Black V Neck on touring, record selection and dream venues to play

To get to know the guys behind the track better we conducted an interview with Black V Neck. They took the time to answer questions about touring, record selections and their dream venues to play.

What is your pre-show ritual before going on stage?
We get there early to hear what the opener is playing and to see the vibe of the crowd. Then we take a quick shot of tequila to get us in the zone.

How do you prepare your set? Do you build a fully locked playlist or leave room to improvise?
We create a roadmap of records and a direction we would like to go for the night. We sometimes add and remove songs as we start playing depending on how the room is. So I would say it's 50% planned and 50% improvised.

What is one track you always keep on your USB or laptop just in case?
"Want Your Soul" by Armand Van Helden is a classic and never fails.

• And what was the response like when you first played "Losing My Head" live?
  We have been opening our sets with it and people have been loving the energy! They love the tension from the vocal loop just before the drop and bassline hit you.

Do you ever create special edits or exclusive versions of your tracks just for your live sets?
We actually don't often. What we tend to do is put an acapella on a 3rd CDJ and play it while we mix two records to create a new song in between, essentially. Our favorite response is "what remix did you play of that song??" when it was just us creating the mashup live.

Have you ever dealt with a technical fail in your set, and how did you handle it?
Too many times. You just take a deep breath and focus on how you will bring the vibe back once it's resolved. Might take you 10 minutes to get back in the zone, but once you get the crowd back you forget it even happened.

How do you make your sets feel unique for each city or festival?
We pick records according to the venue, set length, time of day, city, etc., and we lean into what we think would work depending on the circumstances. Yet we always play the BVN hits because that is what people come to see. You have to stay true to yourself as an artist at the end of the day.

How often do you test unreleased tracks during your live sets? And is the reaction of the crowd always nice?
We always test not only our unreleased tunes but demos for our label, Retail Records. Doesn't always work, but when it does it's a magical feeling! Usually when we play an unreleased demo from ourselves we talk through the whole thing discussing mixing notes for when we go back to the studio.

What is one non-musical element (visuals, stage design, pyrotechnics) that you believe elevates your performance?
Always love a good pyro or confetti blast at the end of a set! We also love CO₂, but sometimes it's too loud and you never know when they’ll blast it, so it can give some tracks more energy than others.

What has been your most unforgettable crowd reaction so far?
When we played "Like Whoa" at a festival in California and the crowd was chanting the lyrics—it was unforgettable.

What is your dream venue or festival stage to perform at in the future?
We have yet to do Tomorrowland, so that's on our bucket list! But there are also so many other countries we would love to visit and play. Ibiza is another one that would be a dream for us