Less is More: The Lost Frequencies Interview [Freaknight 2016]

It seems as though a lot of festival sets are sounding more and more similar over the past few years. We were pleased to catch a breath of fresh air with Felix De Laet, better known as Lost Frequencies at this year’s FreakNight. Not only did we enjoy the change of pace at the mainstage; it was a pleasure to sit down with him after his set to talk beginnings, his album, and where his signature sound is headed.

How it All Began

If you think you may be unfamiliar with Lost Frequencies, listen to just about any set from the summer of 2015, and you’ll hear his breakout hit Are You With Me mixed in somewhere. He’s also known for Reality and Beautiful Life, both of which are featured on his debut album Less Is More, which focuses on good vibes and a different sound.

“I’m just really happy to have this Are You With Me track because thanks to that I was able to release an album, and able to put it out, and present another face of electronic music to the world because it’s kind of non-commercial, it’s getting a lot of attention.”

Felix came from humble beginnings, initially wanting to produce the music that his DJ friends would play, not to be the DJ himself. He started producing in high school as soon as he got a computer. Now here he is about five years later, playing the main stage at festivals all over the world. And the magic of it all isn’t lost on him: “It’s still very special, like I’m trying to get used to it, but it’s not something you get used to. It’s crazy to think that I just made like a few tracks, and I get to go everywhere thanks to that.”

“Everywhere” isn’t a total exaggeration, either. We caught him when he was fresh off the stage and before he went to bed to prepare for his early flight. “This morning I was in Belgium, tomorrow L.A., then Miami, Peru, India, Brazil.” When asked how he copes with the crazy schedule, he admitted that he really doesn’t.

Putting the Indie into Dance

There’s something really special about artists who don’t quite fit into a genre because their sound is a blend of many, leaving you with not one in particular that can describe it. The sound of Lost Frequencies is chill, happy, and reminds us of Summer, a sound that he calls “Indie Dance.” Inspired by some time that he spent in California, Indie Dance is a sound untainted by what the majority wants, it’s targeted toward those who want something new.

“I like the name of it. It’s also very small, it doesn’t sound like worldwide big records. It mostly sounds like ‘Indie Dance’ in little clubs, and I like it.”

After finding his niche in Indie Dance, Felix chased that different sound and really found the right mix with his album Less is More. He wanted to do “deeper, but chill stuff,” and feature more instruments like the guitar sounds that he favors. While the original version is all chill all the time, Felix admitted that he’s working on “the next version of the album [which] will be more festival vibes, like for tonight.”

If you caught his set at FreakNight, you caught 3-4 remixes that he made for nights on the mainstage that have more energy than their original release versions. You also caught What is Love, in its original version, Felix’s chill version, and another remix too. In addition to being on your feet, Lost Frequencies wants you on your toes.

Something that you’ll notice with Lost Frequencies’ music is that in addition to the sound of traditional instruments, there’s also the sound of imperfection. “I like the guitar sounds, I like the real, the glitch, or when you do mistake and it sounds bad, I like those parts because it sounds real. That’s one of the problems with electronic music, it’s too perfect. Like when you hear a vocal, you don’t hear people breathing, they’re just singing. I like it when you hear the little mistakes.”