Mightyfools Shares Plans Moving Forward, Final Legacy EP, and Advice for Aspiring DJs
Formed in the year 2007 by Andy Samin and Jelle Keizer, Dutch duo Mightyfools have spent the past decade performing on massive stages across the globe, from Tomorrowland to Creamfields, to Ultra, to Mysteryland, and more. The duo has also released a vast number of tracks across the dance music spectrum, with notable ones including “No Class” with Yellow Claw, “Keep It Low” with Afrojack, and the more recent “U Need To”. With the news of the Mightyfools era coming to a close in the near future, fans in Thailand rejoice at one last chance in seeing the duo perform again! We had the pleasure of speaking to Jelle ahead of their upcoming show at ONYX on the 18th of August. Read on to find out what he said about their plans moving forward, the final Legacy EP and advice for aspiring DJs.
You announced the end of Mightyfools a while ago - with Bangkok being one of the last stops of your Asia tour, moving forward, what sort of plans do the both of you have in store?
The announcement was a huge step for us, but the reactions and love that we received was more than overwhelming. This month (August) is our final month of touring after 11 years of traveling the world. We probably did over a thousand shows on every continent.
Sadly after all these years, the artist life started taking a toll on Andy’s mental health. After a short break of heavy touring, which gave him a lot of peace, we decided it was better for his health to end the Mightyfools project, still being on a high level and successful. So we feel very blessed to be able to still visit beautiful countries like Thailand before we retire!
For me - Jelle - the plans are to continue with music. I’m preparing a solo project ‘Keizer Jelle’ (my name in reverse, as my last name, actually means Emperor it’s pretty swag haha) which will move more into the tech-house direction. Mightyfools fans will still hear some familiar vibes and sounds though! I’m very excited and will drop my first music on Soundcloud on September 3.
Andy has decided the music industry is not his place for now and is starting an IT company focused on special usages like gaming, editing and music making. Custom systems, software packages etc. You can also follow him on some live gaming adventures via his youtube channel, where he mostly streams playing Fortnite.
Looking back on all the years, what are some of your favorite Mightyfools memories?
It's a tough question as we’ve been doing this for a very long time! In general, every country and city has memories. From the early days playing in small bars and clubs around Europe onto a later stadium where we headlined festivals in Australia, South America, and Asia. Playing Tomorrowland for 4 years straight was something off the bucket-list, headlining Mysteryland in Chile and the USA, sharing the stage with Snoop Dogg.. this list can go on and on! Something emotionally special was our first show in Indonesia, where Andy was able to see his family again after 10 years. Moments like these make being a DJ extra special!
Which song would you say best describes Mightyfools?
The one most people know from us is probably Footrocker, which you can still hear one very festival to this day. I think we’re the creators of the Get Your Hands Up pre-drop stuff because of that track… Don’t know if we should take too much pride of that though as it seems to have lost it’s power a bit haha. Also, our recent song 'Possibilities' which we released on our last EP called The Legacy EP on KLASH. This is the perfect example of what Mightyfools stands for. Party, hard-hitting basslines, energy, rave breaks, and a catchy vocal.
What would you like the legacy of Mightyfools to be remembered as?
We hope to be remembered as good party starters bringing the positive vibes everywhere and hope to have influenced some people to become a DJ or producer themselves. Ever since announcing our retirement we’ve received a lot of personal stories of people influenced by us through our tracks or our shows. It’s the best feeling honestly!
Speaking of legacies, tell us more about your latest Legacy EP!
We found The Legacy to be the perfect title for our last EP. We wanted to leave some cool music behind, that was it basicly. We had these tracks all ready to go and no label yet so we contacted our friends Dirtcaps if they were interested in doing our final EP. We’ve known them for over 10 years so we go way back. It felt right to have our old friends release our final music. The tracks are typical Mightyfools sounds and a perfect closure of this era. If you want to hear a decade of Mightyfools music all you have to do is play this final record haha.
Are there more Mightyfools projects in the works that are set for release before September?
No, The Legacy EP was really the final one. No more surprises. We just have 4 shows left, Portugal, Japan, Thailand and Mysteryland Festival in The Netherlands and then it’s done.
We’ve got mixed feelings about it. We’re happy to get our freedom back and get the chance to explore new opportunities in life. But of course also sad because Mightyfools has been our life for such a long time, we’ve spent all our time, money and effort in it. But mostly we’re just proud of what we were able to achieve. It was more than we could ever dream of.
Could you share some insight into the dance music industry for aspiring DJs who would like to follow in your footsteps one day?
Work hard, but efficient. Don't reinvent the wheel. Always believe in your own music. Take regular breaks and think about achieving your next goal, one step at a time. The industry can be real hard on you, so take care of your body and soul. Don't force yourself; great things come for those who wait.
Make sure you don't forget to follow us on our future adventures!
Bangkok, see you soon and thank you for having us one last time! Let's party hard!