Oliver Heldens

Oliver Heldens reached the top of the UK charts in 2014 with “Gecko (Overdrive),” a vocal version of his track “Gecko” featuring British singer Becky Hill. Born Olivier J. L. Heldens on 1 February 1995 in Rotterdam, he had begun attracting attention the previous year after signing with Spinnin’ Records. Early releases including “Stinger” and “Thumper,” a collaboration with Jacob van Hage, were aimed at the big-room house audience. “Gecko,” first released in late 2013, caught the attention of Tiësto, who signed it to Musical Freedom for its 2014 re-release.

Heldens is associated with the rise of future house, a style that brought deep-house rhythms and bass-focused production into a broader EDM setting. Wikipedia describes him as a pioneer of the genre and credits his work with bringing it international attention. His chart successes have also included “Last All Night (Koala),” “The Right Song,” “Fire in My Soul,” and “Turn Me On.” Alongside DJing and production, his recorded work includes composing, arranging, programming, keyboards, piano, drums, bass, synthesizer, mixing and mastering.

In January 2014, Heldens launched the weekly Heldeep Radio podcast. The Heldeep name later expanded into Heldeep Records, the label he founded in 2015. Its first single, “Renegade Mastah,” introduced HI-LO, Heldens’ techno-focused alias. The name HI-LO is “Oli H” reversed, and the project has allowed him to release more underground, bassline-driven material alongside his Oliver Heldens work. He later also ran the HILOMATIK label. By 2016, while operating his label and radio show, managing both projects and playing more than 200 gigs in a year, he placed eighth in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll.