EDM Insider Interviews Trance DJ/Producer Tom Fall

27 year old Finland native Tom Fall has been called one of the “rising star trance DJs of 2012 so far” from Armin van Buuren on A State of Trance Radio recently, and we couldn’t agree more. Splashing his name over fan favorite remixes of EDM artists tracks from Estiva, W&W, Aruna, Cosmic Gate, and tyDi. With adoration from Armin, he was invited to play at one of the world’s largest trance events, the A State of Trance 550 celebration in London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub. With his new collaboration with Ben Nicky, “Hammer” already building momentum, we were intrigued to find out the story behind Tom Fall. Learn more on the DJ/Producer now in our EDM Insider interview.

EDM Insider 1. How did you first get your start in the electronic dance music scene? Did you always want to become a DJ?
Tom Fall: Well, my first touch with EDM was when my friend showed me these “Gary D.” trance compilations. We listened to a couple of tracks, and it was Binary Finary’s “1998” that finally got me totally hooked in. I never thought about DJing until I was 16 years old, and one of my friends was starting to play in local nightclubs. After he told me a little bit about it, I really wanted to try it myself.

EDM Insider 2. Your latest single with Ben Nicky entitled “Hammer” has just been released on April 16th on Beatport and is sure to be a big hit for months to come. What was the inspiration behind the song? How did you begin your collaboration with Ben Nicky?
Tom Fall: Well, in short, inspiration-wise, Ben Nicky sent me this melody he wrote a while back which I really loved. It was originally a pad line, but I jammed around a little and made it a bit more housey, with a chord-stabby riff. After that, it was basically brainstorming ideas for the drop; it was series of sending stuff over to one another. Finally, when all of the elements were there, I put it all together in my studio and we tweaked the details together for the final mix down.

EDM Insider 3. Who would you say are some of your biggest influences on your music today? Why?
Tom Fall: There are so many influences. Basically, I love the emotional charge of trance music, and the brute force of modern clubby house, so my influences come from both of those two worlds. To name a few from the house world, I’d say Nicky Romero, Hardwell, and Eric Prydz. For the trance side, I’d say Cosmic Gate, Super8 & Tab, and Tritonal to name a few.

EDM Insider 4. Your newest remixes including your take on Cosmic Gate & Jes’ Flying Blind as well as TyDi, Tenishia & Jennifer Rene’s Greater Heights have been blowing up with international accreditation on ASOT550 from various artists. How do you decide which tracks you are going to remix and release? Did you anticipate all of the positive reaction you are receiving from those two specific remixes?
Tom Fall: With remixes, I always go with my heart. If the original track hits me and it feels right, I will most likely accept the remix job, if my schedule allows me to do so that is. I never really think about “is this going to be a hit?” when I remix or produce an original track. I would lose my mind if I would do that! My main goal is to do something I can be proud of, and the original artists are happy with the version I’ve done. In this case, I was of course a bit nervous about what the big boys (that is, Cosmic Gate) think about the version I did for “Flying Blind.” I was very happy to hear that they and JES, herself, loved what I did with it.

EDM Insider 5. Who would you be interested in collaborating with in the future that you have never worked with before?
Tom Fall: There are many artists I would love to do a collaboration track with! Cosmic Gate, Super8 & Tab, Tritonal, and tyDi, of course. From the house guys, Hard Rock Sofa, Dada Life, Hardwell, and Nicky Romero come to mind first. As for vocalists, Aruna, Sarah Howells, JES, and Sarah Bettens (from “Wild and Perfect Day”) would be absolutely great to have a chance to write something together.

EDM Insider 6. You recently just played at Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance 550 celebration at London’s Ministry of Sound. Tell us a little bit about the experience, the crowd, etc. How do you decide which tracks you are going to play for such a huge, internationally aired set?
Tom Fall: It was a dream-come-true moment for me. There are really no words to describe that feeling. Ministry of Sound was packed with a crowd that lives for the music. Apart from a couple of silly, nervous mistakes, I’m absolutely overjoyed how the set went down. The crowd was open minded, as I played a little bit of a housier set than people may have expected, but the feedback has been absolutely overwhelming! As for the set, I really focused on making the set look and sound like me, so I wanted to play as many of my own remixes and bootlegs and mashups as possible.

EDM Insider 7. Your original tracks including “Ordinary World“, “Stillness” and “All This Time” have been released this year through the Armada Music label. How does it feel to be releasing tracks on such a prestigious label?
Tom Fall: It feels really good! Armada has been absolutely great to me, and the people working there are all so nice and easy to work with. Also, as Armada has so many great sub-labels under them, I really feel like I don’t have any restrictions musically, which is essential for me, as my work has always been somewhere amidst electro, progressive house, and trance all together.

EDM Insider 8. What does the rest of 2012 have in store for Tom Fall? Will USA fans be able to catch one of your sets anytime soon?
Tom Fall: We’re working really hard to make it happen. LA and NYC (to name a few) have been on mind for a while already, and I can’t wait to have a chance to play over there. As for Europe, I have some gigs lined up already. For example, June 1st I will be performing at “Monday Bar: Black and White Cruise 2012” alongside John O’Gallaghan, Ben Gold, Ummet Oszcan, and many more. Also, I’ll be playing at Summer Sound Festival in July, here in Helsinki, Finland. I’m looking forward to it very much.

For booking inquiries:
bookings@jamdjmanagement.com | Jam DJ Management | http://www.jamdjmanagement.com

For press inquiries:
Carlos Anino | One3Two Public Relations | carlos@one3twoPR.com

For the latest Tom Fall news, check out:
http://www.facebook.com/TomFallMusic
http://www.twitter.com/TomFallMusic
http://www.facebook.com/one3twoPR

Interview by Angela Samartano

About the Author

Angela Samartano Angela has been dancing since before she could walk. As a technically trained dancer for the past 20 years, Angela has always had an affinity for bass heavy beats and uplifting trance melodies. Holding a Bachelors of Science in Advertising and Marketing Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, she has an extensive online journalism background and is current Editor in Chief of EDM Insider. Besides her personal twitter, she is the face behind the @EDMinsider Twitter account.