Tag Archives: frenchcore

Articles, Events, Reviews

Hard Electronic: 25 Year of Industrial Strength Records, Los Angeles Event Review

Anyone trying to coordinate going to a show with friends knows it isn’t always easy, and this night was no exception. After much anticipation, my friends and I were finally on our way after quite a bit of drama- One friend of mine, Matt, had just spent the last 6hrs in traffic driving to my house all the way from San Diego, while my other friend, Tyler, had a mini-emergency losing his wallet (with his ID) earlier in the day, only to find it again about 20mins before coming to my house, and lastly, my friend Angel wanted us to pick him up on the way to the venue. But at last, the emotional rollercoaster of just wanting to get to the show so we could go party was over, and it was time to go! I had been looking forward to this show for months and my anticipation had built to the point where I was bursting with excitement! The night ahead promised some of the leading names in hardcore, and was to celebrate 25 Years of the Industrial Strength Records label.

Hard Electronic: 25 Year of Industrial Strength Records lineup featured artists Deadly Buda, Cik, Fiend, Rob Gee, Lenny Dee, Tymon, Unexist, The Sickest Squad and Art of Fighters. After passing through security and catching up with some friends, I walked onto the dance floor and prepared myself for the acts I had been looking forward to for months now. I was especially was excited that night to see Art of Fighters, Unexist, The Sickest Squad, Rob Gee and Lenny Dee… it was shortly after seeing the timeslots that I discovered Lenny Dee was not on the lineup. I later found out that Lenny had injured himself and his doctor did not recommend him to fly and risk further injury.

Lenny made the following statement on Facebook to his fans:

“My love goes out to the LA crew for making it happen. Respect. West Coast Kicking Ass!!! Get ready for Hard Electronic 2.0 coming in 2017. There is no stopping what can’t be stopped…”

We wish for your speedy recovery Lenny, but once I learned of your injury I knew that the night must go on as you had intended it to!

At this point, the much-awaited US appearance of Art of Fighters took to the stage. Throughout the crowded room you could see fans waving Art of Fighters and Hardcore Italia flags, and the signature Art of Fighters hardcore sound filled the room with catchy melodies and defiant lyrics. Art of Fighters set included classic tracks including ‘Nirvana of Noise’, and eventually ended with ‘Oh My Sun.’

Art of Fighters at Hard Electronic: 25 Year of Industrial Strength Records, Los Angeles
Art of Fighters at Hard Electronic: 25 Year of Industrial Strength Records, Los Angeles

Following Art of Fighters was Unexist, who changed the atmosphere in the room from the melodies of Art of Fighters, to a much more brutal sound. If Art of Fighters set could be described as ‘energizing’, then Unexist’s set would be described as ‘aggressive.’ One such track that he played that exemplifies this aggressiveness was ‘Devil’s Son”.

As Unexist’s set ended The Sickest Squad took to the stage to bring their own unique brand of Frenchcore (they aptly nicknamed Sickcore) to the party. For me personally, I was just as excited for The Sickest Squad as much as I was for a Frenchcore act to perform, as US doesn’t get much Frenchcore. For those unfamiliar with Frenchcore, the sound is an entirely unique variation of the hardcore sound. Tracks often feature samples of odd instruments not normally heard in electronic music playing symphonic melodies, as well as chanting or rambling of lyrics, and the bass vibrates similar to how reverse bass is for Hardstyle. The Sickest Squad’s set included their classic ‘Boomshakalaka’, as well as their new track with Dr. Peacock ‘Frenchcore Family’ (Vive La Frenchcore 2016 Anthem).

Appropriately slated to close out the night with a dose of Gabber was American legend Rob Gee. Rob started his set by recognizing the Industrial Strength Label for achieving the 25-year milestone, and we all took a moment to pay respect to Lenny Dee who, even though he couldn’t be there with us in person, was certainly there in spirit. Rob opened with one of his classic gabber tracks, ‘Pollywaggachuggabonka’ and ‘Coming At You Strong’, before working in some of his newer tracks ‘Dark Universe’ and ‘Caramba!’ into his set, all while entertaining the crowd with his animated, high energy personality.

Industrial Strength RecordsThroughout the night I was excited to see so many familiar faces, but one thing that I noticed was a definite, mature presence in the crowd as well. 25 Years of Industrial Strength Records meant that some of these people had been listing to hardcore more years than others at the party had been alive! That night I spoke to several who recounted their memories of their first shows in the 90’s held in warehouses, about their early Industrial Strength and Thunderdome vinyls, and it was interesting to hear their perspective of how the scene had grown and changed over the years. Trauma has a great ability to blend the past and the present in their shows in a really enjoyable way, and I have always respected and appreciated the origins of this scene. Ultimately, I would say the 25 years of the Industrial Strength Records was a massive success entertaining both new and old alike, and I look forward to more hardcore in the future!

Articles, RANKED!

RANKED! The Best 5 The Sickest Squad Tracks EVER!

The story first started in 2000’s Italy, when three guys met: Jacopo Stevanato, Samuele Gozzo and Sirio Carino. It was an instant musical “love at first sight”, so they decided to team up and create the “Sick DJ Team”. Under that alias, they dropped their first hardcore tracks on G-Net Records. A couple years after, having musically matured, they decided to change their name to “The Sickest Squad”, keeping the adjective “sick”, it being their musical brand. Being big fans of Frenchcore, they started working with DJ Randy, the owner of R909. This helped them define their sound and come up with their own musical style called “Sickcore”, which is the hybrid child of hardcore and Frenchcore.

Influenced by various musical genres that range from dubstep to punk or even metal, The Sickest Squad’s music is energetic, dark and fast, and they are considered one of the most influent and unique Frenchcore groups out there.

Today, we will introduce you to 5 of The Sickest Squad’s most popular tracks. Be ready to listen to some SICK beats!

  1. Ass, Bass N Bitches:

After listening to this, you will definitely be in the party mood! You can already imagine the neon lights, the shots and the head-banging party animals.

  1. Minimal is Criminal:

We can all definitely imagine the beginning of this track being the background music of a hardcore fight scene in a blockbuster, or maybe being played while a group of hackers are taking down some shady government organization.

  1. Swingbeat #TiH :

This track gives off some nice Electro Swing vibes at the beginning, and then turns into a pure Frenchcore track. A rollercoaster of genres that keeps you on your toes!

  1. Opera Prima:

This 6 minutes track is worth the detour! It gives off spy movie/psychological thriller vibes. Mysterious and dark music, a husky feminine voice and a beat we can only call SICK are definitely a winning combination, and the proof is right here!

  1. Boom Shakalaka:

Starting soft and ending strong, this track builds up its beats until they explode in what we can only call a purely ecstatic combination of sounds. Listening to this will make you ditch your table at a club and go hit the dance floor, drink in hand.

Now that the techno music scene has become a full part of what we can call “mainstream” music, The Sickest Squad is getting more popular by the day, and their music is gaining a huge fan base that is expanding every single day. Even after their third member, Sirio, left the group in 2006, they kept making quality music that pleased Frenchcore and Sickcore fans.

After performing in several events, such as their famous “The Sickest Squad Concert”, The Sickest Squad managed to establish themselves as one of the best groups in their musical genre.

For more information about The Sickest Squad, check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/thesickestsquad/

Articles, Interviews

Dr. Peacock: Interview from Trauma: Harder Styles Tour 2016

Steve, better known as Dr. Peacock has grown very fast in popularity with his very own style in the Frenchcore scene. His worldly, melodic tracks combined with frightening hard kicks have made him one of the most popular Frenchcore artists of recent time. For those who haven’t seen him before, his performances on stage are very powerful and absolutely wild! It’s about time that America sees the arrival of something so rare, so unique that I wouldn’t be surprised if Frenchcore invades the U.S. again. Vive la Frenchcore! Dr. Peacock can be seen on February, 19th in Mesa, Arizona. February, 20th in Denver, Colorado. February, 26th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and February 27th in Brooklyn, new York!

Were you a DJ first, or a producer?
I used to be a DJ since my 12th birthday. I learned to play vinyls back in those days from DJ Viruz (he lived near me and I always bought my records in his shop). The producing came later in 2010 when a friend took me to a production class. The funny thing is, the teacher is now one of my best friends and I organize classes with him now.

How did you get into the scene?
In Holland, about the time I was 8 years old, you either listened to Top40 music or to Hardcore/Happy Hardcore (at least at my school). My cousin always gave me Thunderdome CD’s since I was about that age. So really, I’ve been raised with Hardcore! Whenever there was a school party I would always take my Thunderdome CD’s with me, just to give it to the crappy DJ and tell him to play some real music (laughs)!

What was the first record you ever purchased?
That’s a long time ago, but I guess it was ‘Jones & Stephenson – The First Rebirth’.

Who was your biggest inspiration in the early part of your career?
3 Steps Ahead at the beginning of being a DJ. The Speed Freak when I started producing. Both are legends! 3 Steps Ahead because of his catchy melodies and fast tracks. The Speed Freak because I (still) think he is a genius in sampling and making one track that sounds like there are three tracks in one but it all fits like one perfect story.

Would you describe your first DJ gig?
My first professional DJ gig was for BKJN. After they saw me on a Thunderdome Radio show, playing there dressed like a crocodile (because the radio host told me that I had to, to join the competition) they let me play at a big BKJN party in Culemborg, NL. I had just made only 3 tracks myself and chose the best tracks from the Frenchcore scene at that moment and did my very best to make this the best set I’ve ever done. The Frenchcore scene didn’t really exist in those days, but that changed quickly after that night. There were only 100 people in my area when I played, but they were all going mental!

Dr. Peacock Trauma Tour Dates
Catch Dr. Peacock on the Trauma tour! Click HERE to purchase your tickets and receive a FREE subscription to the HARD DATA!

What important changes have you witnessed from the time you got into the scene, until now?
Well at the beginning of my career there wasn’t much Frenchcore around in both Holland and Germany. After about a year of playing at big parties, it started to get the attention of a lot of ravers inside both countries and after 3 years I played in almost all of Europe. Also, there have been some changes in the Frenchcore sound. Nowadays you have the original Frenchcore and the new generation. It’s different because the pioneers of Frenchcore music (like Radium, Micropoint, Progamers and so on) have a more deep, more ongoing kind of style. The new generation guys (like The Sickest Squad, The Braindrillerz, Brutal Jesters, Zyklon etc.) have got a more aggressive kind of punch in their tracks and are more melody based as well. On the leading festivals (Defqon, Dominator, Decibel) you now see that they’ve created room for Frenchcore. And almost each festival programs Frenchcore in its own area! That’s pretty awesome and it was one of my main goals.

Did you ever think you would be touring the United States? What do you think the Trauma Tour will be like?
I’ve never even thought I would play outside of Holland, but the United States… WOW! That’s really something I can take off my bucket list! I heard some stories about the states from Geoff Da Chef (which is a Terror/Speedcore/Industrial DJ from Australia). He told me the folks over there will destroy the dance-floor like nowhere else! So I’m very excited to be able to see this with my own eyes. And I’m very very proud to be the first Frenchcore DJ from Holland to play in the States! AWESOME!

What made you want to start producing Frenchcore?
When I was 12 years old I started out by playing Terror, some mainstream Hardcore, and some Industrial kind of sounds. I didn’t really know what I wanted to play just yet. Then, in 2005 I came to a record store in Eindhoven (NL) and found a crate that said: “Herrie” (that means ‘noise’). I laughed and took some records from that crate and started listening to them. I was shocked! After 10 seconds I had goosebumps everywhere! It was a record of ‘The Sickest Squad’. The track was called Rottenbeat. Then a Radium record which convinced me that THIS is my style!

What is your favorite track that you have produced?
At the moment my favorite track is “Trip to Turkey”, which I’ve made with Sefa and MC Lenny. It’s a funny story because in my favorite kebab store 10 minutes from my home, they are playing it every day!

Catch Dr. Peacock on the Trauma Tour!
Dr. Peacock

What advice would you give to up and coming Hardcore producers?
Keep it simple and make music from your heart! There are too many producers making tracks to impress other producers. I’m not one of them. I make the music I like to play and my experience with that is that the crowd feels the energy more when you created something straight from the heart. Okay, it has to have quality kicks and it must be to a certain level at the least, but don’t try to be like anyone else. Try to be YOU.

What are your top 3 favorite tracks of all time? Why?
Top 3 (all types of music):

1. Shpongle – Dorset Perception
2. Paolo Conte – Max
3. Hans Zimmer – Time

Top 3 Hardcore tracks:

1. The Speed Freak – Devastator / The Sickest Squad – Hard Abuse (they share the number 1 spot!)
2. Jones & Stephenson – The First Rebirth
3. 3 Steps Ahead – Money in my Pocket

Are there any exciting projects or gigs coming up you want our readers to know about?
Yes! I’m making my first real solo album! Which will include 16 trips. That means 16 tracks with influences from 16 different countries. It will be out before June (I hope!)

What artists would you like to collaborate with that you haven’t
already?
The Sickest Squad, The Speed Freak, Radium, Partyraiser and lots of others!

If there’s anything we haven’t asked, what else would you like to say to the readers of The Hard Data?
KEEP IT FRENCHCORE!! And make sure you come to one of the gigs in the States!! Together we will make it the best parties ever!