If there’s anyone who isn’t afraid of 138, it’s Allen Watts. With his consistency in releasing powerhouse tracks that drive fans wild on the dance floor, this Dutch DJ and producer has made a name for himself and has given much reason as to why his tracks are always featured on Armin van Buuren’s radio show, ASOT.
Allen Watts has most recently paired up with Blastoyz to bring trance fans a compilation album to drool over. If you like you trance hard, heavy and high-octane — ‘Who’s Afraid Of 138?! (Vol. 3)’ is where you can find it! One of the tracks off this mix album is Allen Watt’s own banger with Christina Novelli on vocals — ‘My Gravity’. Both of which are out now for your listening pleasure.
Upon this exciting release, we were able to speak with Allen Watts about what it was like to work on ‘Who’s Afraid Of 138?! (Vol. 3)’ and so much more.
FMF: You’ve been very busy lately with your consistent releases all while performing at world-class festivals frequently. Recently you worked on the Who’s Afraid of 138?! compilation album with Blastoyz. What was that like?
Allen Watts: It was really fun to do, I had the chance to listen to so much great trance of all different styles, which I would not normally play at my shows, it proves that trance music is really doing great at the moment.
What was the most fun part of working on the compilation album and what was the most challenging part?
The fun part was definitely selecting the music for it. While the challenging part would be how to progress the mix from start to finish and in what order would work best within the keys of each track.
I always ask trance producers this question because everyone seems to have their own opinion. What does trance mean to you?
For me, it was always an escape from reality, it takes me to a different place and instantly changes my mood to happy. Trance is a big part of my life and I hope it continues to be so.
Thanks to trance I’ve followed my dreams and it’s taken me to so many amazing places and I’ve met so many great people.
This year has already been very eventful for you having performed at Luminosity, ASOT 900 in Utrecht and many other great events. Where else can we see you perform this year?
I’m so pleased to play at UNTOLD Festival in Romania, the legendary Nature One Festival (where I’ll be on the techno club stage), Street Parade in Zurich and I’m debuting for Transmission at the Pre Party at Epic Club in Prague. I’ve heard that this club is amazing, so I’m looking forward to that. I also have more to be announced. It’s a great looking summer into fall.
You’ve had quite a few excellent releases this year — I have to say ‘Caffeine’ is one of my favorites from you. What else do you have in store for us in 2019?
Yea, ‘Caffeine’! I loved making that one with Maarten de Jong. We had great fun in the studio and our sounds combined turned out to be really successful. Hopefully we can do another some time.
I have a brand new remix that’s worked so well in my sets with Ben Gold of the trance classic by DJ Kim, ‘Jetlag’ which comes out August 16th. My collab with Steve Dekay from Colombia, which Armin has been playing of late and seems to be liking. And out now is my original vocal track ‘My Gravity’ with the amazing voice of Christina Novelli.
Lastly, with the announcement of your compilation album, I have to ask. Are YOU Afraid of 138?!
Definitely not. I love 138! Special things happen at that number!
*Featured image via Allen Watts*
