Tag Archives: Hardcore

Articles, Interviews

Eni – Interviewed

Eni is a Freestyle DJ from Los Angeles, CA and has played at parties such as Arizr, KTRA LA and Hardstyle Arena, and will be playing at Winterfresh Music Festival on December 3rd. Freestyle is one of the fastest growing genres and is relatively new to the American scene. With Hardstyle and Hardcore getting much of the spotlight nowadays, Eni’s Freestyle sound brings much needed fun and freedom to the party. Freestyle by definition means ‘playing without restrictions’, and Eni regularly combines Subground, Jungle Terror, Tekstyle, Jumpstyle, Hardstyle, and any other variations of the hard dance styles, mixed with classic breaks and hard trap.

I know a lot of people ask, so let’s set the record straight- is Eni your real name or is it an alias? How long have you been a DJ?

Eni is actually my real name; it’s a family name from my dad’s side. I’m actually the third- it’s on my birth certificate! I started DJing under the alias Audiofallout back in 2012-2013, but when I started a sound company under the same name people were getting confused. I also had changed my style from strictly Hardstyle to Freestyle so I decided to change my alias to fit my new style and create some separation between my company and myself. I started practicing and learning in 2009 when I bought a pair of belt drive Numark TT1700.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into Freestyle and about what your biggest inspirations in this style are?

I got into Freestyle basically by getting bored of just DJ’ing Hardstyle, hahahaha! For a long time I had been a die-hard fan of Hardstyle and could not get enough, but as time went on I felt things get a bit stagnant and needed some variety. I had always loved the dub-style tracks and cross genre stuff so I started to look for that kind of music more and more. I stated finding really cool crossbreed, some sweet trap influenced stuff, and things that broke down to funky house drops for a bit and I fell in love. I wanted to find the coolest most unknown hard dance and bring that up to all the people here in the states.

Eni at KTRA, LA
Eni performing at KTRA, LA

How does Freestyle tie together with your slogan “Eni Kind of Music”?

Well with Freestyle I like to play the spectrum from hard house and Jungle Terror, to Terrorcore and Speedcore… thus my slogan- playing Eni Kind of Music- nothing is off limits. I’ll mix in a lot of random hip-hop and trap influenced stuff, some Cumbia (dance music popular in Latin America), and other genres just to keep it fun and interesting.

You recently played in San Francisco, how did that go? Is the American crowd receptive to the Freestyle sound?

San Francisco was absolutely incredible!!! I had an amazing time out there. It was my first time playing in San Fran and I couldn’t have asked for a better first show. I had a great set and lots of fun. I really love the energy that the Northern California Scene has, it is very reminiscent of the feeling I used to get when I first started going to raves when I was 16. It’s very vibrant, colorful, and youthful. I also got a chance to work with J-Rod, Kriss, Keiji, Kreation, and Hauyon while I was up there. Leading to some really interesting new projects.

As you mentioned, you have a few projects going right now- you been starting to produce, collabs with other American artists, and you’ve been involved with the Hardroadz Media podcast- what can you tell us about those and what can we expect in the future? Anything else we should be watching for?

My trip up to San Francisco inspired me with quite a bit and I have recently started working on a new collab alias with a good buddy who just moved to California from Chile. We have 2 tracks just about finished and I will be dropping the first one at Winterfresh tonight. I haven’t had enough time to really work on many solo projects but I do have a bootleg in the works. Besides that I have been working with another friend of mine as the new host and engineer for the Hardroadz Media podcast. With the podcast we try to focus mostly on American based DJs and producers. It comes down to the fact that Europe and all of their DJs are already established and set, and for the American scene to grow we need to start supporting and showing up for our homegrown talent. For this reason my friend started this podcast. Each month we feature 30 minutes of hand picked tracks and then a 30-minute guest mix. Recently we got lucky and now the show is streamed live on the Department of Hard Dance every third Wednesday of the month, as well as putting it out on SoundCloud.

Anything else you would like to tell the readers of The Hard Data?

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has given me support over these past couple of years. I have been so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by these amazing support structures. I’m very excited with my Dabscouts sponsorship and collaboration. Their designs are pretty awesome and I have been blessed to have their graphic designer and photographer at my disposal. I’m hoping to do some really cool merchandising with them coming out eventually with a fully Eni Kind Of Music clothing line.

Catch Eni at Winterfresh on December 3rd at Union Nightclub in Los Angeles- get your tickets here

Announcements, Articles, Events, Interviews

Lenny Dee – Hard Electronic Interview Series

3 Comments

Techno and Hardcore pioneer Lenny Dee started Industrial Strength Records in 1991 and put New York and American Hardcore on the map, Now on the heels of the labels 25th anniversary, ISR is touring the world with a crew of hardcore artists from all over. The tour hits the US this week with stops at Union in LA Friday, November 18 and The Paper Box in Brooklyn Saturday, November 19. We got a chance to talk to a few of the artists on the lineup, including label founder Lenny Dee about the event and the history of Industrial Strength.

THD: What inspired you to start Industrial Strength records?

I was already producing a lot of music and it became a natural progression. I wanted to inspire more artists to create Hard Electronic Music and I felt this music needed a place to grow and be heard. On my travels DJing, I also went on the hunt to seek out the most hardest electronic music I could muster up. Looking back – I did.

THD: What initially attracted you to hardcore and the harder styles of dance music? What is your favorite part of hardcore music and/or the hardcore scene?

It came from within me really. There was no hard electronic music before (maybe some gothic Ebm tracks, – if you could even find them). I made sets picking odd tracks, b-sides anything and everything and played them all back to back in my sets. I’d been doing sets all around the globe since the 80s man, so all the music i produced and mixed to this point lead me down a path as i grew as a DJ and a producer and then A&R.

What I was feeling the people were feeling. It was like magic. I grew as the feeling grew. This shit was new..

I wanted to explore electronic music to the max and have made and had hits in most major styles. Creativity lead to genres of music being realized. We made the music, and then it was called something, Techno for example….we did not go in the studio to make a ‘certain style’ — it just was. I wound up and the end of the road and stayed when I hit hardcore, but I still always look at the future.

THD: What was the hardcore and harder styles scene in America like before you started ISR? How has it changed in the last 25 years?

There was nothing here in the start of the 90’s. Frankie Bones was doing some parties at that time and we had also created club nights prior to ISR. We were pushing electronic music sounds to NYC which at that time no one cared about it.

The music was not Hard Electronic though. It become the essence of what was to come for me later on, but as I think back, it was hard for the time. Bones and I really broke down doors for NYC and this Country as a whole. No one here really realizes how much Europe actually looked to us as the leaders in electronic music. We have a earned a large place in electronic music history (they might even recognize that one day ) But here we are 25 years – still kicking ass !

THD: What is your favorite subculture or sub-genre of hardcore/hardstyle that has emerged since you started playing and producing hardcore?  

I love all styles of music in fact & listen to a vast range of things. What I play is my choice. I love to be excited by the music and play it like no other. I so like crossbreed. I think its hard edge drum n bass flavor with tight Hard electronic elements really is great new addition to Hard electronic music. It furthers the expansion of both styles while forging ahead with new music ideas pushing the growth of something new, which is a good thing no matter how you look at it.

Some styles of music are more like a description not a really a style (like ‘Techno’ is a style) and are set up with simple arrangements so an amateur can play it well. I like a challenge when I play. But I try not to diss any styles, it’s whatever people dig.

THD: What is your favorite memory from your years with ISR?

I had Laurent Garnier over to my place in Brooklyn. Laurent and I go way back, so we tried to make a track in the short time we had to work. Believe it or not we made a track on my Ruff Beats label ! It was fun and unexpected, we made a simple track, but the experience was over the top to have Laurent over in in Bensonhurst Brooklyn the home of Saturday Night Fever.  We rented a house off 86th St.  next to Lenny’s Pizza – that where Travolta ate the two slices of pizza doubled up in the start of the film.

THD: What are you most excited about for the Hard Electronic 25th anniversary shows? 

I am super chuffed to celebrate that we have been here this long !  Not many can say this in the USA, especially being we created a style of music. I think we are one of (if not the) longest running Electronic labels in the USA now.

I am excited to do this party in NYC and LA. Trauma Live have been great to deal with on the West Coast and we could not have done it without them & Rave Till Dawn. And of course our crew in Brooklyn – Distort the 909 & Kontaminated Recordings – have rocked this (w/ support from Audio Havok from the east coast too). And needless to say, I couldn’t do any of it without my partner Jules who makes it all happen, incl running the ISR and our Labels etc etc.

We’ve also made ISR25 parties in Vienna (Mechanizm), Tokyo (SuperBad Midi Breaks), Glasgow (Sector Events), Fukishima (DarkRave), showcase at ‘Radikal Styles Festival in Colombia, and have a leg in Paris with Audiogenic this Dec. These collabs are exciting and the responses have been off the chain.

‘Hard Electronic’ is a night we will do more of showcasing new & established artists, from all styles of hard electronic music. One party with all different sounds to excite the brain and body in one room. We are already talking line ups for the next one (and tour coming soon too). Get ready boys n girls – the Brooklyn Monster has woken up !

Lenny will be djing both American dates alongside heavy hitters like Unexist, Art Of Fighters, The Sickest Squad, Tymon, Rob Gee and many more. In his spare time he also has been mixing an album for up and coming artist Pop Criminal.

 ISR just released ISR 100 on vinyl as well as collaborations with Akira, Mr Madness, Jason Little, Nuke, DJ Terror and many more for the 25 Years of Industrial Strength compilation coming out this December. 

Producers keep an eye out for a new studio pack to help new and seasoned producers make original hard kick drums, featuring over 300+ bass drums and 30+ ISR artist kits.

Announcements, Articles, Interviews

Satroniq – Hard Electronic Interview Series

In preparation for the upcoming celebration of Industrial Strength Records’ 25th anniversary at the Paper Box in Brooklyn, we’re talking to some of the artists on the lineup. Today we spoke with Satroniq about his history with ISR and what to expect from him on November 19th. Catch him spinning with Delirium in the second room alongside Kontaminated and Audio Havok artists.

HD: How long have you been working with Industrial Strength?

My first solo release on ISR was in 2007. Little known fact: I also did a lot of album covers for ISR around that time and website work.
 

HD: What is your favorite memory working with ISR?

The early ISR parties at CBGB’s were really cool because I get to say I played at CBGB’s! Being a huge fan of punk, this was a great moment for me to stand on the same stage as The Ramones (even if I was dj’ing instead of rocking in a band). 
 
 HD:What initially attracted you to Hardcore and the harder styles? what has kept you coming back to produce and mix and perform?
It was like the new punk rock. Anyone with a laptop could take/steal/mash/screw/chop any sounds up into an aggressive maelstrom. These days the production has gone way up but I always feel like there could be some surprises coming down the pike. 
 

HD: What do you think sets American Hardcore apart from other styles and scenes? What do you enjoy about performing at shows in New York City?

The American hardcore scene has some real die-hard fans who are more appreciative when we get top caliber acts here as it’s not something you see in the States every day. I live in New York city so I love seeing my peers jamming out to the harder styles that I love! 
 

HD: Do you have anything special planned for the ISR 25 anniversary party?  

I’m going to be doing something a lot of people haven’t heard yet. I will be doing a Satroniq set rather than Satronica. I have been focused recently on a new record label that works very closely with ISR to explore the harder sounds of edm that don’t quite fit into the “hardcore” category. Think subground, freestyle, and rawstyle.

Satroniq has a new collaboration with Delirium out now on their label Kontaminated Recordings, check it out here.
Articles, RANKED!

Neophyte: 5 Classic Tracks!

Jeroen Streunding, known for gabber and hardcore fans as Neophyte, is a Ducth DJ and producer. Having started in 1992, he is now one of the biggest names in the hardcore music industry.

In 1999, Jeroen takes the risk and founds his own label, Neophyte Records, even though it was an extremely hard period for gabber artists back then. Indeed, at that time, being a producer of gabber music was controversial, since the Dutch government considered that hardcore music fans used too much drugs and acted as hooligans. Neophyte answers to the government’s statement by releasing his famous track, produced along with The Stunned Guys, Army of Hardcore.

One of Neophyte’s singles, Always Hardcore, produced with two of his fellow artists under the scene alias Bodylotion, is considered as being part of the 10 most influential tracks in Dutch pop culture. This is a testimony of Neophyte’s legendary unique take on underground music.

Discover here his 5 most popular tracks, starting of course with Always Hardcore. May you always stay hardcore to the bone!

  1. Always Hardcore:

This track definitely sounds like a war cry to us. Powerful, dark and raw, it defines Neophyte’s style perfectly. Listen to it and you’ll understand why it’s now one of the most popular songs in the Dutch pop culture.

  1. Army of Hardcore:

This answer to the Dutch government is everything you can imagine a hardcore track to be: strong, dark and rebellious, it will make you head bang like crazy! So clap your hands and join the army of hardcore!

  1. Alles Kapot:

“Alles Kapot”, which literally means “Everything broken” is an ode to hardcore and gabber music everywhere. The raw sounds make it hard not to be taken by it, even if you’re not a fan of Neophyte.

  1. Coming Home:

This track is a little bit on the softer side, having smoother, more rhythmical sounds to it. It’s the perfect demonstration of how flexible Neophyte can be with his productions. So, for a few minutes, forget your daily problems, and dance!

  1. Hardcore Hooligans:

We’re ending this list with Hardcore Hooligans, a pure hardcore track. This is, without any doubt, a revolution anthem!

After 25 years of activity, some might think that Neophyte is getting old or has-been. They couldn’t be more wrong! These last few years, he has been collaborating with many artists on the scene, which makes his sounds always fresh and diversified. He’s an artist who’s definitely not afraid of change, and we, here, love him exactly for that!

Discover more about Neophyte by visiting his Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/djneophyte/

 

Articles, RANKED!

THE MELODYST: 5 Rippin’ Tracks Ranked!

Before meeting each other, Matt Muscarella and Simone Paradiso were just two young men living in Milan, sharing the same passion for producing music, more specifically, the hardcore genre. Then they met, and instantly hit it off, musically speaking. So they decided to start a producing duo named The Melodyst, which later would become one of the most unique hardcore duos out there.

They made their first steps in 2008, mostly just making music for their own pleasure, until 2011, when they went professional and signed their first contract with Rotterdam Records. In 2014, they realized their dream of signing with what they call their “reference for hardcore music”, Traxtorm Records.

The Melodyst have many influences, but they stated the CEO of the second label they signed in, Next Cyclone, as their biggest one. They stated in an interview that their music will always have a bit of Cristian: Art of Fighter in it, because he has taught them most of what they know about creating and producing music.

Despite being newcomers in the musical world, they have been getting a lot of attention and praise from many other professionals in their field. This makes them one of the most promising groups on the hardcore scene.

So, without further ado, here are The Melodyst’s 5 sickest tracks ever. Enjoy them!

  1. Partycrasher:

Starting with a melody known to most people’s ears, this track quickly dives into the hardcore techno side. The beats will most definitely please the party animal hiding in each one of us!

  1. Hardcore Domination:

This track is a little bit on the softer side compared the first one. It is, nonetheless, extremely catchy and will make you dance without realizing it. It’s only when you’ll notice people looking weirdly at you in the subway that you’ll know that you have been head banging in silent like a lunatic (not that it wouldn’t be worth it).

  1. Personal Demon:

This one is a little bit different, with darker sounds to it in the middle. Still, it’s the perfect party song for people who don’t mind celebrating their personal demons.

  1. Raveolusion:

As we can see it, hardcore is alive and well! The voice singing the revolution in this track adds a little bit of rage, indignation and life to it.

  1. Flame of life:

Darker and more mysterious, this track would perfectly fit in some alternative heavy metal album.

The Melodyst’s first E.P. on Traxtorm is different from what they have done before. It is very melodic, with a particular ambiance to it. It’s not just plain hardcore, but a mix of different musical genres like pop, rock and funk. This decision didn’t come as a surprise to their fans, since it perfectly represents the duo’s young and innovative state of mind.

Wicked, eclectic and melodic, that is The Melodyst’s emblem, and they sure are faithful to it!

For more on The Melodyst, look up their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/TheMelodyst/