My car hurtled to the Inland Empire Saturday night towards the much anticipated “Project Z”, which promised to be a grand marrying of two of Insomniac’s hardest brands, Basscon and Bassrush. These brands represent their hardstyle, hardcore, drum and bass, and “bass” music as it’s increasingly being called, I guess to obscure the fact what’s really being played is hyped up dubstep.
The techno rabbits invade Project Z! – photo by Mike Ortiz
Parking was 15 bucks if you didn’t want to risk your car getting jacked in San Bernardino that night. I think $15 is actually a pretty fair price, considering most cars are filled with 4-5 people going to these shows. I had no problems getting in or out. Getting into and out of the party was pleasantly hassle free unlike some events I’ve been to over the last few years that seem more like a slog through airport security than a concert.
Upon entering the NOS Events center, I was surprised to feel that “old school rave” feeling amongst the crowd. I even, I swear to BASS, smelled Vic’s Vapo-Rub at one point. The party featured two arenas with amazing lights and sound, and a walkabout area that featured merchandise booths, food trucks, some spray paint graffiti murals, and a small sound system playing a lot of rawstyle. Plus, there were various places people just hung out at and chilled.
Project Z ravers! – Photo by Mike Ortiz
Musically, the high point of the night for me was SNAILS. This surprised even me, as I usually stick to the Basscon arena more than Bassrush. But, the production in the Bassrush arena had a bit of an unfair advantage. They got the fancy video screens and lighting rig from the old Circuit Ground arena from last year’s Nocturnal Wonderland. It’s an amazing set-up and it was nice to see it utilized for the harder styles.
The sold-out show was a testament to the marriage of the two brands that some might argue should have never been separated in the first place. America has always like breaks with their kick drums and it’s arguably the distinctive sound of the rave era. The 10,000 ravers that filled the NOS Events Center Saturday might be the vanguard of a new style of American rave music unencumbered by the prejudices of the European establishment. We shall see!
Just when you thought you knew about everything that happened at EDC this year, we bring you the most overlooked, but perhaps most exciting development that happened under everyone’s nose. Fortunately, former Earache USA whirlwind and now ANOMIEdia’s CEO, Jim Welch, was on hand to give us the eyewitness account of what went down.
Lenny Dee and Rob Gee at EDC – photo by Jim Welch
It was a big year for the harder styles at Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival. A stocked hardstyle line-up and a closing set on the Basscon: Wasteland stage by hardcore power Angerfist attested to the magnetic draw of the hard electronic. But there was another significant disruption of the status quo that went practically unnoticed even by the tea-leaf readers and crystal ball gazers who make a career out of divining Insomniac’s next moves…
Rob Gee rocking EDC hard! -photo by Jim Welch
Calliope was the Greek Muse of heroic poetry, and puttering along the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s terra firma on EDC Day 2 was the apt-named Kalliope Art Car. This otherwise cute and unassuming converted bus actually packs a 70,000 watt sound system, and this night carried three old school legends that have steadfastly dedicated themselves to furthering the art of the rave. These heroes have continued to promote new and underground music ceaselessly for decades and were seemingly snuck into the party in the dead of night… a portent of things to come? I speak in order of appearance, Lenny Dee, Rob Gee, and Frankie Bones.
Lenny Dee lays down the hard electronic at EDC. – photo by Jim Welch
Despite the old school credibility all three of these artists bring to the table and their bona fide historical significance to the American rave scene going back to the early 1990’s, they have been surprisingly absent from the larger American festivals. In some ways, it might be because they still have never slowed down. Each has in his own way, like true artists, continued to pursue their art. So, they didn’t really fit into EDC’s usual “old school” area, the Upside Down Room, and were still a little too edgy for Basscon or Bassrush. Enter: Kalliope! and kudos to Insomniac for figuring out how to bring these guys to the attention of a new breed of ravers.
That said, I, like many of you, was stuck in the massive traffic jam that night and missed this part of the rave I wanted to hear and see most. As most of us didn’t have the privilege of following the Art Cart, we have tried our best to recreate the experience for you. Check out Jim Welch’s recount, and we’ve posted a re-creation of Lenny Dee’s set that he made for us. Frankie Bones actually managed to record his set, and we hope to get something from Rob Gee soon. At the end is my interview with Frankie Bones preceding the fateful night. Enjoy and look to the midnight horizon!
By Brandon “CabZ” Caballero Follow me on Twitter @BrandonCabZ
This year marked the 20-year anniversary of the Electric Daisy Carnival as Insomniac set out for their biggest event of the year in Las Vegas, NV. This was the 4th year that Insomniac’s hard dance label, Basscon would host a stage at EDC. Thus far, we have been treated to stages of the Gas Mask Man (that has now become synonymous with Basscon), a giant One Eyed Monster, last year an apocalyptic New York scene and this years stage was promised to be an Apocalyptic San Francisco. The stage displayed a Golden Gate Bridge surrounded with shipping containers and graffiti and wrecked cars, and was being attacked by a giant crab! The stage was equipped with fireworks, pyrotechnics, 50ft flames lights, lasers and even its own go-go dancers. A stacked lineup of worldclass Djs promised this year’s Basscon as one to be remembered.
Another exciting first for Basscon was the Basscon Anthem by TNT – “Wasteland”. I recently spoke with TNT at Project Z and asked for their comment on making the anthem, they told me “We have seen the US Hardstyle scene grow-up in the USA and get bigger and bigger over these past few years. We felt like it was finally time to give you an anthem of your own!” For years American fans of hard dance who follow overseas events have wanted an anthem to hype up their weekend. For those who are not familiar, an anthem is exactly what it sounds like- it is the theme that sets the spirit for the entire weekend ahead and rallies everyone together and builds excitement for the show! “Wasteland” perfectly captures this spirit with lyrics such as “Crawling on the barren soil underneath the blackened sun, we are the children of the desert, we rule this wasteland.”
As I walked through the gates at the entrance I immediately heard the baseline bouncing from Basscon. Kutski was opening up the weekend for hardstyle lovers and kept to his motto of Keeping the Rave Alive; he had sparked the party spirit of all the ravers who had assembled far and wide to be at that Basscon stage just to be apart of a weekend packed with their favorite hard dance artists.
Other notable performances on Night 1 include Leiel, Audiofreq, who is an absolute madman bursting with unstoppable energy every set I’ve seen him play, Adrenalize , some freestyle fun with LNY TNZ, the legendary Technoboy, EDC first-timer Code Black, , Isaac, the UK hardcore DJ’s Darren Styles and Gammer who played individual sets as well as a special b2b set, and the night ended with Ran-D, who dropped the RAW on EDC from his first track, raising a big middle finger to everyone else saying “F#CK EDM”, to his last at sunrise. Honorable mention to Padaro, DJ Adaro’s father, who was partying at the front of the stage with the rest of the crowd!
Night 2 – After attending Gabberfest all day it was right back to EDC on nothing more than a few hours of sleep, but I remained optimistic due to the stacked lineup for the day. Night 2 started off with US Hardstyle DJ Mekanikal, followed Max Enforcer, Stephanie, Bioweapon (the duo of Code black and Audiofreq), Da Tweekaz and a special set where Brennan Heart showcased many new tracks from his new album I Am Hardstyle, and he even brought Jonathan Mendelsohn out on stage to sing a few tracks live! Following Brennan Heart’s performance, all music stopped at the Basscon stage and the crowd was treated to the “Basscon Experience”, a 10min firework show ending with the Basscon anthem and TNT starting their set. Following TNT was the beginning of the RAW Hardstyle for the night; Gunz 4 Hire (Ran-D and Adaro) came out and treated EDC to a particularly brutal set showcasing music and even video clips for their No Mercy Tour. Digital Punk took the stage next, and almost had to open a can of whoopass on someone who thought it would be a good idea to climb the stage and mess with the CDJ’s during his set before finally being removed by security (watch over your friends people!). Night 2 closed down with the haunter or the dark himself, DJ Adaro.
Night 3 – you can look around and definitely tell the heat, partying and lack of sleep is beginning to take it’s toll on the crowd… BUT, they don’t call it Wasteland for nothing! Basscon kicked off with a bang with a special b2b set from Canadian Duo Crisis Era and US DJ Darksiderz. Next followed a block of euphoric Hardstyle with Sylence, Audiotricz, Wasted Penguinz. Next, D-Block & S-te-Fan, Coone and Tuneboy, entertained the crowd and prepared them for the final push of the weekend. Lady Faith took to the stage next and differed from her normal style to instead play many more RAW tracks into her set, even showcasing some Notorious 2 tracks, to prepare everyone for Radical Redemption. The army of the Radical was strong throughout the audience, and Radical himself rewarded them by playing many of the tunes that brought him to notoriety, including Brutal 5.0 and Spell of Sin. As Radical left the stage he addressed the crowd to “get ready for the #1 hardcore act in the world” and DJ Angerfist took the stage! Now, I will say, there is a high expectation for the last DJ of the weekend at the end of 3 days, but Angerfist sparked energy in the people partying and the crowd was exploding with energy that was a truly remarkable achievement at the sunrise set. The hardcore reinvigorated the crowd like nothing I could have expected, people were shuffling, hakken and there were moshpits everywhere. This was a crowd was here for hardcore and they were loving every minute of it! Angerfist’s set built faster throughout and showcased many of his popular songs, and he even included some frenchcore, and ended clocking in at over 200bpm!
When it comes to Basscon Wasteland at EDC Las Vegas, it was a success in every aspect, and a great way to spend “20 years under the electric sky”. Whether you like euphoric, freestyle, hardcore, mainstream, RAW, UK hardcore, there was something to make you happy. With the new generation of ravers now receiving more exposure to hard dance than ever had before at American festivals, it is my hope that Basscon will inspire a new wave of American hard dance artists. This is good for growth of the scene and I hope Insomniac gives them the chance to play their events one day. I also hope Insomniac continues to grow and diversify their Basscon label, and hope for a standalone Basscon event in the future, maybe even including multiple stages so the euphoric fans, RAW, freestyle and hardcore fans can have a stage of their own. The hard dance scene in the US has limitless opportunity and can be anything we make it to be. I hope for many more events with an anthem, laser and firework show to mirror the European endshows, but most importantly, all of us should take pride in the collective being we become when we can come together for a common mentality to go hard!
Here is our second international headliner for this year of GABBERFEST: America’s Hardest! Djuke, also from Germany (though half Italian), will be visiting the U.S. for the very first time, and what a better way to debut in Las Vegas than with guns blazing! Here is what you need to know about your day one headliner…
Will this be your first time in America?
Yes it will be my first time in America and I’m very happy to be a part of this amazing event in Las Vegas!
How did you get your start in hardcore music?
My start was at a famous club in the Netherlands called the Peppermill Music Palace. This is the place where it all began! 1998 was the first time I visited this hardcore discothek and saw the DJ’s playing really great stuff from the old days and to this day I’m still infected; every weekend and I’m at a hardcore party, even as a guest. A year later I bought my first pair of turntables and some records and started my DJ career in the year 2000 in a little club in my hometown. Today, it’s hundreds of clubs, dance halls and discotheks all over Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain (where I started) and now in Las Vegas, it’s been amazing!
The logo of Djuke
What’s the hard dance scene like where you currently live?
The scene in Germany is up and down. Sometimes it looks like it will be bigger and better but sometimes I’m not very happy with it. Most of the people are in an uptempo hype right now. But it all goes in cycles, things come and go, you know? The good thing is that the events and festivals in Germany have more than just one area so most of the time there are a lot good styles like hardcore and oldschool at the same time. We have big name festivals such as Army Of Hardcore, Hellraiser, and a lot of other crazy events where find thousands of party-freaks together and it’s wonderful and all, but my favorite place to party is in Holland!
What do you think about the current state of harder styles in America?
The only thing in America that must be pushed is hardcore music and the other harder styles! A look on the other genres and you find the biggest names worldwide, is it possible with the harder styles? Yes it is!
Will you be attending EDC this year as well?
No I am only in Vegas for a few hours on Friday, to look at the city and all the lights, then it’s back to Germany for me.
Anything that you’re looking forward to most on your trip?
How the beer in America tastes! That being said, I’m also very curious to see a completely different party crowd that I haven’t seen in 15 years. I’ve only ever seen American partygoers on TV and I’ve never seen anything about the hardcore crowds or events. I think it’s going to be very interesting and I’m very much looking forward to this!
Is there anything you want to say that we haven’t asked you about yet? Do you have any upcoming projects or tours to promote, or anything special or shout outs you want to say?
I’m currently building my own studio! There are plenty of plans for new productions for the years to come. I can’t announce anything just yet, but plenty of collaborations with some bigger artists and you will find it everywhere online! Keep an eye on my website and my Facebook where you can download my livesets and stay up to date on my touring and productions! And lastly, Las Vegas, I’m happy to be a part of this Gabberfest and I know we will have a blast together! See you all very soon!
Djuke in the studio. Getting ready to slam Gabberfest hard!
You can follow all of Djukes antics on his social media:
No day is safe from the crossbreed onslaught of our man Daybreaker, denizen of the THD -ahem- “offices.” But Daybreaker is faced with perhaps his ultimate challenge: the oppressive Las Vegas summer sun, ever-present during American Gabberfest. Before this epic struggle commences, we figured it was paramount to question the “steed behind the crossbreed” and reckon his mission…
How did you decide on your stage name?
When I first started, I had a different name chosen, but I wasn’t particularly fond of it; I just had to pick something for the forums I was signing up for (Global Hard forums, for any of you that may remember that glorious website) and that remained my stage name until I decided to change it. When looking for a new name, I wanted to choose something that incorporated horror (I’m a really big fan of the genre). I was stuck on finding something worthwhile until a movie came out in January 2010 called “Daybreakers”. I thought the movie was really unique and original, so much so, that I dropped the “s” and behold, Daybreaker was discovered!
How did you start DJ’ing?
Shortly after discovering hardstyle and hardcore, I decided that I wanted to do exactly what these guys were doing in the aftermovies I used to watch over and over again. So, I got my first job, saved up some money to buy my cousins pair of Numark TTX’s and a mixer and it was a quick skyward launch into where I’m at now!
How did you get interested in the harder styles?
Hard dance music itself I discovered by accident in the basement of my dad’s house (2007). I was on Myspace at the time, browsing random music profiles by clicking on one, and then clicking on others from those artists’ friends list. Somehow, I stumbled upon the page of hardstyle producer A-Lusion; he had one song on his profile at the time: “Drummer Beat” – I already had a background in electronic music through my cousin who is also a DJ. He and his friends were into hard house and drum and bass; I remember visiting my aunt frequently when I was little and my brother and I used to like hanging out up in his room and watch them all spin records. So I already had an ear that was tuned to techno, and when I heard “Drummer Beat”, my mind was blown away. – Hardstyle at the time was incredibly slow (144 BPM), but the variations every few bars, and the hard, bouncy kicks somehow made a lasting impression on me.
What changes have you noticed in your local rave scene since you started?
Utah is a lot stranger to describe…in the early 2000’s, we used to have a much more underground, drum and bass oriented rave scene. We also had a more lively and unified community; there used to be an online forum called “Utah Raves” and when I was starting, this is how I found out about everything going on around the valley (raves, new local artists, outside get-togethers etc.). It was a really neat and useful tool, one I wish was still popular to use in the present day. Also, there was more than one event organization. The biggest at the time was Vandal Productions, owned and operated by DJ Quack Quack (famous for the Kandyland series of raves); he was the name responsible for our hardstyle, happy hardcore phase, and it was through this man that I got my start in performing live. Fast forwarding to today, we only have one event organization, with a few people attempting to start their own (only to get stomped out by the monopoly) and virtually none of our local DJs play any form of hard dance (with the exception of what seems to be a drum and bass resurgence happening). That is why I started the ‘Utah Hardcore Syndicate’, that way I can gather up all the locals that do spin and enjoy hard dance music and we can retaliate and devastate our currently stale “rave” scene; although I will say I do appreciate the amount of drum and bass we are getting. We also had Technoboy and Lady Faith in town recently, however, but that was the first time we had hardstyle in town since the Nightsneak organization left Utah in 2013. All in all, it’s a stale, commercialized scene that is so suppressed and monopolized, it’s hard to combat, but its Utah, the stigma is real.
What do you think about the current state of harder styles in America?
2016 has left me with a very positive outlook on the growth and development of our own scene, although it is more confined to specific parts of the nation, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, considering how dedicated I am that I’m willing to travel to attend these harder parties.
Look out GodSquad! Daybreaker is going to be bringing the Crossbreed with an uptempo fury!
Plus, we are seeing spillovers into other states (finally) and more American producers are rising up, fast! But, as we Americans do best, we still have egos and drama and internal oppression that’s hindering our progress and until money is focused on less, and our local artists start supporting each other, including the shows, we aren’t going to see the peak that everyone seems to be so nostalgic about. But as I said, this year we have probably seen the best surge for our scene in recent years, and I feel like this is exactly the kind of push we’ve needed to at least thrive within this now over-saturated market. Now all we need to do is unify.
Is there anything in particular you find yourself wanting to communicate to the audience?
I’m not trying to convey any specific message to the audience other than a sound that represents me as a person outside of my alias. A lot of my themes are based around horror movies and culture including the concept mixes that I do from time to time, which are even more detailed and obvious to that notion. I feel that my specific type of sound (hardcore drum and bass) really helps vary the typical 4×4 beats we hear in hardcore and changes up the dance floors a little bit, if only for a bar or two (laughs)!
Do you have anything special planned for the event?
I’m hoping to do some three-deck mixing to add more complexity to the set. I’ll still be bringing that Crossbreed flavor to Gabberfest that will start out groovy, and end on a “faster” note. You’ll see! Lots and lots of BPM variation!
