Denis First joins forces with multi-platinum electronic duo Filatov & Karas on Sweet Summer Nights, a radiant vocal house record arriving via First Forged that pairs polished songwriting with peak-time dancefloor energy.
Built around an instantly memorable vocal hook, Sweet Summer Nights blends shimmering synths, uplifting piano flourishes and crisp, contemporary production into a record that captures the carefree optimism of long evenings, open-air festivals and late-night drives. Equal parts radio-ready and club-focused, it delivers the kind of effortless crossover appeal that has become a hallmark of Denis First’s productions.
With the single out now, we caught up with Denis to get the lowdown.
Dance music has changed dramatically since you first started releasing records. When you listen back to your earliest productions, do you hear an artist you still recognise, or does it feel like somebody else entirely?
I think it was a natural evolution. As you grow, your perspective changes, your taste develops, and so does the way you want to express yourself through music. Earlier in my career, I enjoyed making energetic festival tracks. Today, I’m much more interested in creating music that connects with people emotionally and still feels relevant years later. For me, it’s no longer about following trends—it’s about making music that genuinely means something to me.
You’ve collaborated with everyone from Steve Aoki and Galantis to Edward Maya, Cash Cash and now Filatov & Karas. Is there one collaboration that fundamentally changed the way you think about making records, even if listeners wouldn’t necessarily know it?
Every collaboration teaches you something. You get to see how other artists think, how they approach songwriting, melodies, and production. It’s always an exchange of ideas.
But probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned is not to overcomplicate things. The songs that connect the most are often built around the simplest ideas. Creating something simple that genuinely moves people is much harder than making something technically complex.
Every producer has a release that never gets talked about enough. Which record from your catalogue do you wish more people would rediscover, and what makes it special to you?
I wouldn’t say there’s just one. Forever and a Day has a special place in my heart because it’s my son’s favorite song. But honestly, I’m more excited about what’s coming next. I believe some of my upcoming releases have real potential, and I hope they’ll find their audience. At the end of the day, what matters most to me is creating music that people truly feel and remember.
Tens of millions of streams, releases on Universal, Sony, Warner, Spinnin’ and Ultra… from the outside it looks like a career that’s steadily gathered momentum rather than exploding overnight. Has that slower build given you something you might have missed if success had arrived all at once?
Yes, and I’m actually happy it happened that way. Music has always been a passion first, never a race for numbers or viral moments. I’ve always wanted to create songs that I would still enjoy listening to years later. The only challenge is that I genuinely love many different genres—from classical music to hip-hop and electronic music. Different styles constantly inspire me, and I think that’s both my biggest challenge and my greatest strength.
What does success look like to Denis First in 2026 that it wouldn’t have looked like to Denis First ten years ago?
In life, success means freedom. The freedom to do what you love, to be happy, to have your family close, to be surrounded by love, respect, and people you trust. In music, success means creating songs that I will still be proud of years from now—and that continue to resonate with listeners. I’d rather make music I truly believe in than simply chase numbers.
Sweet Summer Nights captures that carefree festival feeling, but was there a particular memory, place or experience that shaped the atmosphere of the track, or was it more about chasing a feeling than recreating one?
It isn’t about one specific memory. It’s about that perfect summer night when time seems to stop. A great party, your best friends around you, music, the sunset, freedom, and the feeling that everything is exactly as it should be. To me, Sweet Summer Nights is about the moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life. It’s about emotions you wish you could relive again and again—that’s exactly the feeling I wanted to capture in this record.
It’s easy to imagine that producers with long careers become faster and more efficient in the studio. Has experience actually simplified your process, or has it made you more obsessive about the details?
Experience gives you intuition. You gradually develop a better understanding of what can truly move people emotionally. Of course, production has become much faster—technology has made so many things easier compared to ten years ago. But technology can never replace taste. It’s like fashion: someone can have an unlimited budget and still have no style, while someone else can look incredible with very little. Music works the same way. That’s why I’ve actually become more demanding with every release. I always want to refine every detail until nothing feels unnecessary and everything serves the song.
After all the labels, collaborations and milestones you’ve experienced, what still gives you the biggest buzz: finishing a record, hearing it on a festival stage, or watching listeners make it part of their own lives?
I think, like most people, what matters most is the legacy you leave behind. I’d love my music to become part of someone’s memories—to be connected with meaningful moments in their lives. If people are still listening to my songs years from now and they continue to make them feel something, then I’ll know I’ve done something worthwhile
To me, that’s the real definition of success. Everything else—numbers, awards and achievements—eventually becomes secondary.
Filatov & Karas, Denis First – Sweet Summer Nights is out now First Forged
