In partnership with Dutch-based EDM music label Spinnin’ Records, global EDM DJ Oliver Heldens is celebrating the launch of Call of Duty: Warzone Season 04 with an all-new dance track, titled: Sound of Vondel.

The bespoke track takes inspiration from Vondel, the upcoming medium-sized Battle Royale map new to Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Season 04. As well as leaning into Oliver Heldens’ more techno-oriented alter-ego sound (HI-LO) and the grit and action players have come to expect from Call of Duty®, listeners may also recognize the iconic voice of Task Force 141 fan favorite Captain Price.

Sound of Vondel is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube today. Operators dropping into Vondel will also be able to listen to the track in-game.

DROP INTO VONDEL AND PARTY ALL NIGHT

Put Sound of Vondel on repeat and set your coordinates for an all-new map.

Size-wise, Vondel is between Al Mazrah and Ashika Island, welcoming up to 18 Operators for DMZ and 72 Operators for Resurgence game modes. Expect a mixture of densely packed urban streets and canals, larger structures to fully explore (inside and out), a large degree of verticality and the means to counter those that take advantage of it, parkour routes and numerous secrets to discover.

Operators dropping into the new medium-sized map can listen to the Sound of Vondel and party all game long (again and again) with their squad. Late-night gaming sessions just got even later…

OLIVER HELDENS: “A DREAM COME TRUE”

Oliver Heldens’ career has been a whirlwind of mind-boggling success since he signed to Spinnin’ Records. Back then, some Oliver’s first tracks were named after weapons from previous Call of Duty® titles.

Here’s what he had to say about the partnership.

Interviewer: What are your earliest memories of Call of Duty?

Oliver: My earliest memories of Call of Duty were playing World at War on the PS2, but my most fond memories were from playing Modern Warfare 2 with friends. To be honest I got a bit obsessed with it at that time, I especially loved quickscoping with the Intervention, and it got to a point that people regularly thought I was hacking haha. When Spinnin’ Records – my dream label at that time – offered me a record deal, my first officially released tracks were actually named after MW2 rocket launchers (Thumper, Stinger, Buzzer, Javelin, Juggernaut). I think in the end it was all meant to be haha. And I must admit I occasionally liked some noob tubing fun besides all the sweaty quickscoping.

Interviewer: What type of Call of Duty player are you; Do you have a particular playing style or strength?

Oliver: Nowadays, and maybe since I got a bit older, my strengths are definitely not on the direct combat side of things, but more so on strategic plays/moves, map awareness, outsmarting the opponents and having patience. In Warzone squads I usually like to take the lead a bit, I used to be really good at chess as a kid and I always like to think a few steps ahead. Some people are going to hate me for this, but in the pandemic I loved playing Warzone solos as a ‘ninja’ so to say, being very strategic where to land at the start, where to move and position throughout the game, with the goal to avoid most combat and only engage in combat when it’s really necessary and to win the game with as few kills as possible haha. That definitely worked for me.

Interviewer: What appealed to you about this collaboration; Have you wanted to do something like this for a long time? And what was your inspiration for the track; How did you integrate sounds from Call of Duty whilst maintaining your signature sound?

Oliver: It felt like a dream come true when I heard that Activision wanted me to create an official anthem for their new Warzone map, Vondel! I wanted to create something in my techno-focused alter ego HI-LO’s style, mixed with sound bites from the game, like the Captain Price vocal liner/sample and elements/sounds from their soundtracks, and with a cinematic feel to it, more on the melodic techno side of things. That same evening I came up with that spooky arpeggio lead melody for the big break, the epic cinematic bridge into the Captain Price vocal, leading into the big drop with the heavy chugging bass sequencer, where I end up adding some super epic strings the next day.

I also integrated certain tonal FX and sounds from the ‘Kill or Capture’ soundtrack, that blended very well over my track, including the syncopated strings in the first drop. I’m really happy how well this track turned out and I want to give a big shout out to the Activision team for having such a clear and good direction/vision for this collaboration from the start, and for utilizing my strengths as a composer and producer to the fullest without compromising me at all, while delivering on point well-constructed feedback during this whole creative process, resulting in something truly fresh and authentic, that we all can be proud of and that will most likely resonate well with fans of my music and fans of the game.

Interviewer: If you could assemble a DJ supergroup – based on who you think the best Call of Duty players are – who would make the cut?

Oliver: There are a lot of DJ friends that I haven’t played with yet, but from the ones I’ve played with I would assemble fellow Dutchies Mike Cervello, Sven Fields and Afrojack, so we can communicate in Dutch. Or maybe replace Afrojack with Alan Walker to get a bit more kills haha, sorry Nick!

Interviewer: You’re getting ready for a Call of Duty game night with your DJ supergroup, what’s on your playlist to get you pumped?

Oliver: Sound of Vondel of course! And probably some more peak time techno, some hard techno/trance/rave stuff, and maybe some heavy hitting DnB.

Interviewer: What is your favorite loadout?

Oliver: I like running an assault rifle together with a sniper rifle, nowadays the TAQ-56 (Scar) and the Intervention or the SPX-80. Tactical: Stun Grenade. Lethal: Proximity Mine or Frag Grenade. Perks: Overkill, Bomb Squad, Fast Hands, Ghost.

Interviewer: Lastly, tell us about your funniest clutch moment?

Oliver: Winning Warzone solo games with only like two, three, or four kills must’ve been quite frustrating for the spectators at the end with 10+ kills haha, sorry not sorry. Although I’ve never won a Warzone solos game with only one kill, that’s still on my bucket list haha.

Sound of Vondel is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube today. Operators dropping into Vondel will also be able to listen to the track in-game.

Stay frosty.

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