Making his main stage debut at ULTRA JAPAN, we catched up with Tom Swoon backstage and he even spilled some beans on upcoming music!!

He also showed his love for the Japanese culture and we asked Japanese words he knew.
He said “kawaii, yattaaa, ganbatte, arigato, konnichiwa, ongaku” and more. Ongaku which means music in Japanese was also an inspiration for one of his tattoos.

With such interesting background, here’s our interview piece with Tom Swoon.

So you’ve been here with a couple of times. How do you like Japan?

Yeah I’ve been here for Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and each time it’s always amazing to see signs made by my fans. I always feel so welcomed and I receive so much energy from the people.

But Ultra Japan 2016 was special because it was my first time playing a music festival in Japan so I saw much love today on a whole new level. I feel very grateful for what has happened so far and how my work has paid off in great ways.



So it’s your first time at ULTRA JAPAN?

Yeah. My debut performance at the ULTRA series was this year at ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL MIAMI so ULTRA JAPAN is my second ultra in my career.

But it’s my first ever main stage performance at ULTRA.

That’s amazing! Congratulations on that but how do you make balance between touring and producing?

I have to find some time during my touring with plane rides and hotel accommodation.
That’s why it’s sometimes hard to get back to the studio because after a few days back home I have to go out for another 2 weeks. Remixes especially have tight deadlines so it can be very hectic sometimes but i love this adrenaline you get when you make everything work out last minute because it really pushes you to work.

Any upcoming collabs or tracks you can share with us?

There’s a new song that will be released on Armada Music. I premiered it here at ULTRA JAPAN actually. It’s an edit I did for Justin Oh from Korea.

Apart from that I have a lot of new tracks coming out. It’ll be crazy because with just July and August alone I have made six songs. I’m trying to expand my sound from uplifiting emotional melodic progressive to groovy mainstream radio songs.
 


Could you give us a message to your fans and our iFLYER readers/users?

Of course.
First of all a big arigato for voting me at DJ Mag last year. I was placed 46th place and it was pretty amazing. We did huge campaigns this year and with that I’ve been receiving lots of messages from Japan so thank you for that.

But genuinely speaking, it’s not about the voting per se but about the love and relationship with my fans.

It’s the connection you have with your people. It’s really hard to get going without that genuine connection. Especially in Asia this year I played at huge festivals in places I never had before like Philippines, Taiwan, China where I saw a big wave of new followers.

I hate to say fans. I’d rather call them friends because it feels more close and connected to people who listen to my music and come to my shows.

The term fans feels so distant it feels like there is a space. Friends feels way more connected.

What have been some memorable fan episodes?

I get messages from all around the world and they know my music from way back even I forgot I made. One time I had a guy in Jamaica who was literally telling me all the songs I put out one by one. He was like a wikipedia man. 
 


There are some crazy stories with my radio station “Lift Off Radio” that I broadcast every week to the world. There was one time where I couldn’t upload the radio until five hours later because of an unstable internet connection. Before I knew it, I got like 50 messages from my fans asking me what had happened and they felt concerned. It’s crazy to see that real connection I’ve made with my fans. It’s a part of the life where we motivate each other regardless of nationalities. 

Thank you Tom Swoon for an iFLYER exclusive interview and we can't wait to have you back!
In the mean time check out his edit he did for Justin Oh!