EDM is filled with plenty of talented artists, like Steve Aoki, Martin Garrix, Zedd and The Chainsmokers. In this seemingly male-dominated genre, NERVO, an Austrialian-based duo comprised of siblings Miriam and Olivia Nervo, are holding their own and winning music fans over with their infectious tracks and bold style. After just releasing their latest track, "In Your Arms," NERVO shared with us their thoughts on their single and their plans for 2017.
NERVO initially got their start in the music industry as songwriters. Most notably, they penned the lyrics to David Guetta’s chart-topping and Grammy-winning track “When Love Takes Over.” Realizing that they could use their talents to propel their own music career, Mim and Liv started creating original music for themselves.
“We had so many songs of our own that we thought it would be such a waste to leave them on our hard drive,” they explain.
Fast forward a few years and NERVO have now become some of the highest earning female DJs in the world—no big deal.
“It blows our mind that we are the highest ranking females because there are so many great female artists out there—Maya Jane Cole, Annie Mac, Sister Bliss, etc.,” NERVO admits. “It just goes to show that we have the most amazing, supportive fans who really get their vote on!”
As leading female artists in the EDM scene, NERVO have managed to garner a global audience through their authenticity and support from fellow artists.
“We don’t feel pressure at all,” Mim and Liv say. “We started our careers writing music for a lot of the boys, so when it was our time to step out and be artists/DJs, we received a lot of support from a lot of super popular DJs.”
When creating new music, Mim and Liv explain that being siblings works to their advantage.
“It definitely helps bouncing ideas off each other while writing/producing,” they say. “Often if one of us gets stuck, then the other one will jump in. We work well together. We have the same work ethic; we want what’s best for each other and we’re super honest with each other, so it works. There are no hard feelings in the studio—if we don’t like each other’s ideas, we don’t get offended. We just keep trying until we get something we both vibe to.”
In addition to their music, Mim and Liv are also making efforts to encourage women to achieve their goals.
“We recently did a campaign with our release 'People Grinnin,' where we teamed up with an Australian university to promote females in engineering,” NERVO says. “We did our music engineering course in London and we were the only girls in the class, so if we can inspire other girls to get more involved with music production or even just reaching their goals in any other male-dominated career, then happy days!”
NERVO kicked off 2017 by releasing “In Your Arms,” a breakup anthem that you’ll definitely want to add to your Spotify playlist ASAP.
“The lyrics are focused on that moment you realize you’re breaking up, but you still wish you had the comfort of being in their arms,” they share. “Sonically, we wanted to strip the verses down so it’s mainly just an intimate piano line and vocals, and then build into a drop that keeps the beat but doesn’t take away too much from the intimate vibe.”
In addition to playing “In Your Arms” at gigs like Tomorrowland, NERVO have plenty of other plans to keep them occupied this year. This includes global NERVOnation parties and residencies in both Ibiza and Vegas (just to name a few).
“We have some great collabs scheduled to come out this year with some amazing artists and also some DJ buddies like Quintino and DVBBS,” Mim and Liv say. “We launched our label, GOT ME BABY! Records, so we hope to sign a whole lot of great music in 2017.”
With a packed agenda, NERVO are ready to further prove why they’re the EDM duo you absolutely need to familiarize yourself with.
“We love what we do. We love making music. We are living the dream—making music and traveling for a living.”