens again. But yeah, it’s great to be back. I’m doing my solo set which is very exciting for me.
Speaking on your solo set, could you explain the differences between the Like Mike solo sound compared to your duo with Dimitri Vegas?
Well, in the times before Mammoth and Tremor, we were doing a totally different style of music. I never stopped making that type of music. So during the pandemic, I had a lot of extra time to make a fuck ton of music. So what better place to showcase that music than Tomorrowland this year,
You’re playing three sets this weekend. Does the preparation for a solo come a little differently than your duo and trio, and does it come naturally to you?
Well, the whole set is mostly my own songs with like two or three songs from other artists. Yeah, my sounds are pretty diverse so I can’t even fit all of my music in there because I can make a whole lot a whole range of different types of music. Still, I will take like 20 of my favorite songs, and I’m gonna try and match them the best way I can.
Do you have your set planned or will you vibe with the crowd and play what you’re feeling at the moment?
I have my folder with my music there so there’s the preparation. I know which track is going to be my intro and which track is going to be my outro so yeah, some tracks are planned.
Speaking about the tracks that you released alongside Tube & Berger and Clapton which were super quite unique compared to what you released previously, how was the response to those tracks?
The single with Claptone, for example, is still in my top 10 of my Spotify songs. So I think it’s it’s one of those tracks that people seem to really enjoy.
You’re never afraid to work alongside other artists throughout your career. Do you feel there are any certain artists in the scene right now that you’d like to work with on your solo project?
I am working on some songs with a lot of upcoming techno artists that are very talented. I don’t want to say too much about that but yeah, because I don’t know which ones are actually going to happen. But there’s definitely a lot in the pipeline right now.
With all your projects, you’re super diverse and have covered so many genres and styles, are there any other genres you’d like to experiment with?
I have done a lot, even scoring a whole soundtrack, so maybe jazz? haha. I’ve tried so much. I just love music. I don’t like to think in boxes, same with food. For me, it’s all food, no matter what you’re working with but even if you have your favorite food, you don’t want to eat the same food every day…you’ve got to switch it up.
Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me, would you like to announce anything to our readers?
I have my new release coming, I think, on the 23rd of August which is called Desire. That one is dropping very soon.
