Category Archives: Reviews

Reviews

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, Digitracks, Reviews

DJ AniMe Top 10 February 2017

1 Comment

The Hard Data recently asked me to share my current top 10 tracks with hardcore fans in the USA. These are the tracks I can’t wait to play and have been getting the best response on the dance floors. Most of these are available now or will be soon, so “track” them down as soon as you can! 🙂

10 – Tears of Fury feat. Tawar – Mechanical

Dogfight Hardcore Volume 1
Dogfight Hardcore Volume 1

A mix of catchy melody, epic vocal and deep sentiment straight out of this new Italian artist. A typical mainstream sound, which is really missing nowadays. This track is available on the album Dogfight Hardcore Volume 1. It’s available on iTunes.

9 – Broken Minds feat. Diesel – We control your minds

This is the sound of 2 new talented producers from Spain with the voice of Diesel! A ’black’ piano riff followed by a fitting manner of cool Broken Minds’ kickdrum! A must have. Get it on Amazon or iTunes.

8 – Dogfight Clan – Dogfight Hardcore

The first collaboration between me, Mad Dog, Noize Suppressor and Unexist! Huge kick drum, obscure melody, you can hear all our different music personalities in this track. Dogfight Clan is ready to attack! It’s available on iTunes.

7 – AniMe – Fear the Dogfight

Melodic and aggressive at the same time, the track I play to boost my dj sets, everyone loves it! Check it out on Amazon, or on iTunes.

6 – Unexist – Kings never dies

A solid tune! Love the contrast between the strong kick drums and the mystic female vocal. Don’t miss the release, this week on Dogfight Records.

5 – AniMe – Liar

Out soon on Dogfight Records. Bringing back the rude sound of A-Bomb and Hardcore Machine. Already played by many big artists, this track works very well on the dance floor.

4 – Ignite – Sulfure

Ignite is the great duo revelation of 2016! Their style is dark and potent! Can’t wait to hear more from these 2 guys. Here’s the iTunes link, and this is the Amazon.

3 – Noize Suppressor – Bouncing in the ghetto

Something unexpected from Noize Suppressor. Fresh sounds and a beautiful vocal, this track fits perfectly in every dj set! Get it on iTunes or at Amazon.

2 – DJ Mad Dog – Dogfight

Huge track, emotional and powerful at the same time. Definitely a big hit! Get it on iTunes, or Amazon.

1 – AniMe feat. Nolz – Superior Hardcore (Exodus 2017 Official Anthem)

It represents the result of months of preparation. With the massive voice of Nolz, it is an energetic sequence of aggressive kick drum, kick rolls and mind-blowing melody, all dressed with badass lyrics.

Keep up with me on my various social media channels and stay hardcore!
Facebook.com/djanimeofficial
Twitter.com/Dj_AniMe
YouTube.com/djanimeofficial
Instagram.com/djanimeofficial
Soundcloud.com/djanimeofficial

And don’t miss the latest Absolute Mix!

Articles, Digitracks, Reviews

No Tears For The Dead: The Industrial Strength Records 25 Year Anniversary Compilation

1 Comment

I met Lenny Dee about 24 years ago on a flight from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee. We were going to play at Drop Bass Network’s “Genesis” party. I told Lenny it was the first time I’d ever been flown to play at a rave, and I remember him telling me, “And you know the best thing about it? After that, it never stops.” Decades later, I’ve chalked that up as yet another example of Lenny’s ability to glimpse into the future. I’m still flying to play raves in Milwaukee, and we’re all celebrating a quarter century of Industrial Strength Record’s commitment to hard electronic dance music.

The funny thing about it though, is that to me, it still feels like a beginning. When Lenny started Industrial Strength back in 1991, it was ahead of its time, and even today, with the release of this 64 track monster compilation, ISR is still introducing the world to new talent at a frenetic clip. “No Tears For The Dead” pretty much sums up the last 25 years because there hasn’t been time to even pause for much reflection as maximal effort has always been needed to push forward and simply survive.

So, other labels would generally repackage their “hits” after 25 years, but the closest we get to that here is the latest and greatest darlings of the hardcore techno world re-mixing classic tunes. For example, The Sickest Squad remixed “Extreme Terror” and Outside Agency got to remix “Fucking Hostile.”

I’m reminded of a conversation I butted into at the 1994 Winter Music Conference. I overheard a few people remarking about Lenny and his label, marveling about how he could release such hard music. I told them that Lenny was ahead of his time and that one day they would understand what he did… that almost everyone else at the conference was recycling the same stuff and Lenny was a visionary. And you know, my feeling about that hasn’t changed two and a half decades later, and this compilation just pushes the vision and sound even further into the future.

The compilation is available from the following online retailers:

For those of us bound to the sound of the hard electronic, there is still no time for tears. There is still so much work to be done for the future. There might be a few great, shiny compilations of repackaged hits cobbled together by the big festivals this year, but I doubt if any of them will match the intensity and cohesive vision of Industrial Strength Record’s No Tears for the Dead.

The compilation is available from the following online retailers:

ISR25 No Tears For The Dead
ISR25 No Tears For The Dead
Articles, Reviews

The Hardstyle Pianist

1 Comment

About five months ago Dave Revan shared a video of this guy, playing “Ready to Rage” in a beautiful black piano, rocking a bandana and a defqon hat. Since then I’ve started my mornings scrolling my feed, anxiously waiting to see which classic The Pianist is going to tackle next. Seems like his music library and love for Hardstyle, are as big as his talent and improvisation skills. Jisk Lieftink, The Hardstyle Pianist, has been sky rocketing into the spotlight, after getting noticed and recognized by heavy names like Angerfist, Wildstylez, Ran-D, recently collaborating with Andy Svge on a track that is surely going to be a melodic master piece.

The versatility of his style and unique sound, transforms every melody into an instant classic. Ranging from Headhunterz Lessons of love to Gunz for Hire Plata o Plomo, Jisk isn’t afraid to cover the whole spectrum of the harder styles, adding his own spin to it all. Around Christmas time he recorded music video, for what he says was his favourite track from 2016, Wildstylez Encore; and enlisted the talented Judith Vander Klip to accompany him on her violin. The perfect chemistry between them, calm lighting and gorgeous set, makes you gain appreciation of the beautifully crafted melody, that sometimes may fall second to the power of the beat.

Growing up in the 80s, at the birth of electronic music, one thing we got tired of hearing was “it’s not even music, there’s no instruments”. Stripping the tracks of all the “computer sounds” (as my father would call it) and showcasing it with such grace while still displaying the strength behind it, it’s why I can’t get enough of his YouTube channel. His views count sky rocketed from 2 to 58k when Angerfirst shared his Mashup piano cover and requested him a track, which is coming very soon.

 

He was also a guest at the legendary Freqshow and managed to silence a sold out Ziggo dome to perform Audiotricz Inception, making grown men weep in the crowd. Kicking off the new year with Villain on stage of the biggest Hardstyle party of the NYE! His delivery of emotions through his beloved keys is so on point, I dare you to watch the video bellow and not get goosebumps more than once.

This was my way going into a new year, together with the Hardstyle Pianist 💣#TeamVillain for #Hardstyle

Posted by Villain on Tuesday, January 24, 2017

 

So what’s next for The Hardstyle pianist? He’s currently looking for management (so if you’re into gold mines, you’re welcome). And he has so much going on with offers coming from everywhere, he’s taking it one day at a time, planning his next steps. He is planning to perform at Defqon in June. And his goal is to create his own act for Dance events which would allow him to travel and perform at festivals around the globe. He’s also recording an album in the near future that will feature a lot of his, and crowd favourites, since he receives thousands of requests every day. As a fan, I’m very excited to see him grow while he continues to surprise me with new covers almost daily. If you follow his Facebook and YouTube channel he will become your new addiction, as he is already mine.

By Leti Lopez