Just when you thought Hurricane Harvey was calming down, a torrential downpour of HARD ELECTRONIC is on its way to the USA’s major metropolitan areas, and the East and West Coasts now brace for impact. If you like your beats tough, distorted and relentless, then September 8, 2017 you need to be in Brooklyn, NY and September 9, 2017 you better fly, drive or swim to Los Angeles, CA because shows with this much sonic boom don’t happen very often in the USA. Here are the respective Facebook Event pages:
Noize Suppressor hits the coasts Sept. 8 & 9, 2017
Headlining both nights is Italy’s number 1 party animal, Noize Suppressor. You might remember him from his knockout performances at Trauma Live, Fresh’s Hardstyle Arena, or EDCLV. Well, he’s back to burn and score a few points for Dogfight Hardcore, so get some comfy sneakers because you’re going to be jumping and pumping. The other headliner is a new face to America, Malke, bringing his brand of Brazilian hard electronic audio skills to raise the East and West Coast’s respective water level of sonic appreciation to tidal wave levels. Another Industrial Strength score for forward-thinking audio dissemination and keeping them, as always, ahead of the future’s curve.
But that’s only the tip of the icebergs heading at breakneck speed to slam into the coasts. The New York show features Delta 9 aka Dave Delta, Lenny Dee, Satronica, Delirium, John Bas, MC Mastachief , Ontal (from Serbia) and Gxnnxr. The Los Angeles chaos will be co-hosted by Rave ‘til Dawn and will put the old and new guard of hardcore techno into a full-on crash collision of the generations as Lenny Dee, Satronica, Demigod, Fiend, Inyoung, Deadly Buda, Sonik and J’Sin are going to party like it’s 1999 and remind everyone why Los Angeles is the decades-long, number one spot for hardcore techno in the USA.
As the week goes on, we will be profiling many of the artists playing at both events at The Hard Data. But to start off, we are going to focus briefly on the main drivers of both parties, Industrial Strength Records and Kontaminated Recordings, and their head honchos, Lenny Dee, Satronica, and DJ Delirium.
Lenny Dee:
Lenny Dee appears at Hard Electronic Sept. 8 and 9, 2017
Producer / DJ / Label Owner Lenny Dee is one of NYC’s earliest techno and house pioneers. He attacked Europe with the then new sound of Techno and in 1991 launched Industrial Strength Records – the first electronic ‘Hardcore’ label in the world that’s included music from Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Manu Le Malin, Angerfist, Corrosion of Conformity, Daft Punk, Neophyte, Unexist, DOA, The Sickest Squad, Nasenbluten, The Mover, Mescalinum United, Rob Gee, Deadly Buda, Delta 9, Satronica, Delirium, Demigod, Ron D Core, Inyoung and many more.
Lenny has also written and produced hundreds of tracks on labels such as 4th floor, Warner Bros, Strictly Rhythm, R&S, Music Man, Atlantic Records, Arista, XL Recordings, Gigilo, Rotterdam Records, ID &T and Stay Up Forever.
Lenny was the 1st Hardcore DJ to appear on the ‘DJ Mag – Top 100’ and was previously named Number 1 ‘Hard DJ’ by Mixmag, was twice awarded the accolade of Best Worldwide Techno DJ by the Scottish Dance Music Awards & Frontpage Magazine.
Satronica appears at Hard Electronic Sept. 8 and 9, 2017
Along with DJ Delirium, Satronica, aka Satroniq, is forging a new sound for the hard electronic masses via Kontaminated Recordings. He began producing music, playing live and DJ’ing in the mid 90’s as part of the Things to Come Crew in NYC. Soon he found his own style of aggressive and distorted industrial hardcore techno woven with rage-laden vocal elements. This sound found a home, of course, at Industiral Strength Records, most famously with his smash hit “F*ck the System.”
He has performed at some of the largest events in Canada, The United States, South America, and Europe spinning and performing a brutal mix of dark and deranged selections. These events include parties such as Dominator, Q-Base, Masters of Hardcore, Coloursfest, WestFest, Kinetik Festival, PRSPCT XL, and E-Mission.
His tracks have also appeared on many major hardcore and techno compilations from some of the best known and loved labels in the world such as Industrial Strength, Thunderdome, ACArdipane, Neophyte Records, Rotterdam Records, ID&T, Masters of Hardcore and Traxtorm.
His latest collaborations with Noize Suppressor, Unexist, Art of Fighters, and Crypsis show his commitment to the core and constant pursuit of innovation.
Kontaminated co-conspirator is none other than old school vet DJ Delirium. Ever since the early 90’s, DJ Delirium has been a forefront leader in the Hardcore Techno scene. He has appeared countless times at some of the worlds largest events like Thunderdome, Mysteryland, Defqon.1, Dominator, In Qontrol, Raving Nightmare, Ground Zero, EDC – Vegas, Earthquake and many more. Delirium has also had tracks featured on some of the worlds most legendary hardcore compilations CD’s including Thunderdome, Always Hardcore, Masters Of Hardcore and Resident E.
To date, DJ Delirium has released over 300 slammin’ tracks with some of the most recognized companies in Hardcore Techno including ID&T, Industrial Strength, Traxtorm, Masters of Hardcore, MegaRave, and many more. DJ Delirium’s got studio skills and has proven that with his top quality productions. Anyone who’s ever seen DJ Delirium perform knows about his smooth mixing and tight scratching.
Ok folks so this is your first warning shot about the big events coming in just days. Save your pennies, get some good night sleep and make sure you have enough quarters for your laundry come Sunday because you are going to sweat!
Hard Kryptic Records is a U.S. based hardcore techno label formed by founders Howard “How Hard” Grene and Jimmy “Jimmy X” Navarro. The label celebrated its first decade releasing music in September 2016 with an explosive remix project entitled “Return To The Pit”.
I sat down with How Hard to get a deeper look into him and the label more.
Well, there’s no better place to begin then when it all started. When was Hard Kryptic Records formed?
The label itself came into existence officially in 2006, although there was a year leading up to the first album’s release. Jimmy X and I were working together on music, and I was helping him on some of the more business side of music for his own work.
All good ideas usually spawn from a moment of inspiration or idea, right? So, what was the driving force or reason why the label was founded?
The label came to fruition by circumstance. It wasn’t something we originally planned for. Simply put, I had two friends—a married couple—that wanted to put together a vinyl record for fun. They asked me to take one side, and they’d take the other side, and we’d split the cost. Jimmy and I had finished up a song of mine called “The Pit” a little before that, and I decided that’s what I wanted to use on the record. Long story short, my friends ended up dropping out of the project, but Jimmy and I already were still ready to go. So, we threw on a DJ Delirium remix of “The Pit” as well as had another original track, and the next thing we knew, we had boxes of vinyl sitting in my house!
Hard Kryptic founders How Hard and Jimmy X in Canada.
How did you come up with the name “Hard Kryptic Records”?
Jimmy was releasing DJ podcasts under the name Kryptic Music, and I had been releasing my band’s demos under an unofficial How Hard Records name—basically keeping the name around in the hopes of eventually launching it for real when the time presented itself. As to represent the both of us, we combined the two named into one entity. We did the same thing with our main company that houses HKR—Hard X Music—which combines How Hard and Jimmy X.
Were there any other label creators or artists that helped you out in the beginning of the company, or gave you inspiration/motivation/ideas for Hard Kryptic Records?
DJ Delirium was a great help in the beginning. He was happy to lend his thoughts and connections to get the first release out there and get the second release “Blazin’ Out Your Speaker” put together. Lenny Dee and I had some discussions in the early years as well. He was someone who was happy to give his advice. I mean, when Lenny speaks, you listen! Plus, because I was already working for some labels, I was taking a lot of knowledge from that experience.
The Pit record release party, NYC, 2006.
I can’t imagine just anyone being able to start a record label. Are there any particular skills or education would you say aided you the most in managing one?
I was fortunate to have already been working in the music industry for a few years at that point. I think doing your best to understand how all the moving parts work is beneficial. I often find that people who want to start a label are focused on getting the music out but have little-to-no understanding of how usage rights work. I’ve seen quite a few artists and label owners get upset because music of theirs gets taken down by copyright strikes on SoundCloud or YouTube because of a blatant sample, or releasing bootleg remixes. I find more often than not artists who haven’t given any thought to publishing, which is an important piece that gets overlooked.
What was the first official release on Hard Kryptic Records? And looking back on it, what are your thoughts on how it felt when that release first went out? Was it exciting to finally have something concrete to say, “Here’s something brought to you in part by HKR”?
Our first release was the 12″ of “The Pit” by How Hard & Jimmy X. It was exciting, for sure. It really all went fast too! Once the product was in my house, we already were sending it out to DJs. We sent a whole box to the Netherlands to be distributed to shops. We threw a record release party. Soon after, some labels were contacting me about licensing, and artist demos were coming in. It was one thing after another!
HKR001: How Hard & Jimmy X – The Pit
Who were the first artists you signed to your label?
DJ Delirium was the first artist we signed for two records. After that we signed Triax, who has put out some big releases in his career. Sadly, even though we looked to do more work together, he only did one record with us. After that, we starting to pick up talent in the U.S. and overseas: Delta 9, Angry Tolerance, Forsaken Is Dead, CAP, and so many many more in those first few years.
In the beginning, it couldn’t have been easy. What kept you going with Hard Kryptic Records that first year?
Fortunately, the first year was only “The Pit” and slowly putting together “Blazin’ Out Your Speaker”. We didn’t intend to go out and make this a full-time label, but DJ Delirium remix generated some attention, so we figured we’d go for round two. Obviously, we didn’t expect “Blazin’” to really throw us into high gear, but when it did, it did!
Would you describe managing a label as being very difficult? What are the hardest parts? Do you manage every aspect of the business on your own, or do you work with a team?
I find running the label more time consuming than difficult. The hardest parts I would say are trying to get all of the back-end pieces done. I’m fortunate that 99% of the artists we’ve had on the label have been amazing to work with, so ego hasn’t been too much of a problem.
I manage the label as a whole but I have some amazing help, too. This includes Stefan—my promo manager for the last year and a half—has been my sidekick. Our artist Komarovski was a big part of helping with the label for a few years in different areas. My brother Jonathan, works with me on the financials and business affairs-type decisions. Plus, interns who have tediously sat and inputted lines upon lines of data into different websites for their 3 college credits. And you [Jai] have also helped in the past with licensing and income tracking.
Would you have any advice out there for people who may be considering founding their own labels?
I would say get your ducks in a row. Learn as much as you can about the ins and outs about how a label operates. I always try to take my time to help friends looking to launch labels or help them gain a better understanding of things from the artist side. There are countless labels putting out product. A lot of it is excellent music, but things get lost in the mix. Make sure what you have stands out, and you’ll have an arsenal of music ready to go so your name doesn’t get forgotten. Also, network! Know the other labels who do similar music as you, and maybe even those which don’t. Speak to DJs who will support your music. Oh, and don’t be a jerk. That’s one way for me and so many others to never want to work with you.
What are some characteristics that stick out about Hard Kryptic?
I think that we are very open about style. A lot of labels—big and small—have a particular “sound”, and the artists on their rosters perfect those sounds. For us, our sound is eclectic. I enjoy having a release that is heavily melody-driven and then another release that is dark and a bit noisy. Overall, I enjoy releasing interesting music by talented artists. Another thing that I try to push to artists is DIY.
In this style of music, sampling is prominent, and there’s lots of chances for similar-sounding results. I prefer to find someone to create something new that’s unique to that track. I’ve recorded or hired others to perform on drums and guitars, to sing, do voice work—even foley effects. With vocals, we can change words around, play with style an phrasing. Another part that I’ve been happy to see is our artists moving on to bigger parts of their careers after working with us.
How Hard, Jimmy X, Integrity, DJ Choke
What are some of your personal favorite releases?
It’s hard to say. I mean, how do you choose your favorite child? “The Pit” launched it all. “Blazin’” made us take the label seriously. So, those two really stick out in the beginning. My collab with Braincrushers and E-RAYzor—“Worldwide Movement”—was a big track for me. It’s one of those songs that even if I wasn’t a part of the song, I’d play it for years to come. When I play that track live, I get this big jolt of energy. I must look like a maniac behind the decks screaming my head off! What else? Oh! My release with CAP called “American Rebels” was a fun release to do. I flew to Arizona for a week and worked on that in CAP’s studio. I love writing tracks which represent hardcore, so this was my track celebrating American hardcore with two American artists from different parts of the country. Sh*t, Komarovski’s first release on HKR “The Melody Within Me” was great. Love those melodies! Same with Hard-Tex’s first release “Defined By The Melody”. Both are masters of melody; so much so I made sure their album titles pointed that out! The first Scathatch EP is something I still play out. The title track is great and the Braincrushers remix of “Time” is forever a go-to track for me. But, all in all, I can’t believe how many great tracks and releases we’ve put out.
Do you have any particular artists that you enjoy working with the most as an artist as well as on the label side?
It’s a different experience working with different artists. J Root and I have been working together in the studio for years. Usually I head down to his studio for several days and hang out. He and I have a great work method which boils down to trying not to kill each other by day two. But in the end, we both come out excited for what we’ve done. He’s an overall great guy, and I like to find projects to work on with him—partially as an excuse to drive a few hours to his place to chill. D-Version/Section IX has been a recent collaborator with me musically. It’s a bit harder to collab from a distance since he’s in the Netherland, but we’re both trusting of each other’s contributions we pass back and forth. I wish CAP lived closer. We had a blast working side by side when I was out there. Broadly, I’ve done vocals on a bit of projects both on HKR and other labels, so I enjoy that ability to add something to someone else’s tracks. I’m a hands-on person, so I enjoy artists who allow me to be a part of the final production of the song.
On the label side, Komarovski was a great guy to have a part of the team. Simply talented in the studio and put in a lot of his time to help me out in many ways. Hard-Tex is great too—another one who I know will go far. Mr. Madness is a cool dude and putting out some great work on Industrial Strength these days. Scathatch, CAP, and Braincrushers are the super easy artists to work with—I’ll wake up with demos in my inbox and pass back some notes. Next thing I know, I have releases ready to go, awaiting mastering and artwork. Can’t ask for a smoother process. Vi Ta Lee and Kostia from Angry Tolerance/The Illuminati/Apex Mind are awesome at getting me awesome music both as a team and solo tracks. They also manage the sublabel Dark Like Hell so they are very much ingrained in the company. I like being a springboard for artists. We’ve had some great talent go come through us early on and move onto bigger labels. That’s really exciting.
In September 2016 you released the 10-year anniversary release “Return To The Pit”.What work went into it?
For the anniversary release, I wanted to bring in some remixers that would take the original and have some fun with it. I started my own remix first: recorded new vocals, recorded a guitar melody that I heard in my head with my man Spikey Jay. I called up J Root to see if he wanted in on the new remix. He took the elements I had, and we brainstormed a bit. As we worked, I realized that this was more than a remix, but a whole new take on the song! I remember getting a text from him with a link to our Dropbox with the updates he made, and I was so blown away at what it turned into.
From there, I reached out to guys on the label. First pick was Braincrushers—they’re the top breed on the roster and such mainstays for years that I couldn’t NOT have them on this! The same thing with Vi Ta Lee who I knew would go in a totally different direction than anyone else on the project. Section IX had just came back to the label looking to do rawstyle which I thought was cool to add into the release. Then Silent Humanity who was releasing on the Dark Like Hell sublabel and starting to work on HKR was excited to be a part of the mix too. The biggest coup of them all was having Ophidian come in on a remix. I can’t tell you how honored I was to attach his name to the project. His remix is simply untouchable. I got the first draft of it and I was so blown away! I passed back some ideas and the guy took it a thousand levels farther. Then, because “No Clownin’” was on the original vinyl, I had Scathatch come in on a remix. We remastered DJ Delirium’s remix of “The Pit” and included previously released remixes of my tracks “Suck A F*ck” and “Revenge”. Alina at Second Idea Design did a kickass job on the cover too. If this was my last release as an artist or a label, I’d be okay with it. Just an overall rad release!
HKD074 – How Hard, J Root, Jimmy X – Return To The Pit
Have any releases come since “Return To The Pit”?
Oh yeah, totally! J Root did a cool solo release “Project Disclosure”. Can I say how unique J’s style is? He’s another one whose melodies stick out and production is so his own! CAP did two releases back to back “I Have No Friends” that included a remix by [crisis] who has done work on HKR as Deotys and then “Machine Music” which has a remix by Nekrokick who I met earlier in the summer at Gabberfest. Both CAP releases showcase his different styles. The dude has grown so much since joining the label. Mash Manson did an aggressive techno release “The Bad Man“, Vi Ta Lee had a hardstyle single that was a collaboration with Marina Borodina and General Guyble titled “Blow Your Mind“. Section IX contributed vocals to that one. So, our most recent release, which came out end of July, is “Worldwide Movement: Remix Project” by Braincrushers, E-RAYzor, and myself. This is a big release for HKR and me. I’m so amped for this to be played everywhere!
What else can you tell us about “Worldwide Movement: Remix Project”?
The original theme of the song was hardcore being a musical uniter for artists and fans around the world. In 2014, we released the original with a music video that had clips of hardcore artists and events from different countries. This remix project took that idea to the next level. We enlisted remixes from on and outside the label—people we felt would represent their countries well. Similar direction like we did with “Return To The Pit”. I know Re-Style is the name that will stand out to many. His remix is right up there in that mainstage style. A headbanger for sure. Other remixes we have are Trinitite from Sweden, Dark Headz from Switzerland, SOTUI from Spain, Round Wave Crusher from Argentina, Hard Versions (the collaborative name I am using with D-Version), and Kortarow in Japan. Everyone came through with fantastic remixes—each one is so unique.
HKD078 – Braincrushers, E-RAYzor, How Hard – Worldwide Movement: Remix Project
What’s next, or what’s in the future of Hard Kryptic Records? Do you foresee it ever changing into something mainstream or radio-friendly? Where do you see yourself going with this? What changes or evolutions do you predict for yourself and the label?
To be honest, I’m not even sure. Sounds change and artists come and go. I hope we have longevity and we continue to represent underground hardcore techno. I have no problem releasing non-hard music, and we’ve done so on some of the Hard X labels. It’s not a direction I am trying to steer the ship towards completely, but overall I enjoy interesting music and want to help push talent. In the end, hardcore and harder music is my #1, and I look to continue to do that!
The system that makes this possible was made public at about 2:00 AM, on August 13, 2017, when Deadly Buda finalized the integration of 19 “smart contracts” on the Musicoin blockchain and attached them to his DJ mix on Musicoin.org. “This will completely change the dance music landscape,” said DJ Deadly Buda, “it’s a
development on par with the introduction of the 12” single or the crossfader. It will change the way we do things creatively and the listener will be the winner.”
The DJ mix contains 15 EDM tracks of various genres, hard electronic, dubstep, hardstyle, hard bass, jungle, drum and bass, hardcore techno, shamancore, tekno, and ambient, by artists Counterstrike, Satroniq & DJ Delirium, Teknoaidi, Subterranean, Cap, M27, Harhor, and Deadly Buda.
The DJ mix format was popularized in the 1970’s and since then has existed in a quasi-legal state. A recorded DJ mix is a continuous blend of several separate songs or “tracks”. To be traditionally legally compliant, this requires numerous permissions, paperwork, and licenses. By the time the paperwork is done, the audience generally considers the music in the mix old, and has moved on to the latest sound in fashion. Consequently, most DJs over the decades haven’t bothered to get the permissions, and have released the mixes “illegally” on cassettes, CDs, and now, SoundCloud and YouTube. Generally, the artists in these mixes aren’t receiving any compensation for their music and oftentimes aren’t even credited as part of the mix. Many DJs don’t supply playlists due to avoiding scrutiny, time constraints, lack of proper labeling on dance records, or at worst, just wanting all the attention for themselves.
Ironically, dance music producers make their music specifically so that it can be mixed by DJs, and clamor for popular DJs to use their songs. DJ mixes, though often technically illegal, are the main channel of publicity for smaller dance music scenes or up-and-coming talent. So for the last few decades, the music industry has generally not enforced their copyrights against DJ mixes while retaining their right to do so. Consequently, the DJs, still fearing potential incrimination, can rarely publicize their mixes on a grand scale or derive much more income than money they spent purchasing the records or Mp3s used in the mix. The cumulative effect of this quasi-legality has been that DJ mixes are still considered “underground” even though it is the audience’s preferred manner of listening to dance music.
“The more I understood blockchain technology, the more I realized that the legal problems with the DJ mix were about to be a thing of the past,” stated DJ Deadly Buda. “All the permissions, paperwork, and payments could be done in an instant.”
Blockchain technology is basically a decentralized ledger system maintained by multiple computers. The most popular blockchain in the world is Bitcoin, and it has inspired other blockchains to target specific areas of the world economy. Musicoin, as the name suggests, is geared towards music, musicians, and fans. When a user plays a song on musicoin.org the artist of the song gets paid one Musicoin (currently worth about $0.01-0.04 USD)—usually in a matter of seconds. This is significantly higher than average artists get paid per play on Spotify or iTunes.
Furthermore, the Musicoin blockchain system allows an artist to upload a song and attach what is called a “smart contract” that can distribute payments to multiple parties if needed. For example, the smart contract could be programmed so that every time the song is played, the drummer, singer, guitarist, and bassist in a band all split the payment.
“When I realized every song on the Musicoin system had its own payment address, I got as many people I knew that made great music to upload. Then, I asked their permission if I could use their music in my mix,” revealed Deadly Buda. After conferring with some of the artists, realizing they were helping to establish a new paradigm, the following formula was decided: 40% of the mix revenue goes to the DJ, and the remaining 60% is split evenly between each of the songs in the mix. “A DJ spends a lot of time sifting through a lot of bad music to find the gems he or she plays for the public, so I wanted to honor that time and money expenditure while at the same time leaving a fair amount of room for each song to make money as well.”
A new paradigm for how DJ mixes can be made and monetized is now officially live thanks to DJ Deadly Buda and Musicoin, but there is still work to be done says Deadly Buda, “In the very near future, there will probably be just a checkbox an artist can use that gives anyone on the system the right to mix their music so long as they get paid via a smart contract. As soon as that happens, the system will be unstoppable and will benefit the established music industry and new artists alike.”
Musicoin just increased its lead in the music-blockchain race, as several well-known artists on the harder side of the electronic dance music world made their music available on musicoin.org. Most notably, famed South African drum and bass producers, Counterstrike, made available three of their high-energy, metal-infused epics of rolling percussion.
Not far behind in the upload race was Satroniq, aka Satronica, one of America’s top hardcore techno DJs, whose hard EDM label, Kontaminated Recordings, submitted their hardstyle infused “Egyptian Cougar” track by Satroniq and DJ Delirium.
Musicoin.org’s hard bass catalog got a nice upgrade courtesy of Pittsburgh, PA’s rising young talent, Subterranean. His four tracks of glitchy trap and dubstep are just the sounds that have been crushing the EDM festivals this summer, and anyone on the lookout for fresh ear-candy should take note.
Hardcore techno luminaries Deadly Buda and Cap also verified their profiles on the Musicoin system. Included in Deadly Buda’s upload pack was an alternative version of “King of Style”, his track that famously samples the world’s first hip-hop documentary Style Wars, and released by the world’s first hardcore techno record label, Industrial Strength Records. In addition, his “Congress of the Kickdrum” (the official anthem for America’s annual meetup for the harder styles, American Gabberfest) successfully utilizes Musicoin’s royalty pay-out function, automatically issuing payments to the vocalist and scratch-DJ featured on the track, The Gabber Cowboy and DJ Mindcontroller.
A spot for the Industrial Hardcore genre was blasted into existence on Musicoin by none other than Cap, best known for his work with the Arizona Hardcore Junkies, Industrial Strength Records, Important Corestyle, Hard Kryptic Records, Dark Like Hell Records, Six Feet Underground Records, and No Sleep Till Bedtime. Now throttling the Musicoin catalog is his classic “The Plan” as well as the anthem for Phoenix’s annual festival of the harder styles, Hard Asylum.
Musicoin’s brisk development pace shows no signs of slowing, either. Besides a plethora of new artist sign-ups, the platform is gearing up to implement the next significant stop on its development roadmap, “Universal Basic Income”. Touted as a new concept in cryptoeconomics, the system promises to guarantee a fair and steady source of revenue for musicians while make streaming content on the platform free for listeners. Universal Basic Income implementation is slated to commence in Quarter Three of 2017.
As told to JAB! Recently I had the opportunity to speak with one of the coolest promotors ever, Devo of ToyMaker Music, about their upcoming 15th Anniversary of Barnyard Boogie.
Devo, congratulations on your 15th Anniversary. Why do you think Barnyard Boogie is one of the longest running shows here in the US?
Thank you. Barnyard Boogie is a traditional old skool event. We offer all varieties of Electronic Music, so there is a good feel and fun atmosphere much like at a reunion. I love that dark, illegal, underground, warehouse grunge feel of early raves and I recreate that flavor into Barnyard Boogie every year.
Devo of ToyMaker Music
How did the idea for Barnyard Boogie come about?
Back in the day I attended Backwoods Boogie, an amazing event at a state park put on by Shawn McCarty with the blessing of Billie Most. I totally looked up to Billie and his production company, Organic Grooves, and modeled Barnyard Boogie after his events. The very first one was in a large farm garage and being on a farm, “barnyard”
just seemed the logical name to use. As a show of good faith to Billie, our first slogan was, “Back from the Backwoods.”
What changes have you made at Barnyard Boogie over the years?
The biggest change has been in the equipment. Many newer dj’s now bring their own equipment, such as controllers, with them, whereas old skoolers tend to still use turntables. Barnyard Boogie is an old skool event, so many of the djs performing on turntables. Another change is that the event has
gotten bigger and bigger. We started out with one stage and eight djs in a garage and I think about fifty people came. This year we have 8 stages with over 50,000 watts of sound on each stage, over 100 djs and a whole fairground to party on, there’s even a semi-trailer
to groove in! We’re expecting over 1000 people from all over the US, from Maine to California and all points in between. Everyone ready to dance, party and have a good time from 4pm to 8am and on.
That’s over 16 hours of Electronic Music!!!
Yep. (Smile) I feel a true rave is one where you can see the sunrise come up. In fact, one of our first Barnyard Boogies was held in an actual wooden barnhouse. As the sun rose in the morning you could see the golden rays of light slowly peak through the cracks between the wooden boards, lighting up the djs as they continued to play. It was pretty amazing.
As ToyMaker Music you’ve been promoting since 1996, what is it that motivates you to keep going?
For me it has always been my love for the music and the people. When I was younger I listened to hip hop and was really impressed by the people I saw doing tricks on the turntables. Later when I was older in high school, I’d sneak out of the house and go to parties at the local university. It was there that I saw those same turntables with djs spinning Electronic Music and I was hooked. Nowdays when someone comes up to me and says, “Hey, I was at your show and had an awesome time”, then I know I’m doing a great thing and I’m psyched to start planning for the next show. I’d like to say a big thank you to all those involved, that special someone, who inspires me to “just be me”, Bleep, my head coordinators, and the over 40 volunteers we have this year. We couldn’t do it without you!
ToyMaker Music Productions
I have often wondered why you hold Barnyard Boogie in November, seems a cold time of year to be on a farm in Illinois.
(Laughs) Since Barnyard Boogie started it has taken place on a farm, where we use neighboring fields for parking. Because of this, we have to wait until the crops are taken out in the Fall. At first, this was purely a logistical decision, now it has become a tradition. Barnyard Boogie fills the calendar gap between Halloween and Christmas raves. November is a traditional time of giving thanks and having the event out in the fields, in a sense, is our way as ravers of saying thanks to mother-nature in a very up close and personal and way. Plus I get to wear my cowboy hat. (Laughs) This year we will also be donating to cancer research along with hosting our annual food drive for the local food pantry.
As far as keeping warm, our 15th Anniversary slogan is “We’re gonna get your bodies MOOving!” To help us accomplish this we have invited djs like Hyperactive, Forest Green, Jen Mas, Miss K FunkTM and Alfonz Delamota. The stages are also all indoors, we’ve got some great vendors, amazing acts and of course the ToyMaker mascot teddy bears.
That sounds really awesome, DevoTM. Thanks for talking with us and we wish you all the best for ToyMaker Music’s 15th Anniversary of Barnyard Boogie coming up on November 12th in Amoy, IL.
