Rootkey has been steadily building a name for himself as an emerging figure in the world of dance music artists. Having picked up support for his music from names such as DJs from Mars, Sophie Francis, Broz Rodriguez, Sam Feldt and Fedde Le Grand. Thanks to tracks he has produced that include ‘Your Envy Will Be my Luck’, ‘Black Sheep’, ‘Factory Puppets’, ‘Bad Smell’ and ‘Black Sheep’. Back in April, Rootkey dropped an official slap house remix of MC Kevin o Chris, R3HAB & LUCK MUZIK’s single ‘Deixa se Envolver (Spring Love)’. Now, with a new release on Italy-based imprint Keywords Records, the Italian-born Rootkey is keen to add another fire release to his growing arsenal of dancefloor anthems. We caught up with the fledgling producer/DJ to find out more about his latest release and future goals..
Thank you for joining us, Rootkey. How are you doing and what have you been up to lately?
I’m glad to be part of it, I’m fine thanks. I recently released my latest single Trap Queen, right after I had the opportunity to remix “Deixa se envolver by MC Kevin or Chris, R3hab and Luck Muzik, also that Slap House style.
How did you first get into dance music and what inspired you to become a producer/dj?
My passion was born when I attended the end-of-year parties, during my teenage school. The situation immediately attracted me, I felt part of it. I wanted to make people dance and make my mark. So, I started to be a DJ, to then complete myself with the production in the following years.
“Trap Queen” is your new single. What led you to rework this song and was the original a big favourite of yours?
The original Trap Queen by Fetty Wap is a song that is hard to forget, it has a melody that stays in my head and I associate it with a good moment in my life. I really like that song, so I needed to do my own version of SlapHouse.
How has the reaction to the song been so far?
They liked the song a lot right from the start, it had a lot of sharing and positive feedback. And it has gratified me a lot on an artistic level.
Your sound is quite varied, suggesting you have a lot of musical inspirations in your life. Which artists have inspired you over the years?
Over the years some artists who have inspired me have been: skrillex, Diplo, Tiesto.
A remix you did of R3HAB’s collaboration “Deixa Se Envolver (Spring Love)” has earned you some strong support since it was released. Were you surprised by the success of this track and how has it affected your career so far?
The remix for R3hab “Deixa se Envolver” had a great response, had a great response on Spotify, reaching many ratings in a very short time. I honestly did not imagine it could be so successful, I am very happy and it has encouraged me to do more and more. For an artist, the positive response is very rewarding and productive.
Are there any artists that you’re listening to at the moment that we should be checking out?
Right now, besides listening to reference artists from the Slap House / Pop Dance scene, such as Alok, Dynoro, Strange Fruits, I’m also listening to a lot of Pop Music.
When you’re not behind the decks or in the studio, how do you like to spend your time?
When I’m not working and I’m not in the studio, I really like to let off steam in the gym, it clears my mind a lot, spending time with my dog that I love and a few games of Fortnite with friends.
If you could pick any artist to work with in the studio who would that be and why?
If I could choose to collaborate with a singer I would love to collaborate with Ed Sheeran, because I really like his versatility, and I find his writing brilliant.
While if we talk about production I don’t have a particular artist, I would like to collaborate with the 3 artists listed above: Skrillex, Diplo and Tiesto because they have always been present in my artistic growth, I loved the products they made and the artistic image they gave.
How did you come up with your artist name, Rootkey?
The name Rootkey was born both for the concept of root, which is the key point of the agreements. And at the same time the 2 o in the logo that intertwines forming the sign of infinity to mean that music will evolve, and change, but will always remain part of us.
What are your plans for the next few months? Any future shows we can check out?
For the next few months, I have some good news in store, some slap house / dance-pop tracks and something purely pop with acoustic elements, I am very fascinated to produce them. And who knows, maybe some collaboration.