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When word started to spread over social media about Utah’s upcoming annual St. Patrick’s themed rave ‘Get Lucky’, the hype surrounding the event was insurmountable. Utah’s sole proprietor of electronic music, V2 Presents, had started to announce the lineup in phases. It wasn’t long after the announcement of the Disciple Tour members Barely Alive, Dodge & Fuski, and Astronaut did the company announce the arrival of Lady Faith and the Italian legend himself TECHNOBOY! At that moment, it was decided instantaneously that I would be attending this gold and green massive for the first time ever.

Inside the Tent O’ Gold [Harder Stage] at V2 Presents #GetLuckySLC 2016. Photos: @ballenmedia

Immediately upon entering the The Great Saltair I had to admit that the production of this show was much higher than any other rave of V2‘s in recent memory; also, I discovered as I was rummaging hastily through the crowd that Utah finally had a rave that was actually worth the trip for out-of-state ravers! Finally, I managed to arrive at the Tent O’ Gold (the harder stage) where I remained for the rest of the night, naturally. First on, the ‘Disciple Tour’: a beautiful blend of Drum & Bass by Dodge & Fuski, Trap and two-step by the humble Astronaut and an appearance by the experimental bass music duo Barely Alive which drastically helped cushion the blow of a high priced ticket. These guys kept their sets seamless between each other that you couldn’t even tell who was on next until you looked up and noticed a different face! True heavyweight champs in their respective genres. Then suddenly, the entire atmosphere shifted, and I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing:

Technoboy appeared at midnight to a tightly packed and maniac crowd (who surprisingly remained throughout the entire two hours of Hardstyle)! As he played through all the popular main stage bangers, he also played some more aggressive tracks at the end of his set (however there was no appearance of his Qlimax 2008 anthem ‘Next Dimensional World’, but that was only a minor disappointment) and that aggression was absorbed and distributed outward by the crowd as some mosh pits were opened and people were being launched into the air. But now, it was time to make way for the “Queen Bitch of the Universe”, LADY FAITH! This stunning woman kept that same amount of energy and aggression going throughout the last hour ending on a Rawstyle note; if only I was able to remember her last track! Unfortunately, due to the time change at the 2:00 am hour, the venue had to quickly close up as it was now in violation of our local laws (shows/events may not continue past two in the morning) and due to the force out by venue security, I was unable to get an interview with either one of the stars shortly after Lady Faith’s set.

At the end of the night, however, it was empowering and reassuring to see the impact of Hardstyle on the local crowd. Utah clearly has the intense desire and passion for the harder styles and by some stroke of luck (or the right people in the right ears) V2 managed to pull through for all us (finally!). We can only hope that they were there to witness the certain impact of their workings and that this event will prompt them to bring out even more Hard acts to the Great Salt Lake.

All photos courtesy of: @ballenmedia

Articles, Events

Field Report 9: Basscon Wasteland Day 2

March 7, 2016 Daybreaker

It was such a refreshing morning back at THD headquarters knowing that we get to experience another night of Hardstyle and Hardcore. Daybreaker and Murdock practiced their footwork and loosened up with a little pregame warm-up while Deadly Buda unsuccessfully begged Insomniac for a couple more comps to the sold out show. If you didn’t get a ticket to Saturday night a week earlier, basically you were S.O.L. and we felt lucky we had at least secured our entry for the night.

Day 2 started slightly earlier than Day 1 to accommodate the welcome of Adrenalize to the states! Although we didn’t get to experience much of his set, the California crowd definitely didn’t leave him with an empty Palladium, they were chanting already at 8:45! It was jam packed as we made our way in during the first hour. Malthe Mehlskov, from Denmark, is only 16 years old and is quickly taking the mainstream Hardstyle scene by storm. No matter if you caught his set or not, it’s pretty evident that this kids deserves all of our support.

Digital Punk brought the Rawstyle flavor to Baccon Wasteland! — Digital Punk brought the Rawstyle flavor to Basscon Wasteland!

We didn’t mention the visuals much last field report. The lasers, well they weren’t really lasers, they were sort of like lasers but better… they were INSANE. At times it was like a spider web of color pulsating to the music. There were mixed feelings about the shark’s head DJ booth, but thank goodness it was real and not just an LED screen. We saw Brandon Adams from SDK events and he gave two thumbs up to the shark’s head. The LED screens that were used were tastefully relegated to the background to amplify the talent on stage.

Saturday also brought the return of DJ Stephanie to Los Angeles, playing all of her top tracks including all the dance floor bangers that we are all familiar with and sung along to, she even previewed a new track of her own. At about 10:00pm, our man Deadly Buda rushed over to the QSA meet-up to see what was happening and lucked into photobombing their group photo.

DJ Stephanie returning to Los Angeles for Basscon — DJ Stephanie making her return to Los Angeles!

Seeing Da Tweekaz for the first time was a little different than anticipated, but they can certainly put on a show (more gimmicks!). They had all of their mainstream hits lined up (even though we expected more rubber duck samples) and offered the biggest surprise of the night by introducing their remix of Jumpstyle legend Mark with a K’s track “See Me Now” which was beautifully crafted into the Hardstyle sound design. After their set, Da Tweekaz caused a few mini-riots in the crowd when they walked out of the backstage and met with their fans right at the soundboard by the dancefloor. Just a few yards away, we bumped into the maestro of Florentine Gardens, Cesar Mendoza, who was rocking out with his posse.

Code Black was next. Even though his set with Bioweapon was the highlight of the entire event, nobody can deny the anticipation and excitement that surrounded Code Black’s solo set. His timing and mixing were perfectly executed, playing some very emotional and nostalgic tracks that even had some die hard Hardcore fans paying close attention (here’s looking at you Kim!) which says a lot about the impact he had on the crowd.

Code Black, the other half of Bioweapon, playing night 2 solo!

But this wasn’t even the best part! The majority of the night was waiting in anticipation for the rawest act of the show: Digital Punk! Although he played a lot more aggressive on the Trauma Tour, his set list was perfectly tailored to the city of Los Angeles, keeping it nice and raw, with the highlights being “Brutal 5.0” by Radical Redemption being played along with “My God”, DP’s track together with E-Force. At this point the crowd went absolutely f’n’ bananas. From wall-to-wall Angelenos engaged in some sort of hyper-mutated floor shuffle. Navigating through the crowd at this point was more challenging than Call of Duty Modern Warfare. Both nights it seemed like the crowd craved the raw sound, but Basscon struck the right balance this show by showcasing raw and euphoric together. If its all raw, or all euphoric, the sound gets boring. Having that contrast all night really made both styles pop.

Basscon must have known it was hometown legend and happy hardcore DJ, Lostboy’s birthday, because the night was closed out by UK/Happy Hardcore hero Gammer who has a ridiculous amount of skill and precision when it comes to DJ’ing, which allowed him to put on one hell of a performance. I thought the crowd would be too tired, but… no. Gammer cranked up the BPM and the crowd was jumping like jelly beans. He also kicked down some half speed madness and it’s a tribute to the SoCal faithful that they amazingly appreciated all the harder styles together as one.

Before we sign off, we want to give a special thanks to Cornelio “Atari” Cedillo for his amazing pictures, most of which can be found on our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/theharddata/). Enjoy!

California showing some love to the harder styles!

Articles, Events, Reviews

Field Report: Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Los Angeles

February 16, 2016 DJ Deadly Buda 3 Comments

The first leg of the Harder Styles Tour 2016 culminated in Trauma Live’s home town, Los Angeles, CA last night, and I continue recovering from it as I type these words, dear reader. After dropping off my bud Nickolai at 5:30 am, I couldn’t help myself and indulged in that classic Angeleno vice: doughnuts. Sure, I screwed up my shaky gluten-free diet, but I needed the extra sugar rush to make it up that last bit of the 405. I inhaled an apple fritter—daring the last few exits to where I remembered my bed was. I crawled into it at 6:00 AM for the first reasonable amount of sleep that I had the chance to partake in since Thursday.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Monday, February 15, 2016

(DJ Mad Dog broke the chain in LA once again!)

I had to stay up every minute I could though, to witness a pioneering concert tour that will be long remembered. Future promoters read this line-up and weep because you will never see anything like it again: The Prophet, Scott Brown, Rob Gee, Vortex, Placid K, and Super Marco May. BAM! All certifiable legends in their own right, combined with hardcore superstar Mad Dog, and the first ever American appearance of Amnesys and The Melodyst who represent the next great wave in hardcore EDM/techno, or whatever the hell we are calling it now. Put that in your pipe and smoke it man, that line-up happened and I got to see the whole thing 3 times (save a couple hours in San Francisco because of a complete flight scheduling disaster).

I was an hour early to the Los Angeles show at Club Nokia, mainly because I was playing the very first set in the VIP lounge with DJ Mindcontroller. We were assigned the task of representing classic rave on vinyl with our set, which we gladly delivered to the old school heads. We couldn’t help playing some real cheezy stuff though. I mean, I hadn’t played the Lords of Acid’s “Take Control” in decades, and this was the perfect scenario to indulge in such vice. We were followed by Lostboy and Demigod, who represented the more UK breakbeat sound for the most part.

Demigod gets classic!
Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Tuesday, February 16, 2016

(Demigod gets classic!)

Thee O, Steve Loriah and Scott Brown (playing classics) followed it up in fine fashion, apparently, but I can’t directly report on them since I was busy downstairs at the time getting hammered by hardcore. Like the last Trauma show, there was so much going on in both sound areas you always had to make critical choices. You were going to see and hear something great, and miss something great no matter what you did.

I chose to be in the main area at about 2:00 AM where Placid K ruled last night. He laid down some brutal hardcore law during his short set that brought demons young and old out on the dance floor. A tough, driving, crushing kick is what this crowd wanted, and he hit ‘em with it perfectly.

Who was this crowd? It was classic LA hardcore, but with lots of new faces. Yeah, there were plenty of old schoolers, but it was definitely the newer hardstyle and rawstyle generation that filled the floor. Placid K has played in LA a few times earlier, so he knew how we want it served up, and he dished it out hot.

Amnesys at Trauma LA
Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Monday, February 15, 2016

(Amnesys hammers the crowd at Los Angele’s Club Nokia)

Earlier in the night, like a fly on the wall, I got to hear a few DJs bitch about their set times in the dressing room, which happens frequently with DJs. Since there were so many stars on the line-up, the max set time was 45 minutes, most got 30. I had seen Amnesys in Edmonton, and he was great, but forced to constrict his set into 30 minutes, I dare say it might have been even better. His mixing was fast and superb. He actually used the effects on the Pioneer mixer, rather than just pretending to do so like some other EDM superstars. The guy can mix, its that simple, and he condensed all the power of his set into a small window that made it hit even harder.

Before the tour began, a few heads were complaining that the set-times would be too short on this tour. I say from experience now, that is total poppycock. Set after set was awesome. It was just all the best stuff. I know that some of you who read a “10 Tips for DJs” blog post think you know about mixing when you can wax eloquently about how a DJ needs time to build his or hers vibe. You ain’t impressing me no more with this beat-to-death meme. The Trauma line-up took their best stuff, condensed it down to the ultimate essence, and working in tandem, let it rip. There was never a dull moment. It hit hard and constantly. Super Marco May, Vortex, Scott Brown (who played two sets that night, happy hardcore in the main room and classics in the VIP Lounge), The Prophet, Mad Dog, The Melodyst and Rob Gee were all freaking ON FIRE. Mad Dog and The Prophet had the biggest crowds, as they were the headliners, but the drop off to the very last note Rob Gee played was virtually nil.

This actually created a bit of a problem for me. I vowed to pass out a copy of The HARD DATA to every attendee at the show. So I lined up 4 guys to help me out, Stephen Hughes, Nickolai, Alex Murphy and Jesse Simons. So I pull these guys out of the main room at like 2:30, telling them we gotta be ready at the exit for people to leave. No one did! So basically they were all probably mad that I broke them away from the show needlessly. Everyone waited for the last note of Rob Gee’s set at 4:00 AM to leave, and fortunately those 4 hombres had my back to get our favorite ‘zine into everyone’s hot little hands at the end.

Speaking of Rob Gee, I have to give the man big props for not only his riveting sets, but his dedication to the fans. This cool cat named Jackson had drove all the way from Texas to see the show, and wanted to meet and greet the artists Something got messed up and despite buying the VIP pass and all, he didn’t get a chance to do so. So Stephen Hughes texts me in the middle of passing out THDs to tell me about this. I go back stage as Rob is getting ready to leave the venue and let him know the situation. The Gee-man hopped off the stage in a flash and was out there to meet Jackson and make sure he didn’t drive back to Texas without meeting one of his hardcore heroes. It was a great way to end a great show, and the Trauma Harder Styles Tour, leg 1, was complete.

So I have 4 days to get my Trauma-tized life back in order before I head out to Mesa, Arizona to meet up with Brandon and the SDK crew for leg 2 of the tour and another sick line-up. I mean, look at this slate of artist joining the tour and stare in disbelief:

Alien T
DJ BUZZ FUZZ
Digital Punk
Dr. Peacock
MC Ruffian
Meccano Twins
Partyraiser
Rotterdamterrorcorps
SRB / Dione
Tommyknocker

After that is Denver on Saturday, and then leg 3 is Pittsburgh and Brooklyn. So stay tuned folks, and remember, the rhythm is life and death!

Deadly Buda

Articles, Events, Interviews

MC Mike Redman Interview on the Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016

February 12, 2016 Brandon Caballero

What inspired your stage name?
This is actually my real name. I adopted my mother’s last name which is Redman.
I use this when I’m hosting events. My alias Deformer that I use as a DJ and producer came from the various styles of music that I combine to get the dark and heavy sound that I like. Influences of Hardcore, Metal, Hip-hop, Soundtrack, Breakcore you name it. As long as it fits the Deformer concept, I’ll integrate it.

Were you a DJ first, or a producer?
I was a producer first. Experimenting with tape-loops, messing with Atari and Akai samplers. Mostly at other peoples places, because, believe it or not, only few people had a computer back when I started. I always bought records to sample sounds from, but started djing later on. Now my Deformer sets consist of 100% own productions.

How did you get into the scene?
Paul Elstak spotted me in the eary nineties. My first Hardcore gig was at the iconic Rotterdam based Energiehal. These events are memorable. Not only because there were always 10.000 hardcore fans loosing it at these parties, but also because the sound was new and still in a very experimental phase. It’s a shame that they eventually took the venue down.

What was the first record you ever purchased?
Wow, that was way back.. I’m not sure which came first but I got ‘Hey You!’ from The Rock Steady Crew from an uncle, which made a big impact. ‘Pass the Dutchie’ (Musical Youth) and the first Iron Maiden album were my first records. Later it really got out of hand and I now have a collection of a few thousand records of various genres…

Who was your biggest inspiration in the early part of your career?
That’s a very difficult question. I got bits of anything and anyone I’ve heard and seen I guess. Mostly unknowingly. But everything inspires. Sometimes the most un-inspirational artist can generate ideas. When it comes to House music definitely Holy Noise, Joey Beltram, Marc Acardipane and many others.

Would you describe your first DJ gig?
My first DJ gig was pretty scary I gotta admit. The biggest concern was to not let the needle skip. But luckily the first gig was a great success which got me a residency at the club the same night!

What was your favorite party you’ve ever played? Why?
There are multiple. I’ve had many wild gigs in The Netherlands, but later on the gigs abroad seem to stick more, because you never know what to expect and not only is the gig special, so is the environment and the people that you meet. It’s always exciting to explore new territory and other cultures.

What was the funniest moment during any of your performances?
I have to dig deep for that one. There were many, many funny moments. Also some really bizarre moments that sometimes turn into funny moments when you look back at them..

What important changes have you witnessed from the time you got into the scene, until now?
People are talking bpm’s more than music sometimes. There are also more genres than DJ’s that play them. But it all got far more professional than it ever was I think. I mean, the events are smooth and there are more jobs in this industry now than one could ever imagine.

Did you ever think you would be touring the United States? What do you think the Trauma Tour will be like?
I’ve only been doing stuff on the East Coast, so thank you Trauma for getting me some vitamin D. I’m having high expectations. I can’t wait to have a good time with everyone.

What made you want to start producing Hardcore music?
Well, the Deformer stuff is mostly filed under Breakcore, but Hardcore to me was always a challenge and it still is. Most outsiders that are not necessarily fans of the genre will mostly leave the studio with much respect when they see what effort goes into making the music.

What is your favorite track that you have produced?
That’s a hard one. ‘The Possessor’, ‘Slasher’, ‘Freaqks’ and ‘Gamecore’ are somewhere in there, but I’m still working on my favorite track…

What advice would you give to up and coming Hardcore producers?
Keep breaking down barriers!

Have any of the other artists on the Trauma tour ever inspired your work?
Definitely. The line-up is incredible and most of them have come a long way.

What are your top 3 favorite tracks of all time?

I can’t name a top three. This varies each day and with each mood-swing…

What was your favorite track of 2015 (that wasn’t your own)?
Omg, give me some time for this one..

Are there any exciting projects or gigs coming up you want our readers to know about?
Yeah, there is a release in the pipeline with The DJ Producer, Predator, N-Vitral and others. I’m currently also writing new lyrics for various artists, and check out my latest project Voodoom. This is a collaboration with Bong-Ra. Madness…

What artists would you like to collaborate with that you haven’t already?
I like to work with artists that dare to step out of their comfort zone and are passionate about their craft. The collaboration with Public Enemy was a dream come true as well as Chino XL. It was amazing to have collaborated with legendary filmstudio Full Moon Features. Working with Paul Elstak is always great. Rotterdam Terror Corps and maybe even a Metal band..

If there’s anything we haven’t asked, what else would you like to say to the readers of The Hard Data?
Don’t party by genre, have fun as much as you can and never stop exploring! The time is now, party on!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Redman

Articles, Events, Interviews

Rob GEE Interviewed! The Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016

February 7, 2016 Brandon Caballero 2 Comments

Rob GEE, you’re playing at ALL stops on the Trauma Harder Styles Tour- Edmonton, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Mesa, AZ, Denver, CO, Pittsburgh, PA and Brooklyn, NY! That’s going to be almost 1 month straight of spreading your crazy style across North America, are you excited? What can people who’ve never seen you before expect?

I am very very very excited. Everybody should just expect 1,000,000% Pure EnerGEE 😉 Let’s see who sweats harder 😀

Have you ever done anything like this before? What other experiences stand out in your mind?

Well, I have done full tours throughout Europe and Australia with my Hardcore peers, but I have really only done one-offs in the USA. The only thing that comes close to this are the times when I was on tour with Hatebreed, Biohazard, Slipknot, and System Of A Down, so this will be very be awesome to tour my country with my Hardcore and Hardstyle peers.

How have you seen the scene change over the years and how have you had to adapt your style?

The scene is constantly changing, and production keeps getting better and better. The more technology grows, the sky is the limit with what you can do. Besides my solo productions, I have had the honor and pleasure of working with the generations that came after me like Adaro, AniMe, The BeatKrusher, Furyan, Mad Dog, & Noize Suppressor. In the past I used to save my voice for my productions, but I have opened my mind and I’m glad I did. We have a mutual respect for one another and we always have fun. That’s important, and I love the result.

And of course, I have made the switch from Vinyl to CDs to USB and I might be moving onto Media Card as well. I’m sure one day we will be able to just think the music and project to the crowd. lol

As you said, you’ve worked with a handful of international artist for collabs in the past (Neophyte, Adaro, Mad Dog, and Anime just to name a few), what will it be like playing alongside some of the biggest names overseas here in North America? Any future collabs we should be watching for?

Well, I play along side them already in Europe all the time, but this will be nice because it’s my homebase.

Future collabs for 2016 include-

Hardcore wise: be on the lookout for Brutale & Rob GEE, The Sickest Squad & Rob GEE, Art Of Fighters & Rob GEE, PartyRaiser, DJ Paul & Rob GEE, Dr Peacock & Rob GEE, Motordogs, F-Noize, & Rob GEE, and more with Noize Suppressor & Rob GEE, Mad Dog & Rob GEE.

For Hardstyle and Rawstyle : The Prophet & Rob GEE, Adaro & Rob GEE, and Gunz For Hire & Rob GEE.

Right now go check out Chem D, The Mastery, Da Mouth Of Madnes & Rob GEE “Old Dog New Tricks” off my brother Da Mouth Of Madness‘ new album “Old Dog New TriXX”

Also 2016 marks the 20 years anniversary of my hit “You Got What I Need” : There will be special remixes from the Art Of Fighters, The Sickest Squad, F-Zoize, and Dr. Rude to name a few, but I will also be launching a remix contest for up and coming producers to take a shot at this classic. The winner’s remix will be released commercially.

Hardcore is generally a particularly brutal genre, can you explain what inspires your #PositivianVibes concept?

The beats might be brutal, but the message is positive. Life is too short. I choose to lift people up. We all have our bad days, but at the end of day I believe we all want to be happy with the least amount stress. Sometime that is hard, but we must be strong. I have no time for negativity and hate.

Lastly (See our interview with Lenny Dee here to see what Lenny said) who would win in a pie eating contest between you and Lenny Dee?

From my size you would probably think me, but Lenny can eat. I think we should just actually do it. lol

Thank you so much for taking the time to interview with us Rob, it was a pleasure to hear from you and we’ll catch you at ALL the stops along the Trauma Tour!

Connect with Rob here:

https://www.facebook.com/TheRealRobGEE/

www.ReverbNation.com/RobGEE

www.twitter.com/THEREALROBGEE

www.twitter.com/THEPOSITIVIANS

www.MySpace.com/RobGEEADAMWorldWide