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Articles, Interviews

Artist Interview – Mekanikal

Mekanikal is one of the fastest rising talents in the North American Hard Dance scene. He began producing music when he was 14 and gravitated towards hardstyle after watching Coone’s video series of the making of his album “The Challenge.” After spending time developing his sound, Mekanikal got his first major break in 2013 with his remix of T.A.T.A.N.K.A Project’s track “DJ’s Life” was released on Zanzalabs. Because of that, in 2013 he had the opportunity to play at Defqon 1 NL, and the first edition of TomorrowWorld in Atlanta, GA. In 2014 he saw even more success as his original track “Questions” was released on Q-Dance Records. Due to that he was invited to play at The Qontinent: Wild Wild Weekend, Decibel Outdoor Festival, and the first edition of Mysteryland USA. We had the chance to catch up with him in preparation for his appearance at Basscon: Wasteland, April 28-29.

Thank you for taking the time to sit down and interview with us! How did you decide on you DJ alias Mekanikal?

Originally I was playing at shows like Defqon and TomorrowWorld under an old alias, which people had a lot of trouble pronouncing—especially in Europe. So I, Q-Dance, and Headliner Entertainment—(who I was signed with at the time) had a sit-down and came up with the name “Mekanikal,” which ultimately became my new alias.

Are you influenced by other artists or genres? If so, which ones? How did you eventually get interested in the harderstyle? When do you first remember being hooked by the sound?

I’m influenced by many genres other than hardstyle, especially trap and bass music. Some of the sound design elements in those tracks and the high energy inspire me, and I strive to inject that into my own productions. I got interested in hardstyle back in 2006-2007 after previewing a bunch of compilation albums on iTunes (the modern-day equivalent to crate-digging through records). I came across Headhunterz’ track “The Sacrifice” and I moved into jumpstyle and hard trance after hearing that track, Once I found D-Block and S-te-fan’s Qlimax anthem that’s when I knew I was hooked on hardstyle!

What are you trying to convey through your music? Are there any themes or ideas that are important to you? Is there anything in particular you find yourself wanting to communicate to the audience?

In my music, I try to convey all the elements that I like in hardstyle. From the melodies, to the basslines, to the atmosphere and energy, I want people to have a good time while listening to my music. In terms of ideas or themes, I like to incorporate a non-hardstyle element into each track I make. For example, one track you’ll hear at Wasteland has a two-step moombah section, and in another track I might throw in an acoustic guitar or create a trance-esque atmosphere for the breakdown. I want to show the audience that the binary of euphoric vs. raw that currently plagues the hardstyle scene is counterproductive, and looking to other styles of dance music is okay in hardstyle. It will grow on you if you just give it a chance.

How do you prepare for a big show? Do you have any pre-show rituals that you follow? Do you ever still get nervous before a performance or show?

To put it simply, I down two or three Red Bulls and get on stage haha.  In terms of pre-show “rituals” I usually like to go over my SD cards one last time to make sure I have all the songs I want to play, and I like to get to the stage early. I think if you don’t get a little nervous before you go onstage that is a sign of cockiness and it will screw up somehow. Having pre-show nerves keeps you focused and ensures that you will deliver to the best of your abilities. Personally, I don’t get as nervous as I used to before a show, but I am definitely not calm either… just ask anyone who’s tried to talk to me onstage!

You recently released your track Psycedelica, a Hardstyle and Psytrance crossover track, as well as Hardstyle Made me Do It with Reactor and MC Sik-Wit-It. Are there any other interesting tracks or potential collabs in the future we should look out for?

I just wrapped on three tracks that will be debuted at Wasteland: a remix to an Ummet Ozcan track as well as a Markus Schulz bootleg, and a new original that will be the first track of my set, so get there for that ☺. For future collabs, I have a couple that I’m nailing down final details for, so look for those in the second half of 2017.

Of all your music, what song did you enjoy creating the most and why?

I really enjoyed creating Psychedelic. It was my first attempt at making a psytrance-influenced track and I really had no idea how it would turn out. It was a lot of trial and error and mangling sounds in ways that I hadn’t thought of before.

You’ve played several other Basscon parties, and even at the Basscon: Wasteland stage at  EDC Las Vegas, are you excited to be back in the CA for Basscon: Wastelend? What is different about this time?

I’m always excited to play in California. The sheer energy and volume of people that turn out for these shows is staggering and rivals the size of European crowds in many cases. What will be different, though, is you can expect a lot more variety in this upcoming performance. Don’t expect there to be just one BPM or style played.

Do you have anything special planned for the party? Unreleased tracks? Oldschool throwbacks?

Catch DJ Mekanikal at Basscon: Wasteland on Saturday, April 29.

Expect to hear a lot of energetic tracks, and some unreleased material from both myself and other up and coming east-coast producers. Also, I might throw in some classic hardstyle if the crowd seems hype to that. I don’t plan my sets too much in advance so it’s hard to definitively say what will be in it.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers of The Hard Data? 

Thank you all for helping grow the community to the size it is now, and let’s work to build it up even more! If you see me at Wasteland walking through the crowd, feel free to come up and say hi. I love talking with fans of the harder styles. Finally, California, I’ll be back later this year if you miss my performance at Wasteland. Stay tuned to my socials for that announcement ☺.

Catch DJ Mekanikal at Basscon: Wasteland on Saturday April 29.

Facebook: Facebook.com/mekanikalhardstyle
Soundcloud: Soundcloud.com/djmekanikalofficial
Website: touring.apa-agency.com/rosters/mekanikal

Articles, Digitracks, Reviews

Dyprax & Norphine – Don’t Fear Death [MOHDIGI190]

In the current hardcore world of 4 track releases, remixes from just about everybody who can operate a DAW, and huge compilation releases on a regular basis from various labels, the release of a single track is a seriously bold statement. The label is basically saying “yeah, it’s that good” – and Masters of Hardcore follows through with a seriously banging, one track, mainstream release from Dyprax and Norphine titled “Don’t Fear Death”. The kick has an absolutely wonderful texture of a hard nose coupled with cymbals and a fat bass tail with thick distortion without being too over the top in the mids and highs. I for sure caught myself head-nodding to the flow of the kick. To sum it up, it just sounds and feels right. The break is ethereal and pad heavy which supports the “death is a saint” vocal sample but doesn’t feel over done and drawn out. It gets to the point and comes back to the track with synths filtering in and a short build. The melody is definitely catchy and drives the rest of the track, again without being overly long and drawn out, to give way to pads which fill the musical spectrum the rest of the way – well done in my opinion. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were to find this track in any of my sets or mixes and I’d seriously consider giving it a purchase if you’re more into mainstream hardcore. I wasn’t able to find it on Juno Download but you can find it at Hard Tunes.

-CAP

Articles, Digitracks, Reviews

Release Review: eDUB – Right Behind You EP [OBLIVION 006]

Making a debut into some slower industrial, the uptempo monster eDUB shows that he sits right at home at any tempo with his latest release on Oblivion Underground Recordings.

“I’m Not The Only One” – This beauty features screaming synths that sit ominously in the background with upfront 2/4 snares that fit in the mix perfectly. Not that it really needs mentioning but that characteristically brutal eDUB kick is there and rocking.

“Industrial Meat” – The track that initially got me interested in this release definitely delivers. The slowed down eDUB kick with it’s hard nose and tone heavy reflexive tail does well creating a dirty yet bouncy slow industrial monster. Effective kick edits and vocal sample use drive the track and the ominous break in the middle do service to add feeling to the track.

“Right Behind You” – The title track of the release does not disappoint. We have some of the screaming screeches in the back with good spacial effects much like first track in the release but with eDUB’s drum and bass influence and uptempo speed. The break and sample use of “Right Behind You” keeps up with eDUBS overall vibe of ‘electronically creepy’.  If you do uptempo, this ones for you.

“Primitive Technology” – This track featuring Alexander Head turned out to be the one that I didn’t see coming and, despite there being a 150 BPM banger, my favorite of the release. The kick is fat and ultra noisy and seems to incorporate all the other sounds of the release nicely into one gnarly track; ominous synths to fill the background, the 2/4 snares sitting nicely above the kick, the break has movement and motion to it rather than being dull and limp, the 4-4 snares after the break really ramp up the energy after the drop. Out of a whole release of nasty, dirty, rough, and noisy industrial tracks, this one tops it for me.

-CAP

Articles, Reviews

Made in Qanada: Crisis Era

With Basscon Wasteland fast approaching, the hype is getting real! The massive announcement dropped by Insomniac is sure to attract the Hardstyle family from near and far to California, eager to celebrate a two day festival with such heavyweight names.
From up north, representing the rapidly growing Canadian hard scene, we have Crisis Era. Matt and Silas are a duo of producers from Vancouver that have been mobilizing the Hardstyle crowd in North America since 2012. They are signed to Brennan Heart‘s label, WE R, and have played in almost every massive Hardstyle event in the past couple years. I can tell you one thing, those guys know how to throw down!

 

Following their success in Belgium’s DayDream Festival, the guys are ready to step it up and destroy 3 stages in what’s gonna be one EPIC weekend for them. Starting on the 27th at Hardfest Festival in the Netherlands, flying to The USA straight to the Wasteland on the 28th and finishing in Dallas for Hardismystyle on the 29th.

What can you expect from them? With tracks like Moshpit, Turn me on, Party up,  featuring names like Code Black, Audiofreq, and more, you can count on a high energy performance full of dance floor bangers; where they plan to premier their first full EP. Their versatility and fun personalities have made a lot of unique collaborations possible, such as their new track with Gammer that was dropped on their recent visit to Edmonton, with the Kutski‘s “Keeping the Rave Alive Neon nation tour“; where they made a really strong impression with the local crowd. On their first time in the City of Champions, Crisis Era managed to make it such a memorable night, everyone in Alberta took over their live chat with fans (which lasted about 10 hours) the following Sunday to let the guys know how much everyone appreciated that party, and were looking forward to everything they had coming up. Such as a new mix series where they are looking to experiment with different genres to showcase their range, and starting a merchandise line that will be initially available at their shows, and online in the near future.

 

 

If you want a taste of their music and really unique sense of humour listen to their guest appearance on KTRA, and their Hard Island mix. Both feature original tracks, and some strong remixes, such as their banging version of Kaskade’s Disarm you, and their one of a kind takes on Get your freak on, called Come on, and Radiohead’s Creep.
If you’re into snapchat comedy, they’re usually posting really creative, hilarious skits, plus an inside look at their creative process and hectic tour schedule.
Be sure to catch their set at Basscon, or whenever you get a chance. They will for sure Make-Make-Make it POP.

You can follow them on Snapchat at CrisisEra, on Facebook HERE, or Instagram for more original content and upcoming songs and events.

Articles, Interviews

Artist Interview – Mrotek


American artist Mrotek was born to bring a whole new level of madness to dark and extreme music. Throughout his earlier years, deathcore and progressive metal held his creative focus. In 2009, he redirected his sights to Hardstyle music, drawn by it’s powerful sound and high production value. Twenty years of experience in the creation of music came to fruition when he began producing his own tracks in late 2013. Working closely with widely known artist “MC Heretik”, he aimed to combine his knowledge of music theory with his passion for Raw Hardstyle into a new progressive sound.

He continued to refine his style into 2015 with the completion of a series of raw and sinister tracks, including Penance (with Arctus and MC Heretik), Voice of Fear (with Deimos and MC Heretik), a remix of Prime Suspects – Biblical (with Arctus, released on Spoontech records), and numerous others.

Mrotek, thanks for taking the time to interview with us! How did you first get into hard dance music?
From a very young age I played guitar; mainly metal and classical. So I’ve always been into making music, but late in High school I started going to raves. At that point my focus switched to electronic music. I was actually really into Happy Hardcore and first. But then at one particular rave, I remember walking into the main stage and Samara by Noisecontrollers was playing. At that moment, the synth in the break was the sickest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. From then on I was obsessed!

Tell us a little bit about the hardstyle scene in Arizona. How has it been as far as opportunity for you to grow as an artist?
The AZ scene has always had a really solid Hard Dance presence thanks to the Arizona Hardcore Junkies. Between them, SDK, and BPM Boost, there is a nice stream of hard dance parties here. All of the shows that helped me develop as a DJ were pretty much all either SDK shows or random desert parties; and yes, we have parties in the desert here 😛
But I have to say, BY FAR the biggest thing in Arizona that has helped me grow has been my krew: Paul (MC Heretik), Logan (Arctus/Sythys), and Jack (The Wicked). We all constantly push each other to get better, finish tracks, bounce ideas off each other, or just meet up and spin some tracks over some brews. Having a solid support system of people you trust completely does so incredibly much; it’s hard to describe all of the benefits from something like that.

How has the evolution of hardstyle influenced you as an artist, and particularly, how did you decide to produce rawstyle?
I’ve always been into extreme and aggressive music. Maybe that’s why Hardstyle didn’t totally grab me until I heard Samara, which has a classic ‘Dark Hardstyle’ melody. Back then there wasn’t really “raw” Hardstyle, just edgier stuff. Artists like Chris One, Zany & The Beholder, The R3belz, they were huge for me. Then E-force hit the scene and I was sold on exactly what I wanted to do. But then things evolve and new artists push the boundaries of what is possible. Rawstyle is one of the fastest changing genres in the world in my opinion, so there is always something new to push it a little further. That idea is what keeps me up at night as an artist. It’s a very exciting time!

Lots of US artists booked for this edition for Basscon Wasteland, what is it like getting booked and receiving that kind of recognition as an artist?
It’s really awesome to see so much U.S. talent on the biggest Hardstyle lineup he states have ever seen. I think this is a great sign for our country’s Hardstyle scene and the way we show up to the rest of the world as well. As far as recognition goes, I have never really cared much about getting recognized. I’m just stoked to rock the fuck out of that stage and blast some heavy shit! It’s going to be a fucking party!!!

Speaking of recognition, you were just signed to DirtyWorkz DWX Anarchy– that has to be a HUGE step  for your career as an artist!

Mrotek signed to DWX Anarchy

I am INSANELY honored to be with DWX; it’s super humbling to be representing U.S.Raw on the #1 label of 2016. I’ve been a huge fan of the artists on Anarchy for years now. Working with some of my Hardstyle heros has been unreal. The ‘family’ vibe of Dirty Workz really makes it feel like my home. I love everything about the label, it’s a dream come true really!

Some things that stand out in my mind are your collabs with Digital Mindz and Riiho, and winning the Sub Sonik remix contest with To Hell (Mrotek and Deimos). Anything else you’ve accomplished that you’re super proud of, or any big goals on the horizon?
The colab with Unresolved as also a fun one ☺ Things I’m proud of, hmm, I guess just the state of where things are at for me. Seeing my tracks being played at all of the big festivals never stops exciting me; all of the support from huge artists in unreal. Every track I finish is a new thing I’m proud of. I have this personal deal with myself that every track I finish has to be better than the last, and so far I feel like I’ve kept that deal with myself. I love how ‘Substance Abuse’ turned out, and the new track I’ve finished since then I am even happier with. Working this way makes writing new tracks REALLY exciting and fun.

What other big things can we look forward to from you in the future? More massive tracks and colabs; all dark and heavy AF of course! Definitely plan on pushing the fusion of metal and rawstyle as far as it can go. I have some exciting bookings lined up that will be announced soon as well. I’m working hard to bring you more tracks, new colabs, playing more shows, possibly doing a European tour later this year, and eventually moving to either The Netherland or Belgium would be the next huge goal. But that one is a few years away still 😛

Anything else you’d like to tell the readers of The Hard Data?
To the readers of Hard Data – you are the ones who make this genre go. Without you, there would be no parties, no artists, and no music. Your dedication is what makes this all possible. Keep spreading the music; our country has the potential to be a Hard Dance power house of the world, and the only way that will happen is if more crazy fucks like you storm the country and burn the place to the ground. Thanks for your dedication and I’ll see you at Wasteland!

Mrotek’s sound is already making waves in the international Hardstyle scene, having received support from the likes of MC Villain, Regain, Riiho, Caine, and many more. Expect a lot more from Mrotek in the near future, as this powerful musician shows no signs of relenting in 2017. Catch him at Basscon Wasteland onApril 29, 2017.

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mrotekdj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrotekDJ/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrotekmedia