Oliver Heldens on World Cup Weekend, His Music Evolution, and What's Next
- DJ Riddler
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Last Friday I sat down backstage with Oliver Heldens at Warehouse Live Midtown — the night before Netherlands played Sweden in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It wasn't the first time I'd interviewed him.
Back in 2019 during Miami Music Week I had the chance to sit down with Oliver when I was APD and Music Director at KROI Houston. Six years later he was back in Houston, and this time the conversation happened in the backstage hallway of my own venue hours before he took the stage for one of the best shows we've had all year.
Watch the full interview below.
Oliver had already been fully immersed in Houston's World Cup energy for a full week before he even stepped on our stage.
When I asked him how it felt being back in Houston during World Cup weekend with Netherlands playing Sweden the next day, his answer said everything:
"It's great to be back here in Houston, especially during this super fun World Cup weekend. Last weekend I already got a great taste of it — I was playing at Silo Dallas, and then the next day we did the orange fan walk on the orange bus, which was such a great vibe, and then of course the game at the Cowboys Stadium."
He wasn't just passing through Houston for a show. He was living the World Cup experience alongside the fans — riding the orange bus, watching the match at Cowboys Stadium, feeling the energy of 500,000 visitors descending on our city.
When I asked for his prediction on the Netherlands vs Sweden match the next day he didn't hesitate.
Netherlands 2-1.
How His Music Has Evolved Since 2019
Six years is a long time in electronic music. Artists rise, fall, reinvent themselves, or disappear entirely.
Oliver Heldens has done none of those things.
When I asked him how his music had changed since our last interview he walked me through a journey that most artists in his position never take — a deliberate shift away from what was working toward something new, followed by a return to his roots with a fresh perspective.
"A lot has happened since then. The pandemic came in 2020. Actually in the pandemic I started to focus a bit more on my HI-LO project, do a bit more techno stuff, and that actually really took off for me."
HI-LO is Oliver's techno alias — a darker, harder edged project that sits in a completely different sonic world from the future house sound that made him famous. During the pandemic when festivals shut down and the world went quiet, he leaned into that project and found an entirely new audience.
But last year he started coming back to his house music roots.
"Since last year I've also been doing a lot more house things again. Later at Enoch last year I released a rework of Lady by Modjo — like one of my all time favorite house tracks."
Lady by Modjo — one of the most iconic house tracks ever recorded — getting a 2025 rework from Oliver Heldens is exactly the kind of full circle moment that makes longtime house music fans stop and pay attention.
And he didn't stop there.
He also released a brand new single called Satisfy — what he described as 2015 future house with a modern twist. For anyone who fell in love with Oliver's sound during that era of future house, Satisfy is a direct line back to that feeling with everything he's learned since.
"It gives me so much freedom. For me it's like a dream coming true to have both of those artist projects on such a high level going great."
What's Next
Oliver hinted at new HI-LO music coming — some of it hard and high energy, some of it more groovy and melodic. And his live set that night at Warehouse Live reflected exactly that duality — future house, disco house, and high energy techno woven together into a seamless journey through everything he's built over the past decade.
He closed the interview the way he closed the show.
Simply.
"Thank you Houston."
The Show
800 people packed Warehouse Live Midtown that Friday night. Netherlands jerseys next to Sweden, Norway, Mexico, and USA. Roughly half visitors, half locals. Mosh pits. Dance circles. Chants in multiple languages.
Oliver stayed after his set until the very last fan got their photo.
That's the kind of artist you want in your venue.
Full show recap — including how we planned this booking a year in advance specifically for World Cup weekend — dropping Friday.
About the Booking
This show didn't happen by accident. A year ago I asked our talent buyers at Disco Presents to find a well known European DJ specifically for World Cup weekend in Houston. When the match schedule came out and I saw Netherlands vs Sweden on the calendar, I knew exactly what kind of energy we could create.
They delivered Oliver Heldens.
Houston's World Cup Host Committee is projecting 500,000 visitors and $1.5 billion in economic impact over the course of this tournament. If you're a venue operator or promoter in a World Cup host city and you're not thinking about how to capitalize on that — you're leaving a significant opportunity on the table.
More on that Friday.
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