Here comes the summer fun! The White Ape has announced the full line up and details for the third annual American Gabberfest that will take place EDC Weekend, June 18th-19th. From May up until the event itself The Hard Data will be posting interviews with the artists on the bill so you can know what’s to come this summer at hardcore’s biggest American gathering!
“For the third year, Delegates from all corners of our Great Nation will assemble to melt in a hellish inferno under the Las Vegas sun. Once again, fans of the sounds too extreme for any mainstream festival will find their sanctuary during 2 days of pure chaos.”
GABBERFEST 2016: AMERICA’S HARDEST Hardcore, Raw Hardstyle, Industrial, Early Rave, Terror, and more.
21+ FREE EVENT WITH MINIMUM DRINK PURCHASE
Day 1 – Saturday Outdoor Stage: Main Hardcore Indoor Stage: Hosted by SDK Events
Day 2 – Sunday Outdoor Stage: Main Hardcore Indoor Stage: Hosted by Techno Belligerent
Sponsored in Part By: THE HARD DATA
LINE-UP ANNOUNCED!
***Special Guests, USA Debut of*** D-CEPTOR (Germany) www.d-ceptor.com
MC Sik-Wit-It is shaping up to become the future voice of American hardstyle. Having already done songs with international sensations Nightfall, Coone, The Pitcher, Mekanikal and Drone, being an MC isn’t just about the voice, it’s about the message that they can convey to us that we may not be able to convey ourselves. Sik-With-It was brought in to Vegas for the Apocalypto show and I had the honor of sitting down with him briefly before he had to rush on stage to work his magic during Frontliner’s set.
It’s great that we’re able to bring out so many hard artists in general for the American scene, but rarely do we get to actually focus on the MCs themselves. What brought you into MCing? What made you decide that this is your thing?
I used to work on hip hop a lot of my teenage years into my twenties. When I moved back out [to Los Angeles], I didn’t really know anybody to work on music with, so I dropped it for a little bit. My friends, Bass Breakers, they’re local to L.A. introduced me to hardstyle. I started doing it more and more and started to come up with vocals and stuff and they just put me on. After we parted our ways, I got in contact with The Pitcher. From there, it’s just been a gradual, if not a swift, build.
What makes an MC significant? What role are you playing in the hard dance scene?
At the risk of sounding corny, I like speaking to people. I’m a person with words. I feel that other people, whether sometimes when you’re drunk and you’re trying to tell your friend how much you love a song or how much you love an artist, you just can’t find the words. I feel like I try in my best way to find the words that people are trying to say, especially with the song I did with Coone. I wrote that when I first started listening to hardstyle because it gave me a feeling that no other music had. I was absolutely in love with hip hop. I heard hardstyle and once it got to my heart, it never left. It’s been a solid rock ever since. I really think that me doing what I can do, I can help others feel the same way or be able to express themselves in the same way.
How did you get your stage name?
I got it after my first time trying to glove! Afterwards the guy said, “That was sick with it.”, and it stuck. It was later that I adapted better spelling for it.
What is the best experience, what is the best show rather, that you have participated in so far?
The first two Apocalypto shows, and also Nocturnal because it was a huge crowd, and I had a huge amount of interaction. I love performing with Lady Faith. She’s such an amazing person, DJ, artist, everything. The first Apocalypto I performed with her [Lady Faith], The Pitcher, and Darksiderz. The second one was Adrenalize and Tuneboy. Me and Adrenalize did a sit down. It was my first sit down I’ve ever done as an MC. It went off without a hitch. It was so much fun. I’m actually glad to be performing here as well with Ravealation Black. It makes me feel so welcome. It is such a cool feeling to actually have a place where I know I can go back to and perform.
What do you feel is going on in the American scene right now that’s prevalent? Why are we significant in terms of the hard dance scene? What are the biggest things that you see in our scene right now that actually makes us recognizable, that makes us significant in the hard dance scene?
I think it’s the hunger and the drive, for the most part. Some artists, they do still have that European flavor, but they also bring a new flavor. There’s a lot of trap, there’s a lot of dubstep, house, hard house, what not. A lot of them incorporate that in it, whether it is the BPM or the sounds. We’re giving, in my opinion a brand new flavor to it all. It may not be acceptable to the world, but it’s our own for sure; we’re not trying to copy it, we’re trying to embrace it.
Being involved in the European scene and the American scene respectively, how do you feel that the American hard dance scene needs to progress themselves in order to become anywhere close to our counterparts? What are the differences that you see that needs to be taken care of for us to progress further in our scene?
Well, just like a good friend of mine, Leo Corson just said in an interview recently; he finally said something that I think literally everybody in America’s wanted to say, and it’s that we need to stop fighting and being little bitches about everything. I’ve wanted to say it for a long time and I’ve been known to be a shit talker myself. I try to hold back in certain situations so people don’t get easily offended, which everybody in the world is at this time. We all just need to actually be friends. You don’t even have to be friends. You just need to be cordial enough to understand that somebody enjoys something just as much as you do. It may not be the same type of something, but it’s still the same something. I’m guilty myself. I’ve talked plenty of shit throughout the past, even when I wasn’t making music. Being guilty of it, I finally see it as I get older. We need to stop complaining. To me, this is why other countries look at us like we’re spoiled little kids. Especially in California where I’m from, we get everything but we still cry and bitch about what we get. Supporting U.S. acts at this point is what’s more important. I do support foreign, but we need to support local acts just as much.
What’s next for MC Sik-Wit-It? Do you have any upcoming collaborations?
TNT did a little preview video with Zatox and the iPod, when he fell on his face (laughs), that’s the next track of mine coming out with them and Dave Revan.
Is there anything you want to say in your own words to the fans/readers?
Thank you so so much for all the love and support you all have given me. Hardstyle fans are such dedicated and energetic people and I can’t imagine anything that even comes close to performing for all of you. I’m where I’m at, not only because of the artists that have given me the chance, but also because of all of you. I’m forever grateful for every one of you. And be on the lookout for some huge collaborations and Sik-Wit-It merchandise in the not so distant future!
As if we needed any more evidence that hard dance music is taking over in 2016; Frontliner was set to headline Apocalypto this last Saturday at Vinyl in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the event SOLD OUT! “I couldn’t be happier to see hard dance thriving in Las Vegas!” says Matthew Levin, who gave all of his ambition in making sure of this outcome. What was most exciting was showing up about an hour before the show, absorbed by the empty room, witnessing the amount of prep that it takes up to the very last minute to make sure an event like this goes off without a hitch, then suddenly: show time! And watching that once empty room fill to the brim in a matter of minutes like a pilsner beer glass.
The night started off with local Vegas vets Joji (who spins a hard dance monthly at the Phoenix Bar to 100+[people]), Jack Spaidz – who is to psytrance what System Malfunction is to hardcore [in Vegas], and Kung Pow – my second favorite act of the night – a multi-genre DJ who can make anything sound incredible, together or separate. Arriving early is very important, because believe it or not, you’re missing out on a lot of pure talent, and since I’ve been witness to this it makes me feel that Vegas DJs are vastly overlooked.
Frontliner took the stage to a thunderous roar and conducted an interactive set filled with popular antics to interact with the crowd. It was a fun, uplifting set, and if you know this artist well, even his euphoric tracks have a certain roughness to them. As he moves from ‘Shivers’, to the Defqon.1 anthem ‘No Guts, No Glory’, Frontliner never dampens the energy he creates. But there is still one question that remains… who were those guys in the masks?
This night, we also witnessed the debut of a new Las Vegas tag team: RVLTN Black! Two insane, rowdy rough boys who unleashed rawstyle/uptempo hardcore to the crowd in a quickfire blitzkrieg. They even dropped American terrorcore producer Tim Shopp’s track “Terror Squad”, at which point the taller member of the duo grabbed the mic from the MC and yelled “when this track drops, someone fucking bleeds!” Of course, it was inevitable that a mosh pit was to ensue, and with an ear to ear grin, I couldn’t help but take part. What a show!
A huge thank you goes out to Matthew Levin and the entire Ravealation crew for making this event possible and for making the trip from Utah well worth it. Las Vegas has a seriously dedicated crowd to the harder styles so make sure that they stay well fed and nurtured.
Last night, American hardcore/speedcore DJs and black/death metal bands joined forces in Las Vegas, NV to reinforce the powers of the underground in an outstanding way. Since we were in the city of sin, bands Demesic and Dead Reckoning were certain to make an appearance and our headliner Acid Enema performed as their live duo (Noth on guitars, Abhorrent on the mic and programming), which is what I’ve been waiting for since Gabberfest 2015!
The night was held together by Los Angeles’s Speedcore Militia members Slyten and Arcid as well as Las Vegas’s own DJLD and HellNegative! The live acts were a lot of fun and refreshing to the standard line up/transitions that we are used to seeing at raves and also shows the support and cooperation we have across the spectrum of American music groups and collectives. “I want to keep pushing boundaries.” says Acid Enema’s front-man Abhorrent. “I want to continue expanding interest into more metal influenced hardcore and speedcore, also as a way to open new ears and generate interest in the hardcore sound; combining musical tastes may do just that!” HellNegative feels the same way about the combination, saying, “By booking hardcore alongside other genres, we have a chance to introduce our music to a completely different demographic. And thanks to last night’s show, we’ve converted a few metal heads into speedcore and breakcore fans.”
There seems to be a theme going on here, as Noth also mentions that unity is a key aspect for the growth and continuation the American hardcore scene. “There is a lot of dissonance between genres and shows like these bring fans of both styles together and could maybe even cultivate a love for something new.”
There’s still plenty of evidence that the American hardcore scene is alive and thriving, even in these dive-y little bars like the Bradley which dedicated members will flock to so that we can catch up on the latest happenings and events that are coming up in the near future. You are bound to meet the right people and to make the right connections in this underworld and for Las Vegas, there isn’t a better way to get your fix than its plethora of diversity in a city where you may never run into the same person twice.
It may seem like a one-off to many, but this weekend Las Vegas sees one of its biggest influxes in tourism that doesn’t take place within the “summer months” or the holidays; I didn’t know this until I began driving down into the dust bowl monolith itself and witnessed all of the trailers and vintage vehicles making the same trek as I; there is always plenty going on in this city as you know, but rarely do we get to say that we are going to Vegas for hard dance music. This Saturday, ‘Ravealation’ has given us the pleasure of enjoying Hardstyle much closer to home with another ‘Apocalypto’ event featuring the “melody man” himself FRONTLINER! Since I’ve driven 6 hours into town for this event, one of the front men (and mastermind behind ‘Apocalypto’ in this writer’s opinion) Matthew Levin has agreed to sit down with me and discuss how events like this are becoming ever more possible in the city that already has it all.
What is the Apocalypto concept and how is it becoming a pivotal point for hard dance music in Las Vegas?
It’s a concept that allows us to throw hard dance events for experienced and new fans alike. We plan on treating Apocalypto as its own brand… it exists as its own entity. Apocalypto will act with the best interests of hard dance music fans in mind, and we plan on delivering incredible experiences to these great people. Our goal is to strengthen the current hard dance foundations while expanding our music to new demographics.
What can people expect from Apocalypto this Saturday?
First and foremost: amazing sound. My number one concern is always having powerful sound. There are fewer things in life more disappointing than a Hard Dance party with weak sound. The venue itself has fantastic sound, but we have still elected to reinforce it with our own punch. On top of that, there will be plenty of lasers and other visual productions. As for the talent, I am 100% confident in all of their performance capabilities. I think every attendee is going to have an absolute blast.
What do you think is Las Vegas biggest reason for the lack of support for hard dance music?
I think population density and overall population is the issue. If you look at shows in LA, they can pull attendees from all of their suburbs, even as far as the city of San Diego, which is a two hour drive away. A lot of people believe that Vegas is a large city, when in fact it’s not larger than a small town. Another aspect that makes throwing non-mainstream parties difficult is that Vegas focuses significantly on supporting the casino club industry, which is prevalent here. Overall, I would say we are seeing a steady increase in Hard Dance support in Las Vegas, which is always a good sign.
What more do you think can be done to strengthen the hard dance scene in your city? As a whole?
I believe that sharing the music with a variety of demographics will be the fastest way to grow the scene in Las Vegas. Electronic music as a whole has a huge following in this city, yet the majority of these people have never even heard of hard dance, hardstyle, or hardcore. To spread hard dance as a whole, I believe that a similar approach must be taken, in that we need to penetrate other electronic dance communities and share our music with them. On top of that, and I’ll receive flak for saying this, but I feel that most American Hard Dance DJ’s do not present the music well to neither the experienced fans nor especially the inexperienced/new fans. I could write an article on all the consistent mistakes I see/hear American hard dance DJs execute, and eventually I plan on writing that as an information piece. Sidenote: to revisit the earlier statement regarding people in Las Vegas not having knowledge of “hard dance, hardstyle, or hardcore,” I would like to add psytrance to that list. Here in Las Vegas, Jack Spaidz has proved time and time again that psytrance is cheerfully welcomed at Apocalypto, and I would like to see an expansion of knowledge regarding that genre, along with the rest of the more standard hard dance genres, both here in Vegas, and across the states.
What is in store for us and Apocalypto in the future?
We are looking to grow both as a company and with the rest of the hard dance scene. I don’t see a limit as to how far we can take Apocalypto, I’m just happy to be along for the ride and put on great shows for the fans.
You can witness American hard dance acts Jo Ji, Kung Pow, Jack Spaidz, the debut of RVLTN Black and of course FRONTLINER this Saturday, April, 16th at the Hard Rock Café (Paradise Road location) in Las Vegas, Nevada!
Dedicated to the harder sound of electronic dance music.