Robert Miles’ Children has always been the record that I bring up whenever I’m asked about what pulled me into dance music. It’s probably safe to say, whether you may not realize it or not, trance as a genre has always had an impact on the music we listen to. Billy Gillies is one such artist who certainly captures that influence with his music, and his worldwide success is proving that trance can make its resurgence into the mainstream.
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His latest release “DNA [Loving You] (Feat. Hannah Boleyn)” has landed multi-million streams and risen to the top 10 of the UK’s official singles chart while also hitting the top 20 dance charts right here in the states. And that’s not all – Billy has a number of other smash hits including “Don’t Call Me Baby”, which captures an era of nostalgic UK dance music with a modern production flair.
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During Miami Music Week, we had an opportunity to sit down with Billy after his stage presence during the Electronic Dance Music Awards. The humble producer/DJ from Belfast, Northern Ireland is filled with nothing short of gratitude and excitement for what’s to come. His obsession with music started in the 2000s when his sister started buying Clubland compilation CDs and dating a local DJ. Fast forward to today, he is touring across the globe with upcoming US shows in Orlando, FL’s EDC Orlando (11/12), Long Beach, CA’s Dreamstate SoCal (11/17), and Seattle, WA’s Ora Nightclub (11/18).
There’s an exciting connection that Billy’s music has with his fans, and his commitment to delivering amazing tunes is one that we can certainly expect. There’s so much joy as he describes how much fun he has in the studio, and one major piece of advice that he shares with other aspiring producers is finding balance in this career.
“You really need a balance in this game,” Billy shared.
“You have to say no sometimes [to partying/drinking], and just focus on your career.”
When it comes to delivering his fresh tunes, Billy has remained authentic to his influence and it can be heard in each and every one of his tunes. Just like his latest release, trance truly seems to be in his “DNA”, and you’d also be surprised that he is inspired by so many other genres as well.
“What makes you you is all your influences from the past and you bring them all into one package.”, Billy told us.
“I like taking influences from pop music, R&B, trance and bringing it into my sound. That’s what makes me.”
We’re certainly excited for what’s next for Billy and seeing him continue to take the global stage this year. I think we’ve heard so many times that the trance genre hasn’t seen any growth, but if you ask me, we’re only just getting started. Billy is a great example of how the genre maintains its presence in a big and fun way, while evolving it for today’s world.
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