Artist Profile: Ollie Plé
Ollie Plé is an innovative and multi-talented member of the EDM community, and shares his skills with the community through his work as a DJ, label head and festival organizer. He's got some great insights that he shared with the Electric Love team in our latest artist profile.
Electric Love: What brought you into your life as a DJ?
Ollie Plé: I went to a type of festival when I was 15 and it was a rock/rave way back in the day and after that one night out in Chilliwack on the side of a mountain - a bunch of bikers putting it on so it was super grungy - after that party we got a flier on our car windshield and it was basically the flier to the next party and that was it. I was doing research about where these parties are happening...and now here I am.
Electric Love: Does that make it meaningful to be playing Electric Love in Chilliwack, where it all started for you?
Ollie Plé: Totally. It's great getting back there. I've played lots of festivals out there and there hasn't been one for quite a while so it's great that it's starting up again and others are gonna be happening out there as well.
Electric Love: What are some highlights from your DJ career?
Ollie Plé: Probably the best show I've played was in Vietnam for Tet holiday which is the Chinese new year out there. Right on the beach there was about 4 or 5000 people in front of me and people were just going crazy. It's their new years so it just escalates it that much more.
Probably the most emotional set I played was probably y first Bass Fest that I put on 2 years ago. Just playing that set, seeing everything come together, was a pretty emotional experience just being able to look out at the festival and see what we had created, and playing the set in front of most of my closest friends.
Electric Love: What are the ingredients for a successful music festival?
Ollie Plé: There's a lot of things. Everything has to come together at the end for it to be a complete success but there's so many little parts and the more parts that you can get working correctly and producing the end result, it's hard to put your finger on one exact thing. Good communication skills with your team, and so on and so forth.
Electric Love: What is it that attracts people to you as a DJ?
Ollie Plé: I think my energy on stage when I'm playing is one of the big things that attracts people. For my stage presence, anyways. I'm always kind of completely into it. I'm always moving, you don't see me standing there still once. By the end of my set my shirt's wet and I'm pretty exhausted. And just being able to read the crowd. If you're playing a song that doesn't work, then make sure that the next one is gonna work for sure. Being able to get in and out of songs quickly so that you don't lose the dance floor.
Electric Love: And what exciting things are on the horizon?
Ollie Plé: Right now we're starting Electric Love Records, a label for all of our artists to express their music and put it out on a worldwide audience. I've also got Quack Recordings, a record label that I own, and we are looking at creating a booking agency through it. We'll be booking in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, all over Southeast Asia for our roster.