In the DJ world, TiMO ODV is the equivalent of a grade 3 pupil playing with matriculants. He only entered the dance music scene eight months ago after learning how to DJ from YouTube videos.
The producer and singer, known as Timothy Oude-Vrielink has gone from his East Rand bedroom to performing for over 20,000 Rage Festival goers this weekend.
With his debut single "Save Me" having been certified gold shortly after being released, he will also be performing at the biggest dance music festival Ultra next year.
The 25-year-old's pursuit of happiness saw him dropping out of varsity, where he was studying graphic design. Later he took to online gambling to make some money, before turning to music.
For Oude-Vrielink, it seems that following his passion worked out for him. As a former poker player, he says he was earning between R15,000 and R20,000 a month from online gambling. “I played poker for a year and I made lots of money but I wasn't happy, the only thing that appealed to me was music," he said.
The self-taught singer-songwriter-producer said: “I realised that music was the only thing that would make me happy...I always wanted to produce music but I thought it was impossible unless you had the studio equipment worth R2-million, but then I found out I could learn how to produce using YouTube and I did.”
His second single, Find My Way, is the perfect addition to a summer party playlist. But, the commercial deep house artist, who also plays the piano, is a purist at heart .“The lifestyle of sex and drugs has never appealed to me, I'm purely about the music because everything else taints the music. But, I still like the drunk people,” he said.
He plans to release an album next year, but for now, fans can enjoy his live sets at clubs around the country.
TiMO ODV's current car playlist:
Adele: Hello
Drake: Hotline Bling
The Weeknd
Disclosure: Magnets
Disclosure: Omen
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