Earlier this month, Icon Collective and Dim Mak Records came together to bring back their beloved Takeover event after a four-year hiatus. I had the pleasure of interviewing Isaac Santos at Dim Mak Liz Brewer at Icon Collective on the return of Takeover.
This collaboration is so exciting! I know there was a FOUR-YEAR hiatus, so I’d love to know what made the two of you rejoin forces to bring back TAKEOVER?
Brewer: ICON strives not only to be a place to cultivate the next leading artists, but a catalyst for dance culture as a whole. This scene is the one that continues to feed us, and we aim to celebrate those around us that have been a part of the ICON story, and those who we have yet to meet. With DIM MAK’s long-standing position as a dance music staple, it only made sense to collaborate on an event with a shared mission of giving back to the culture. We’ve thrived together in the same ecosystem, and with numerous alumni releasing music through DIM MAK, we’d say it’s about time we threw an event together.
Santos: The idea to join forces actually came from our New Noise event series we are launching in 2024, New Noise is one of our subsidiary labels focusing on new sounds and talent. We had the idea of bringing our new noise label into the event space and launching a monthly showcase with all the artists who have released with us over the years and after looking through the list of acts we noticed many were ICON alumni. With so many artists and up and coming talent coming out of ICON we thought it would be the perfect collaboration to further push new sounds and artists. While we started the conversations ICON was in the middle of planning their TAKEOVER comeback so we felt it was the right time to initiate the collaboration.
The educational, pre-party panel is an awesome idea! What contributed to that being part of the comeback? It’s so awesome that you used the pre-party As a chance to give back to the Community.
Brewer: We came up with the idea of an educational pre-party industry panel with one major question in mind: how can we strengthen and grow our community and culture? By giving the next generation of artists and music business professionals access to essential real world knowledge, we are ensuring the growth of our industry. These are the future headliners, industry players and pioneers of the music business, so we want to set them up for success. By opening up this opportunity to those outside of ICON, we can impact a far greater number of individuals seeking mentorship and guidance on their journey. Launching our first event back with this goal in mind sets the stage for future events; how can we be of service to the culture?
Santos: Historically ICON has hosted panels on campus and at events, so we thought we’d continue the tradition to give back to the students through the panel and to the youth in need through our charity initiative with the LA Mission.
What do you hope attendees will take away from the panel? The opportunity to speak with industry insiders is a dream come true for so many trying to break into the music Business.
Brewer: The topic for this panel is the Artist Mindset – an ideal that often gets lost amongst the other pillars of artistry. With too much emphasis on skill development, and a lack of balancing and navigating the mental terrain of music creation, artists can meet premature burnout, become easily discouraged, and stray from the path of their why – why are they creating music? We hope that this panel inspires those who are choosing to take this path and discuss a topic that is often neglected yet fundamental for a successful artist.
Santos: I hope attendees took away a better insight into the mindset of being an artist and what it takes to get to where you want to be as an artist both mentally and physically in this industry.
What is it like having an alum perform at this special event? I can only imagine how proud Icon Collective is watching their artist continually grow?
Brewer: We are extremely excited to bring TAKEOVER back as a means to highlight and showcase our wide range of alumni. This was the mission from its conception, and it is incredibly special and rewarding to do so once again, especially as we join forces with a powerhouse like Dim Mak.
Year after year, we have the honor of witnessing our alumni reach new heights, and there is nothing more rewarding than that. At the end of the day, we are just a vessel for aspiring artists to get the education they need — they are the ones working tirelessly to chase their dreams, and we could not be prouder.
Being such a force in the world of electronic music, how important is it for you to host events like these for future and aspiring artists?
Santos: I’d say it’s vital, we have to give artists a platform to perform on and learn from. Music and events go hand in hand.
Can we expect any more TAKEOVER events in the new year? What does 2024 hold for you?
Brewer: In 2024, ICON will be delving further into the events space with both artist showcases and pre-party Industry Panels. We encourage everyone to be on the lookout for these events, including our collaboration with New Noise at the start of the year!
Santos: You can definitely expect more Dim Mak Takeovers in 2024 along with the launch of our New Noise monthly with ICON.
Icon Collective and Dim Mak closed the year with a bang. There is so much to look forward to in the new year so make sure to follow them on social media so you never miss an event! Instagram: @dimmak @iconcollective
