VAVO, the dynamic duo of Jesse Fischer and Alden Martin, are trailblazers of YEEDM, a unique fusion of EDM and country music that has captivated fans and industry influencers. With multiple No. 1 hits on the USA Dance Radio charts and a Top 5 single on the Billboard Dance Music chart, they are 2024 Wynn Las Vegas artists in residence. VAVO has remixed tracks by artists like Kane Brown and Dylan Scott, and recently performed at Stagecoach Festival.
In the ever-evolving landscape of music, innovation often arises from unexpected encounters. For VAVO, the journey began with a simple message on SoundCloud in 2015. What started as a musical exchange blossomed into a creative partnership that transcended genres, culminating in the genesis of VAVO. United by a shared passion for music, VAVO embarked on a collaborative journey to forge their distinctive sound — a harmonious blend of dance music and country melodies.
Inspired by a fan’s suggestion, YEEDM became more than just a genre; it evolved into a movement. As dance music surged in popularity among younger audiences and country music continued to captivate listeners worldwide, the fusion of these two seemingly disparate genres struck a chord. VAVO’s unique blend offers both country enthusiasts and dance aficionados an experience, bridging musical boundaries.
Coachella Magazine had the chance to interview the artists at Stagecoach Festival on Sunday, April 28th, in the press tent, about two hours before their set inside Diplo’s Honky Tonk stage. Here, Jesse and Alden shared insights into their creative process, the origins of their unique sound, and their thoughts on the future of YEEDM.
Coachella Magazine: First, introduce yourself.
VAVO: Hey, what’s up everyone?
CM: How’d you guys first to meet?
VAVO: So we actually met on SoundCloud, back all the way in what, 2015? Long story short, I sent him (Jesse Fischer) a DM, loved his music. We worked on a song together, spoke every day for about a year and a bit, and then decided to form VAVO. And then just been growing. Ever since then, we’ve just become best friends and brothers.
CM: Can you tell us more about the concept of YEEDM?
VAVO: So YEEDM is dance music meets country music, and the way we came up with the name — we actually stole it from a fan. We’ll, not stole. She gave it to us. We borrowed it from a fan. <Laugh> But yeah, she made it up and we’ve stuck with it. On one of our first TikToks that blew up, she said, “This is YEEDM,” and we said, “We’d love how that idea sounds, and she’s like, “Yeah, let’s make it a thing.” So shout out to whoever that girl was.
CM: Cross-genre music, like your signature blend of EDM and country seems to be gaining popularity, especially among younger audiences. Why do you think the fusion resonates?
VAVO: I think it’s because country music has become so popular. Dance music has been at the forefront for younger people going to electronic festivals. So when you combine the two of ’em, it’s like, it gives country people an outlet to dance and vice versa. It’s also like a breath of fresh air within the dancing. ’cause It’s very easy as artist to kind of get stuck within a genre box. Obviously, it is popular at the time. Obviously dance music evolves over time, but I think that’s also just a breath of fresh air.
CM: I’ve been covering Stagecoach for the last eight years, and noticed that the Honky Tonk stage seems more packed than ever before.
VAVO: Yeah. I mean, Chainsmokers, Marshmallow, Diplo, the lineup this year, it’s like an electronic festival. It literally is. Like, you take the biggest sort of main stage of a big electronic festival and put it in a country festival. It’s like crazy. I mean, Chainsmokers are the equivalent to Morgan Wallen and dance music, you know?
CM: It’s also attracting a younger audience.
VAVO: I think it’s also enticing a lot of dance fans to come to a country festival, I’ve noticed on comments and stuff. A lot of people are coming for the Honky Tonk stage and obviously, then they’ll get experience and exposure to all the country artists too. So I think it’s a good mixing pot here.
CM: Is this your first time at Stagecoach?
VAVO: First time. Both of us.
CM: What can fans expect from your set?
VAVO: A wild show. A lot of energy. It’s gonna be super energetic. Obviously all of our famous remixes, new mashups. Might even tease some of new originals, if you’re lucky.
CM: Can you tell us about your creative process? How do you collaborate?
VAVO: Being a duo, it’s nice ’cause we both bring different things to the table. So, in the studio, if we run with an idea and we get stuck, one of us can kind of work through it or vice versa.
And It’s like having fresh ears on it too. Jesse and I can kind of work on things like individually and we might get stuck on something and like, “Hey, come listen to this.” And then the other person might have a completely different idea of where that direction should go. And then you don’t get stuck in a box then.
So it’s great. Obviously, he has a lot more country influences and I have a lot more dance influences. So then it’s good to have the combined.
CM: How does it feel to have achieved multiple number ones on the USA Dance Radio charts and a Top 5 single in the Billboard Dance Music chart?
VAVO: It’s been great. I mean, to see your song go number one on dance radio is amazing. It’s pretty nice. I remember the first time we got number one…it didn’t even sink in. We’re like, “What the hell? Like, it’s crazy.” <Laugh> Next is Country radio, hopefully. Country and then the world
CM: How did Wynn Las Vegas artist in residence impact your career?
VAVO: We just signed a deal with the Wynn, so shout out to the Wynn. That was always kind of like our dream. And we kind of like manifested it for ages and then it finally happened. It’s just cool to see the Wynn take such an initiative and believe in us to push this new EDM country dance music in Vegas. It’s historically been dance music for the last, you know, 10 plus years. And our sets still have quite a bit of dance music, but it’s cool that we can introduce some country into Vegas.
CM: With 100 global streams and a large social media following, how do you stay connected with your fans?
VAVO: Instagram is a very good way to stay connected. We have a lot of things where we would ask people to drop comments, if we should release that remix. So we want to have their view on things and taking the time to interact with fans. We’d be nowhere without fans. Especially after shows and stuff, we wanna hang with people, get photos and talk to them. We’re just still regular people. We’re just two normal dudes who make music and they have made this happen for us.
CM: What is your approach to remixing hits by artists like Kane Brown and Dylan Scott and how do you maintain the essence of the original while using your own style?
VAVO: So every remix is different. For instance, on a Dylan Scott song, we might be able to use some of the original guitar and incorporate that so listeners can hear, “Oh, that was in the original.” But we add our dance elements to it and our VAVO flair.
And some remixes, we have a lot of different versions of them, and not different styles, but different variations of the dance part. There’s some happy accidents and we just kind of toy between different ideas and then ones that we think sounds the best, then we go forward with that. And sometimes it happens instantly. It connects very well, but some of the times it takes a little bit of processing to get it to where we want it to be.
CM: What’s been the biggest challenge to you as far as navigating the music industry?
VAVO: Now that we tour so much, getting music done. The scheduling and setting time aside to finish records. We’ve already been on 50 flights this year, and it is so easy when you land, you wanna go to sleep, take a nap, eat, and then you’ve got a show and then you’re back on a flight. So, finding time to get music done has been tough and needing to adjust and stuff. And so I think that is probably one of the biggest things we got.
CM: After Stagecoach, what’s next?
VAVO: We just announced summer dates for the summer of Electric Rodeo Tour. I mean, there’s so many dates, it’s hard to keep track, but yeah we just posted it on our Instagram so it’s gonna be a busy summer for us for sure.
CM: Any advice you would give to upcoming artist?
VAVO: Just be true to yourself. Definitely be true to yourself and the rest will follow.
CM: What do you love most about being an artist?
VAVO: It’d be the traveling and just meeting new people around the world. But also it’s doing what you love for a job essentially as well. I know Jesse obviously as well, we’ve both grown up and absolutely loving music and wanted to do this our whole lives. So it’s kind of like, you’ve gotta pinch yourself sometimes. It’s your job to bring the music you created to fans that want to listen to it.