As unlikely as it may seem at first glance but high-profile superstars such as Felix Jaehn, AlunaGeorge, Ellie Goulding, Avicii and Bastille all have one thing in common: they have all been blessed by the works of Dutch DJ and producer Mike Mago in one way or another. Remixing for others, and creating dance floor-ready tracks for himself, the BMKLTSCH label head has quickly risen to the top of the DJ scene. Four years after dropping his first track, he has been able to work on stages the likes of Tomorrowland and stands at 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
Today marks another exciting point in Mago’s live. Following the release of his widely-acclaimed EP “Crossing Borders Pt. 2” and the single “The Green” earlier this year, he now returns with what appears to be his catchiest single to date.
The beauty titled “Always On My Mind” is a re-imagination of Dog Collective’s eponymous track, released back in June. After reaching out to work with him, they “started writing on this track and after a while decided it would be cool to release our own takes on the song“, as Mago revealed in an interview with us.
And they could not have been any different from each other. While the version of Dog Collective -who have previously collaborated with superstars like Icona Pop, Zara Larsson and Peg Parnevik on their records – is heavily stripped back, only going in fully for the chorus, Mike Mago’s version is the total opposite. This new take is a fun and very disco re-imagination.
“I really felt a groovy disco vibe with live strings and bass would fit perfectly with the song. I wanted to arrange and record live strings for a song for a while and thought this was the perfect moment to do so”, Mago explained to us. Filled with a funk-filled breakdown and a catchy chorus, “Always On My Mind” is a welcome experimentation in the world of music and provides us with nothing but good vibes.
Listen to the new track down below and don’t forget to check out the rest of the interview after that in order to find out why plants are so important and what is always on Mike Mago’s mind.
Hey Mike! Lovely to meet you! How does it feel to have just released “Always On My Mind”?
Feels really good! I’ve been excited for this track from the moment I had the first idea down. As you may know it takes a while to go from the first idea to the release day. So, it feels tremendous to say it’s out now! I must say I think I’m a bit addicted to the feeling of releasing a song.
Can you tell us what is always on your mind?
[laughs] There’s not one thing that’s always on my mind, but things that take a big part of my attention is def family, music, food and fitness. Things that I guess most people have on their mind. Simple yet important things.
“Always On My Mind” was first released by Dog Collective on their own. How did this remake come together?
Dog Collective is a cool bunch of songwriters. They reached out to me to work together. We started writing on this track and after a while decided it would be cool to release our own takes on the song.
Why did you chose to give this specific track your own spin?
I really felt a groovy disco vibe with live strings and bass would fit perfectly with the song. I wanted to arrange and record live strings for a song for a while and thought this was the perfect moment to do so. I love adding those live elements to electronic music.
Did you ever get to meet Dog Collective?
Just via the magical interwebs.
What was their reaction when hearing your re-interpretation?
They liked it! I think everyone is happy with how this has rolled out.
We are, too! There are always a lot of options to one’s creative freedom when being able to create a new version of something. What was your musical inspiration behind this one?
Well I guess it’s pretty clear that disco was my inspiration for this. Also this track is my attempt to make a catchy and feelgood song that aims to the heart of many yet is unique in its own way. I feel originality and pop is a rare combination these days within dance music. Most dance tracks are a duplication of a once successful formulas but lack an authentic feel. It’s almost a logical cortege. Dance music is specifically here to connect people and if you want to get many people connected its harder to make unique choices. I feel my entire musical development is based on connecting many people and giving them positive energy through music without losing my authenticity within music. This track is a mark on the road of my evolution.
We have just seen on your Facebook that you signed a publication deal with Universal. Congratulations on that! How does it feel like and what can we expect from you in the future?
Thanks! It was a prolongation of the previous deal with Universal. We were already working together for 3 years and are both happy about how the collaboration was going. For me at this stage I’m focusing a lot on songwriting. Writing for others, writing for my other project Mike Rogers and obviously for new singles. I’ve been in this game for quite a while and my love for making and writing music is only growing bigger.
Plants are important to me because…
[laughs] You picked up on that! Plants are life and plants are living and growing pieces of art.
An upcoming thing I am most excited about is…
The music video of Always On My Mind. I’m really really happy with how that one turned out. I made a mood board for the video and Studio Twelve (side note: the producers and director of the video) came with this awesome idea of a guy who falls in love with his plant. I was happy to add something to the development of the video and the guys just did a great job!
Thank you so much for the interview!
Mike Mago’s collaboration “Always On My Mind” arrives via Spinnin’ Records and is now available for streaming and purchase on the digital retailer and streaming service of your choice.
What do you think about Mike Mago’s latest release? Tell us all about it by tweeting us @CelebMix.
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