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Articles, Daybreaker, Interviews

CAP Interview: Gabberfest 2016

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I am very happy to say that this interview is going to reveal a hidden gem for you all! One of the busiest minds in the American hardcore scene, with a most impressive Discogs page, an education from the Conservatory for Recording Arts & Sciences at the top of his class and a father of not one, but two [expecting] hellions. On the surface, Mr. Stephen Caparella looks like any ‘ol bronie to most, but deep down, this man is THE unsung hero of American hardcore and is deserving of your utmost respect and attention.

Cap, representing Arizona at Gabberfest 2016! I mean, just look how beautiful he is.
CAP, representing Arizona at Gabberfest 2016! I mean, just look how beautiful he is.

CAP, industrial hardcore producer from Mesa, Arizona!

Affiliations: Arizona Hardcore Junkies, Industrial Strength Records, Important Corestyle, Hard Kryptic Records, Dark Like Hell Records, Six Feet Underground Records, No Sleep Till Bedtime

How did you decide on your stage name?

It’s my nickname from football. We had tape on our helmets with our last name and my last name is pretty long so they shortened it to CAP. Football was pretty much my life from about 10 to 20 years old.

How did you start producing/DJ’ing?

I started learning to DJ when I was 16 but my rigorous football, training, and school schedule kept me from fully pursuing it. It wasn’t until I stopped playing football that I decided to pick up DJ’ing again. I had the basic skills down but working with the [Arizona Hardcore] Junkies helped refine me as a DJ. Soon after learning the basic skills [of DJing], I figured producing was the next logical step. Why play everybody else’s tracks when you can make your own? I’ve been producing on and off since 2006 and right now is happily one of my more “on” times.

How did you get interested in the harder styles?

Ah, the glorious “how did you get into it” question. I HATED hardcore at first. I thought it was noisy garbage. I even watched CIK vs. KORE and Omar Santana at a show in ’03 or ’04 and walked away thinking “how does anybody dance to this?” Irony and hypocrisy is my middle name, always has been, always will be. Fast forward not that far to 2005 when I was in college. It was the first time I had high speed internet. It was a big deal. I could download tracks and mixes in a fraction of the time than when I was at home. I made a commitment to myself to listen to all forms of EDM and yes, even hardcore. At the time, I had one of those old brick iPods with plenty of space so I loaded it up with everything I downloaded. I forced myself to listen to hardcore and one of the first sets I listened to was CIK’s Nocturnal Wonderland 2004 mix. I listened to it again, and again, and again, and again. Something about it just caught my ear. I was into UK hard house at the time and this was a step above; harder, faster, louder, more intense. It grew on me after a while and pretty soon I was hooked: I was listening to mixes before practice to get amped up, and downloading and searching for more and more hardcore mixes. After that it was the hardcore record habit that cost me a pretty penny then the producing bug. The love has been catching steam ever since.

What changes have you noticed in your local rave/hard dance scene since you started?

There’s been phases of the scene. When I first started, pretty much every show was illegal and underground. It was special if a show was actually licensed and bonded. Our illegal warehouse hookup disappeared so the nature of shows changed; more desert parties and more legal venues. I was out of the scene a while after that; work, more school, moved away for about a year. While I was gone, parties got bigger and eventually the EDM divide happened. I came back to a scene that had legal, small budget “underground” parties and large budget “EDM” events. It’s nice now to see more than one “hard” crew supporting the harder styles, despite it being more hardstyle, rawstyle, etc. focused.

What do you think about the current state of harder styles in America?

I have no idea where it truly stands, I can only assess it from my vantage point. From where I see it, SFX going under was a big blow because the huge shows under its umbrella hosted hardstyle. The good news is guys who have the main stage at current events are playing hardstyle in their sets, so there’s growth there. American hardstyle producers seem to be doing better than in the past but hardcore producer wise it seems to be down from where it once was. The good thing is hardcore has plenty of hype show wise and DJ wise. Aside from all that, I’m a big supporter of the idea that the US needs to cultivate and support its own artists to really grow into a new era that rivals the EU.

DJ Cap, representing Arizona, will be performing at Gabberfest 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada!
CAP putting in that work for hardcore techno

What are you trying to convey through your music? Are there any themes or ideas that are important to you? Is there anything in particular you find yourself wanting to communicate to the audience?

My themes change from track to track. It’s as hard to pin down as asking a horror author to describe all their work in a single statement. Yeah, the genre is horror but every novel tells a different story. Most, if not all, my work is hardcore but each track has its own feel or style. There really isn’t any singular theme to my whole discography – although I probably need to do that with an alias – and every track pretty much speaks for itself. A lot of times I don’t even start with a theme. I just make a kick that I like and try to choose a direction from there. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s also a good amount of times I start out with a theme, typically a theme related to something that’s caught my attention lately. Recently, it’s been random stuff like movie trailers and video games. Inspiration is everywhere, you just have to let it in.

Do you have anything special planned for the event (b2b set, all vinyl, live PA, guest performers/dancers etc)? Original productions?

Well, it wouldn’t be special if I told you ahead of time! But… let’s say tons of new tracks for this year’s Gabberfest, and like every set I do, it’s 95-100% original production.

I have to ask before we part, are we potentially going to see the “return of the mask” this year?

Nah, that’s pretty much retired for a couple reasons, so you probably won’t see it this year. I initially did it as a mega-industrial gimmick but I have garbage vision so the combo of the mask and no glasses made it tough to DJ. Add to that, just about every hardcore act out there today has some kind of stupid gimmick whether it be vests, helmets, masks, fake blood, you name it. It’s not unique if everybody does it. Aside from that, I would rather have the stuff that matters – the music – be the driving force for people to remember me or have the desire to come see me.

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?

Don’t forget to support your locals! Thanks to the Hard Data for having me. Thanks to the Great American White Ape for continuing to put together Gabberfest year after year. Thanks to anybody who’s ever supported me on social media or bought one of my tracks. Thanks to the other producers out there for raising the bar as well as being down to earth enough to talk shop. Thanks to CIK and KORE for being my good friends, mentors, support, and colleagues for over 10 years. Last but not least: thanks to my wife for putting up with putting up with my noise as well as my persistent requests, demands, and deals for studio time.

CAP at Gabberfest 2015 (and was voted "best set of the day" by the Hard Data in issue #2).
CAP at Gabberfest 2015 (and was voted “best set of the day” by the Hard Data in issue #2).

http://www.facebook.com/hardcorecap

http://www.soundcloud.com/hardcorecap,

http://www.twitch.tv/hardcore_cap,

http://www.youtube.com/user/hardcorecap,

http://www.azhardcorejunkies.com/

Articles, Daybreaker, Interviews

Tim Shopp Interview: Gabberfest 2016

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Here we go guys! The countdown to Gabberfest 2016 (June 18th-19th, EDC Weekend) has officially commenced! Hardcore delegates from all over the country will converge on the Hard Hat Lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada to witness the grand spectral display of the American hard dance scene and the Hard Data will be bringing you face to face with the artists chosen to represent their home state(s) because you “can’t know your friends from your enemies until the ice breaks”!

Tim Shopp, Middletown, New Jersey, will be playing at Gabberfest 2016, EDC Weekend, June 18th-19th, Las Vegas Nevada!
Tim Shopp, representing New Jersey at Gabberfest 2016!

First up, is 21 year old uptempo hardcore producer TIM SHOPP from Middletown, New Jersey.

How did you decide on your stage name?

When I first began I honestly had no idea what I was going to do for a name; the usual thing was to use some type of cool word or make something up, but I didn’t want that. I always wanted to be known for me, so I then decided (after a couple goofy names) that I was just going to be me (Tim Shopp)!

How did you start producing/DJ’ing?

When I was little for Christmas one year I actually got a cool little toy that you could hook your iPod to and scratch songs you played. Then eventually I turned to computer software, and continued the “upgrading” to where I am now. The learning is still not over, because recently I’ve decided CDJs can only allow so much so I’m actually learning “live performance” so I can do that in the future! As for producing: there was a point where I knew playing other people’s music was fun, but I knew I wanted to play MY own music. So I eventually picked up Ableton, and with some devoted time and effort, here I am!

How did you get interested in the harder styles?

It all started with listening to happy hardcore actually! My first obsession was DJ S3RL and from there I just kept digging deeper and deeper into the music until I found my true love for “Uptempo” hardcore and terror! Of course there is always my other obsession as well known as speedcore/extratone.

What changes have you noticed in your local rave/hard dance scene since you started?

Well as for my home state (New Jersey) we truly don’t have any music scene left from what I see. My second home (New York City) will always have my heart, but recently not much has been going on. We went from constant shows every weekend to hardly ever anything going on. When we do have shows, the crowds are always promising and dedicated so the wait is well worth it. No place like home!

What do you think about the current state of harder styles in America?

My bias opinion: Needs more hardcore! (laughs) As for the scene itself: it is truly amazing to see it evolving more and over the last couple of years! One thing I do have to say is I’ve noticed less support for the locals and more focus mainly on what European act is coming. A good headliner is always promising don’t get me wrong, but I believe that if we want to evolve the scene to what we all want, we need more support for the locals who have the ability to lead the next level of everything! I feel as if we just expect to get our own Defqon, Qlimax, MOH etc., but most won’t even go out on the weekend to see a show unless there’s some huge European name on the lineup. I just want to see more people invested because of the music, not just because there’s a Dutch act in town.

Tim Shopp, Middletown, New Jersey, playing at Gabberfest 2016, EDC Weekend, June 18th-19th, Las Vegas Nevada!
Tim Shopp artist logo.

What are you trying to convey through your music? Are there any themes or ideas that are important to you? Is there anything in particular you find yourself wanting to communicate to the audience?

Chaos. Chaos, chaos and more chaos! Being a metal head and beat down fan, I try to bring those elements into my sets and music. There’s something about chaos and insanity I find very interesting.

Do you have anything special planned for the event (b2b set, all vinyl, live PA, guest performers/dancers etc)? Original productions?

Well me and the Gabberfest crew have been waiting for this day to come! I always said I would do something special my first time, and sure enough Gabberfest will have the first world premiere of “Extreme Team!” that I can guarantee will blow minds. For my solo set of course plenty of new music from me! B2b sets, well anything can happen at Gabberfest…

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?

2016 has already been a huge for me. So first and foremost I just have to thank everyone who’s been behind me since the start and especially recently! I will be playing all over the USA this summer on my mini tour, and I even have a show in The Netherlands! On top of all that, huge collaborations with some major artists as well. I will let that be a surprise for you all!

Be sure to follow TIM SHOPP on his social media and be up front and center to catch his solo set along with the debut of “Extreme Team!” in six weeks time at GABBERFEST 2016!

Articles, Interviews

MC Sik-Wit-It: The Interview

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.

MC-Sik-Wit-It right before his performance at Apocalypto.
MC-Sik-Wit-It right before his performance at Apocalypto.

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!

MC Sik-Wit-It and Lady Faith
MC Sik-Wit-It and Lady Faith
Articles, Interviews

Altern 8 Interview at TR-99’s Trauma

Last August Altern 8 visited Los Angeles courtesy of TR-99’s Trauma party. It was a great honor meeting these guys, as Altern 8 unalterably shaped rave culture by ways of the massive impact of their music and persona. I lucked into a thorough interview (hence the delay in upload) with Mark Archer and Josh Doherty before they would play that night, and here is what they had to say…

How about a history lesson on what you were doing in the late ’80s – early ’90s that made Altern-8?

Mark:  It started in ’89 working with Chris Peat, one of the original members of Altern-8. We were working together as ‘Nexus 21’. I was heavily influenced by Detroit Techno at the time. We were owed some studio time where we were working, Blue Chip Studios, Stafford. We went in, and made about nine or ten tracks. It had further influences than just Detroit Techno, so we didn’t want to call it Nexus 21. That way it wouldn’t dilute what we were doing as the other group.

We were going to call ourselves Alien-8, because Chris was in a rock band called Alien-8. When the label sent the tune to be pressed, they didn’t do any DJ promos, anything like that, came back with all the sleeves. They phoned us up and said, “The records are here.” Drove down to Birmingham where the label was based, opened the box, pulled it out, it said ‘Altern-8’ on the top. The name came round by mistake, really.

Altern-8 at TR-99's Trauma
Altern-8 at TR-99’s Trauma. Photo by Peter Vincent.

It was just originally as a side-project, but the first EP had eight tracks on it, so a lot of DJs were buying it purely because there wre eight tracks you could play rather than one 12-inch that maybe had one mix that you could play, so it was really good value for money. When we did a follow-up, a lot of the DJs were already waiting for the follow-up, which was Infiltrate 202. It just went from there. We did that, and then we needed a follow-up, then we did Activ-8. Activ-8 got in the UK charts, so we started touring around the UK and around the world, and it took off a bit.

I remember you guys were on the cover of magazines, even here in the States and in Canada. What was the hysteria all about? Why were people so into you at the time?

Josh: Activ-8, I think, had sold enough copies that it would have gone to number one most weeks of the year, but it happened to be released the same week as the biggest British comedy act doing a thing, I think, and the new Michael Jackson single, so we got stuck at number three. Whereas a week earlier, a week later, it would have been a number one hit. There was a massive amount of hype around that time.

Mark: I think it was because we had the suits, which wasn’t planned. There was something really mysterious about the fact that people didn’t know who was making all the techno back then. There was very little known about it, so we took it to the ultimate by having the suits on. You couldn’t see who we were at all. There was a lot of hype and we did a lot of pranks, like giving away hot air. We were in a hot air balloon, and we were throwing Christmas puddings from it. There was the whole thing about the record label boss’s daughter, who was three at the time, saying, “Top one, nice one, get sorted” on the record, which was a phrase about people going out to raves.

Josh: Also, the rave scene was the last time that there was a huge social movement connected with a music scene in the UK. The government was really “anti-rave” and our look was “anti-establishment” as well, so people really connected with it.

How did you get into this? How did you find yourself in that wave of history?

Mark: There seemed to be a natural progression from early ’80s electro, soul, funk etc. People who were into that were, say, into like the early Chicago House stuff, including hip-hop. It kind of went hand-in-hand; banging to De La Soul and Public Enemy respectively. Then it went on to Acid House. After ’88, there was a lot of backlash about Acid House, but it kept progressing each year. ‘89 saw the arrival of Detroit Techno: the Belgians were making a lot of music and the Italians did this “Italo” House thing. There were so many influences at one time.

You were making music at that time?

Mark: Yeah. Yeah. I was making stuff in ’88, we were doing Acid House and stuff different names.

There was something where you guys were running for office?

Mark: That was just another way to get your name in the papers. If you have a single out, people will be promoting it, but when you don’t they won’t write about you. Every time, we had a prank, it was just a way to get your name out there so people remembered you between each single. The elections were going on, so Chris ran for the local elections in Stafford.

Josh:He didn’t come last, did he?

Mark: No. There’s a party called the Natural Law Party, and we actually beat them and they were being serious, and there we were.They were pissed.

Why is he not part of Altern-8 now?

Mark: In late ’93, I was recording under the name DJ Nex, Xen Mantra, I was doing House stuff with Danny Taurus under the name Slo Moshun. I was doing loads of different things, while Chris was getting more into computers. We had musical differences also. I wanted to go a certain direction – he was just interested in computers – so we stopped doing Altern-8 and revived Nexus 21. That didn’t happen so we stopped working together. I carried on DJ’ing ever since, recording under different names, but not recording any new material as Altern-8, Then in 2008, I played at a party Josh promotes in London called ‘I Love Acid’, and from there we started talking again. Now we’re doing the Altern-8 live shows again.

Are you going to come out with new Altern-8 music?

There’s a track in the [Trauma] live set which is brand new, right bang in the middle. We’re also working on an album.

Are you going to team up with any artists from back in the day?

Mark: Yeah, I’ve been working with some guys from Unique 3, Forgemasters, LFO, Rhythmatics, under the name The Originators.

There was something extra imbued into the Altern-8 sound that wasn’t just in all the other rave music. There seemed to be some bigger ideas behind it. Was that my imagination or was that actually going on?

Josh : A lot of that’s got to do with where some of the samples and the sounds are sourced from. There’s lots of really soulful House and Detroit Techno and bit and pieces like that that have gone in there. There’s something a little bit extra in them. I fucking love most of that old Hardcore, people like DJ DMS and stuff like Production House, but the source material of what they’re sampling was often other rave tunes, and it didn’t really reach back much further. The Altern-8 stuff just had a little more reach in where it was pulling tracks from. That’s my opinion, anyway.

Mark: At the time, I was just making tracks that I liked the sound of. The fact that people liked them was just … we just seemed to be doing something right and carried on doing it.

Are you just doing this one track?

Mark: Oh no, we’re going to be working on an album, get Full On … Mask Hysteria remixed and re-mastered. Get that out, and then work on new material for the new album.

Are you going to aim this material at the old schoolers, or are you going to aim it at kids?

Josh:  We’re just going to write tunes that we like.

Mark: There’s no point trying to follow trends or push it to a certain market. Just like we did back then, you just made tunes that you liked and you hoped worked on the dance floor.

Josh: Both of us are producing other stuff anyway, so if we end up writing something Housey or Techno or something, it will just end up going under one of the other aliases. You don’t even have to go into the studio and go, “Must be Breakbeat,” because if something else works, then you just do something else with it.

Is there anything that you wish you could do over from that time? Or wish that you could do now?

Mark: If I had known how well the gig we played out here in ’92 went down … It was only after we were getting letters from people in LA, saying how good … from where we were on the stage, I didn’t think we did that well. At the end of our gigs, we used to come to the front of the stage and greet fans, but because it didn’t look like we did well, we just scurried off stage. Apparently, we blew that many people’s heads. If we somehow knew, we could’ve enjoyed it a hell of a lot more, gone out and met people etc. That’s probably the only thing.

What’s been your best memory throughout your musical journey?

Mark: The first time we played Downingtown Park, UK. That was our first big gig, and it was in a massive warehouse.

Josh: I played at a festival called Bloc in 2009, and the crowds were singing along to all the tunes. This was coming on after Skream & Benga, they were doing a dubstep thing, which was the most hyped music at the time. I was thinking, “I’m playing a bunch of old-school records after they just absolutely smashed it. I’m going to go down like a lead balloon.” But it just went off. This year, we ended a stage on Sunday night at Glastonbury, amid like 30,000 people

So what can we look forward to tonight?

Josh: All the classics, but they’ll be mashed up and changed a bit. The lucky thing is that the technology now is better than it was.

Mark: You’d have to take on a full studio on stage back in the day, whereas now you don’t have to.

Josh: A couple of laptops. There’s only so much that we can bring up. 303s and stuff stay at home.

Mark: All the tunes that hopefully people will remember. Different versions and a few surprises, and obviously the new tune in the middle.

All right then, top one, nice one, get sorted on iTunes!

From there, Altern 8 then prepped their set and later rocked and wowwed the crowd at Trauma.

Additional editing was done by DJ Daybreaker.

All photos in this article were shot by Peter Vincent.

Articles, Interviews

Leo Corson Interview

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In my mind, Leo Corson is one of the main people responsible for the current popularity of the harder styles in North America. As a tireless advocate of hard dance music, he was once known as DJ Dutchboy and then as Used & Abused. Now, he’s a booking agent for Corson Agency and Circle Talent Agency. 

How did you get into the rave scene in the first place?

I went out to my first rave in 1994 or ’95. It was called Angies Urbal Jungle. From then, I kept going to raves. Insomniac was also throwing their first events around this time. I immediately fell in love with hardcore, the high energy 170-180 BPM stuff and some of the early rave sounds. I did a lot of things within the rave scene: I worked events, I did flyers, I worked in a booth selling necklaces and glow sticks, etc.

When did the music come in?

In 1997 or 1998, I happened to be working a show. Lenny Dee, DJ Isaac and G-Town Madness were booked for this. I met them, took them out the day after the show, and then I was invited to go to Holland. Holland is where I started really becoming a DJ because I was able to bring back all of this vinyl and white labels back to America. I started playing out as Dutchboy, my first show being in 1998, Neverland. Then around 2000, the music started to change: a big influence from Germany. People like Cosmic Gate started making 138 BPM music and then that morphed into what we know today as hardstyle, but it was a lot slower at first. A lot of the hardcore guys decided to switch to this sound. This started in about 1999, but it didn’t really become classified as hardstyle until about 2002 when it really started to take off. Then I switched as well and changed my name to ‘Used & Abused’, but I still played hardcore as Dutchboy. Then around 2003-2004, I opened up a record store on Melrose, Underground Culture. But at this time, vinyl was starting to die.

When did you establish Corson Agency?

2008. At the same time I set up the label Hard Dance Nation; that was the conduit that allowed us to do events and tours. We also release music for North American hard dance artists.

When was Hard Dance Nation’s first show?

In 2008 as well, when I became 30. It was “XXX,” Roman numerals for the age that I turned. That was the first show that was all hardstyle, hardcore, and hard dance, which took place on the ninth of August, 2008.

What was the biggest challenge to getting harder music more accepted in America?

It was easier in the early 2000’s because the different styles were all around the same BPM, the general speed being around 135 BPM. Trance, techno, and club house was 135, hardstyle was 138. You could mix it all together. Then in the mid 2000’s, everything kind of splintered off and it got even more splintered as we go into the teens. Now we have 128 on one side, and 150 on the other. That’s a broad spectrum. You can’t pitch the music up or down too much. I think that’s the biggest challenge. For a lot of people, 150 is a bit much. But luckily, we have a lot of fans in LA especially that like it.

What’s been the most gratifying thing that’s happened over these last years as an agent?

Putting on Basscon in association with Insomniac… when you see the show practically sell out the Hollywood Palladium! Starting from really small raves and struggling to get the music recognized, then seeing promoters like Insomniac push it further, that’s a great feeling.

What would you like to see more of in the Hard Dance community?

I would like to see less bullshit and less fighting, because I think that’s going to ruin the scene faster than anything. The flaming online and the shit talking and this whole rawstyle versus this whole … you know what? It’s fucking music. We’re all on the same boat. It doesn’t matter what sound it is, who this guy is, who that guy is. I think that we need to let go and support each other. It’s the same thing that I faced back in the 2000’s. You had the people who like gabber and they would punch these happy hardcore kids in the face because they’re wearing furries and beads. That’s not PLUR. It’s not positive and it’s not a very good representation when you do those types of things. I even heard that there was a fight at Nocturnal between two hardstyle crews. I heard, I’m not going to call you people out, but I heard that there was an actual fight?! I mean, there’s a fight between two people who like the same thing! But you guys think you’re better than the other? I think that is something I would like to see stop, because I’m not doing this so guys can have a place to fight each other and measure their dicks.

You mentioned to me in an email that you  teach a course in music business.

Unbeknownst to most, I have a Master’s degree.

An MBA?

It’s an MBA, but it’s called Music Industry Administration. It a 60-40 split of the MBA program and music. It focuses on publishing, licensing, copyrights, mechanical licensing, contracting, entertainment law, and stuff like that. I spoke twice at Icon Collective, a school in Burbank. They were looking to expand their music business department. It’s actually very important when these kids grow up and want to make music and want to DJ, to understand that there is a business side of it. So they gave me a job opportunity, and I took it. It’s a good way to give back to the community.

What’s on the horizon for Hard Dance in 2016?

We are already starting to book things in advance. I can’t really divulge one-hundred percent, but I can tell you that you’ll see more Basscon stages at more Insomniac events. I know Insomniac is the only major US promoter that is really putting an effort into pushing this sound so far. As long as the fans come out and support the harder artists, even if there is only one act per show, that will really help push things forward. We are a small group of dedicated people right now and the only way that we are going to help expand is by supporting the best we can and in any way we can. Go out and support the music you love for god sake!  Another thing I want to address: the fans. I know you are so die hard but you can’t be so angry when we can’t get someone booked. Visas are very difficult to get these days. There’s a finite amount of visas that customs and immigration services can give out. It’s expensive. We have to prove that we’re not stealing an American job.  It’s very highly protected. This law was enacted in the 70’s to protect American workers and musicians. Realize it’s not that we don’t want to bring them, it’s that they might not be able to get the visa that is required or can make the payments. There is a business side of things. The government does hold a lot of sway that we can’t circumvent. Keep that in mind.

Do you have any advice for those wanting to get involved with music?

If you’re an aspiring DJ, you should focus on producing instead. You can’t just go out and get the cool vinyl, white labels, and promos. Producing is what’s important. If you’re an aspiring hardstyle or hardcore producer, just get your music out there. It’s so easy these days. The more Americans and Canadians that actually step up and produce seriously, I think the rest of the world will take our hard dance community more serious. Stay professional and clean on social media. The more professional we look, the more the international community will look at us with that same seriousness. This music does come from the Netherlands. They have high standards, REALLY high. They will look down on all of us if you don’t hold yourself similar. Collaborate more. I think that’s really, really, really important.

Any last words before we depart?

I want to thank all the fans because a lot of them know me personally. I go out and they always thank me for what I do. I appreciate them as well. I don’t need the recognition. I do it, partly and sadly, because no one else has stepped up to do it. You guys show a lot of respect and in return I want to do that for you. Thank you.

Editing on this article was also done by DJ Daybreaker.