New talent is blossoming at the Tomorrowland Academy

For 20 years, the spirit of Tomorrowland, the feeling of interconnectivity and the grand odyssey of LIFE have spread to every corner of the globe. Thanks to the People of Tomorrow, millions have discovered the magic of harmony that is celebrated here.

Amongst them, some have found a special calling for themselves: to become the creators of the melodies that tug our heartstrings and dancing feet as they spring forth from the DJ booth. The Tomorrowland Academy is the perfect start on their wondrous journey.

Here, talented new musicians, young and old, learn the craft of being a DJ and producer from some of the biggest legends in the game. How do you beatmatch? What makes a great DJ set? What’s the best way of reaching more and more people with one’s art? All of these questions and more are answered here, but the program isn’t just about absorbing information.

Standing behind the decks and drawing people in is a hands-on job, of course! That’s why at the Academy, all students spend plenty of time mixing, producing and mastering – all under the watchful eyes of experienced coaches and industry professionals.

Since Monday, these beginners from all over the world have been working on becoming their best artistic self, honing their skills and being introduced to the techniques needed to make their vision come to life.

Through panel talks, masterclasses, and conferences by guest speakers from booking agencies, record labels, and artist managers, they learn the inner workings of the industry. What’s more, they also get to know the mindset and mentality needed to find and maintain the original melody that exists in all of us.

To find that connection and becoming able to express it is, in the end, the best way to set yourself apart and grow an audience.

To translate our experiences and emotions into music is a serious undertaking, especially when working with DAWs (‘digital audio workstations’) such as Ableton Live.

Even though music-making programs like this can be daunting at first, Tomorrowland Academy makes it as easy as possible to connect one’s artistic instinct with the computerized 1s and 0s that make electronic music possible.

Believe it or not: although most of this year’s Bootcamp participants had never opened software to make music before, when we visited them, they were already working with samples, synthesizers, and plug-ins, after just a few days. Incredible, isn’t it?

On Thursday, then, the participants’ experience peaked in a special moment for all: their own performance on the Rise stage, in which they brought the first notes of wonder to the festival grounds.

Spurred on by their fellow students, they put on quite the show, displaying the huge steps you can make when you learn from the best, when you have the determination to find your special place in the movement that is Tomorrowland.

Join the Academy

If all of this sounds like just the thing for you, and you also feel the calling to become an artist and unite with others to make your visions come to life, look no further than academy.tomorrowland.com.

Here you can find online masterclasses by some of the biggest stars out there, such as James Hype and Laidback Luke, and sign up for in-person production and DJ courses in locations in Antwerpen and Hasselt. Want an even more in-depth experience?

With the WALL Pro Academy, none other than Afrojack is offering over 30 hours of educational content on everything there is to know about the industry.

If your mind is set on making your dream of standing on a Tomorrowland stage a reality – perhaps we will see you in the classes next year!

Tristan, a firefighter from the UK. Seeing him dance to his new friends’ performances, you can tell that the rhythm and melody have really taken him in. “I struggle with my health quite a bit and sometimes dealing with that can be tiresome. But even in those times, my own musical journey is always there to take me in and give me the chance to celebrate life.” Even during our small talk, Tristan’s feet keep moving while his friend Tuder is playing.

Catherine, the Las Vegas native has become a Tomorrowland regular, having come here for every edition since 2013. After multiple years of being part of different Global Journey endeavors, she truly knows how to unite with the People of Tomorrow. After all those years, the Academy felt like the ultimate way to experience Tomorrowland for her – especially for the twentieth year.