MOTi Making Major Moves

Considering the tremendous breakout year he just had, it’s safe to say the dance music stars are aligned for MOTi, aka Timo Romme. After embarking in November on the #LIONTOUR, his first-ever headlining endeavor, the Dutch stud is steadily climbing his way to the top of the banger hierarchy. Under the tutelage of superstar Tiësto, and through peak-time collabs with homies Martin Garrix, Kenneth G and Quintino, he has proved he’s a MOTivated machine destined for main-stage greatness. Seemingly overnight, MOTi has made room for himself in the highly saturated big room scene.

We scored some face time with Timo and chatted about matters including the internet naming one of his singles, deep house’s impending takeover, and his culture shock from rave fashion in the States. Take a gander inside MOTi’s mind below.

“Lion (in My Head)” is the name of your recent single and also your first-ever headlining tour. What made you want to use the king of the jungle for the name?
It had a totally different name. The first name was “Waves.” But after I finished the track, W&W and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike released a track called “Waves.” So I was like, “Fuck. It’s the same genre, so it doesn’t make sense for me to release a track with the same name.” “Lion” was actually made before “Virus,” but we were searching for a vocal. In the meantime, Tiësto, Martin Garrix and W&W were all playing the track. You know 1001 Tracklists? They put out track lists, and people were making up names online. It ended up being called Tiësto and Martin Garrix’s “Lion.” When we were about to release the track, we thought we had to choose a new name, but everyone on the internet already thought the name was “Lion.”

SEE ALSO: Stream: MOTi “Lion”

That’s the internet for you. What has changed since you graduated from being a supporting act to becoming a full-fledged headliner?
When you open up for other people, you have to hold back for them. You have to adjust. You can’t play everything you want to play. But now I don’t have to hold back, because I’m headlining. I think that’s the biggest change. When I was opening up for Tiësto, he always told me I could play whatever I wanted. He said, “Play your set like you are playing prime time—but just don’t play my tracks.” [Laughs]

At a festival, how would you compare the experience of being a fan to assuming the role of the DJ?
I think the biggest difference is that you listen differently to tracks. If I go out to see my own genre, then I can’t enjoy the music. When I listen to that music, I can see how I would have made the track. And I do that with every track. I can only really, really enjoy music—and not think about work—if I’m listening to another genre. When I go to see jazz music, that’s something I can’t make. I can’t see it, and that’s when I can enjoy it.

Are there any other genres you are enjoying at the moment?
I’m a huge Kygo fan. I’ve been listening to him since he had 5,000 followers on SoundCloud. I’m super happy for him. He’s exploding right now. But that’s the kind of music I can really enjoy.

What makes him stand out to you?
I think it’s about the vibe he is creating. Deep house takes you on a journey. EDM is kind of pumping and jumping all the time. And with Kygo’s music, it’s super chill. I can really relax when I listen to his music.

There’s a lot of talk that deep house is the next big thing in dance music.
The funniest thing about it is: The exact same thing happened four years ago in Europe. For America it’s new, but it already happened for us. I think people want to switch because EDM is so commercial, and people don’t want to relate themselves with the people who are going to the party. So they think, “Oh, these people are at these parties. It’s not cool anymore, so we need to find something else.” In the end, the rest follow. That’s how it goes.

How do you think that change will affect your music?
I’m not sure. I work on a lot of different kinds of music, because I’ve been producing for 10 years. I was in a duo for five years before this. I did a lot of releases on Defected and Strictly Rhythm, so I already did my deep house thing. I don’t know how it’s going to affect my music. I’m just doing what I love to do. If I want to bring out a deep house track all of a sudden, then I will do it. If I want to bring out a techno track or drum & bass track, then I will do it as well—like the trap remix I did for Lil Wayne two years ago. I think I’ll be fine.

What caused you to separate yourself from the Groovenatics duo and your earlier house sound?
We had different interests. We stopped four years ago, at the point where people were switching to EDM. I wanted to go the EDM direction, and my cousin wanted to go the other direction. The new generation thinks deep house is the shit right now. The youngest kids still go to big EDM acts at the festivals, and the ones who are a little bit older like the deep house—like the Oliver Heldens kind of deep house. And then you have the older generation, which are most of my friends, and they like the techno and deep house. So I’m not sure what it will bring, but I hope it will be a little bit more housey; so that means more dancing and less jumping.

You mentioned in a previous interview that your father was the biggest inspiration for your career. He’s retired now and is focusing his time on art. Is that a shared interest?
Well, I was forced to go to all the museums when I was younger. I had to go to all the galleries. Yeah, I like art, but I don’t have the time as much now to do that kind of stuff, ‘cause I’m busy working with music. But I think the biggest reason my father was an inspiration to me was because his whole life, he did something he liked but didn’t really want to do. He really wanted to be an artist. But he didn’t do it because he thought, “I have to be a psychologist.” He was really good at it, but it was something he did just because he was good at it; he didn’t love it. When he retired, he went back to school. He’s 67 now, and he’s in art school. That was his dream.

What does he think about your music?
He likes it. He hated the first songs, or he didn’t understand them. But now, he’s listening to more of my music. Actually, yesterday I was talking to him on WhatsApp—because he’s back home in the Netherlands—and he’s like, “I still listen to ‘Don’t Go Lose It’ every day.”

Does he ever go to your shows?
Yeah, he went, but never outside of Europe. He went to some of my shows with my mom, and they were partying with all my friends in the crowd ‘til four in the morning.

Before music, you studied fashion design. What drew you to that field originally?
I’m not sure. I think it was because I liked nice clothing. No, but really, I didn’t know what to do after high school. I just liked clothes, and I was like, “Why not try that?” Plus, there are a lot of girls in the school. [Chuckles]

Did you finish the degree?
I did. They gave me the option of doing my last year over three years, because I wasn’t around all the time. I signed my first management contract when I was 18.

Hypothetically speaking, if you pursued a career in fashion and started your own clothing line, what do you think it would it be like?
I don’t know. It would probably be like the kind of clothes I like wearing, but I don’t have a particular brand. It would be all black clothes.

So who would be your target demo?
I think it would be the bottle service crowd—but like the cool people, not the people in suits with the $3,000 shoes.

Are there any companies you would like to collab with on designs?
At some point, if it’s possible. I think my own name and my own career has to grow a lot to do something like that. But yeah, it would be fun.

Is there anything in the rave fashion world you would like to pick apart?
It’s not that I don’t dislike it, but when I first came to America, I thought, “What the fuck are all these people wearing?” At the same time, I really like it because people get really into it. They dress to party, and they put the beads on and the bright colors. I wouldn’t wear it, but it’s really cool to see club culture and party culture. I think it’s a good thing.

Have you ever been gifted kandi at a festival?
Sometimes people come up to me and say—what is it again?—“PLUR. Peace, love unity and respect.” And then they give me beads.

Do you still have them?
No. [Laughs] I gave them out to other people.

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