Three years ago, at 19, you released the Vanilla Sky EP. How did your career get started so early? Before that, I produced music for two to three years just for fun. I went to school, study for lessons and when I had free time, I always go to the studio, make some beats and maybe some melodies. When I reached the age of 18, 19 years old, I just realized that music is exactly what I wanted to do in this life because it’s my passion. This is my true love, so I just wanted to spend all the time producing music.

At 20, you toured with Armin van Buuren. How was that experience? I have so much respect for this guy, and I really appreciate what he did for me. … It was an honor for me when he went to my management and told me, “We want to have you on a State of Trance 500 [tour].” I can’t measure what it meant for me at that time, 500 shows on main stages. ... One of the best moments of my life so far.

You signed to Above & Beyond’s label, Anjunabeats. What have you learned from them? It’s a great experience because Armin and Above & Beyond—these guys are why trance is still alive. … It taught me a lot in terms of what kind of relationship you need to have with your fans, what kind of music they want to hear from you and what you need to do for your career. Like with Armin, you can see how he’s playing, what kind of tracks, how he works with the crowd, how to create a kind of experience that you can only get from this guy.

What’s going on with your weekly radio show on Anjunabeats Worldwide? The cool thing is that I’m playing music that I would probably never play in my live set, but the music that I really like that brings some kind of emotion to me. ... This project right now is like my baby. … I’m happy because it’s a good way to spend your time—listening to new music, finding some new styles and bringing some new inspiration.

What are the differences between fans at Marquee and your Eastern European fans? Oh man, the fans in Eastern Europe are crazy! … They go from one show to another show; those are the people that really appreciate what you’re doing. At Marquee there is a group of people that come to see your show and there is a group of people that come just for fun, to experience Sin City. So it’s a different level of energy. … You learn how to play for maybe a more commercial crowd, but every show at Marquee is growing for me. People were responding to trance music, which I was very happy about!