Daring all manner of health and safety concerns, I found myself jumping into the pool at Las Vegas’s Downtown Grand during Basscon’s Pool Party. The hardstyle was kicking and I couldn’t help but think that this was really the way hardstyle should be enjoyed. It just all worked. The crowd was 100% into it and it was a wet n’ wild time to say the least. I couldn’t help thinking though that this crowd, clad in bathing suits, was actually dressed more conservatively than at an actual Wasteland event. Of course, it was all a precursor to the main event: Electric Daisy Carnival.
We rolled into EDC remarkably fast. I sprinted to the Wasteland stage so I could see Kutski. Amazingly, he was on at an early 8:00 PM time slot. I thought that was a bit of an outrage, but hey, he was playing the big rig so who’s to complain. He did some cool scratches on the CDJs and bridged that chasm between hardstlye and hardcore with just the proper amount of cheese to keep old and new fans alike rocking out.
After his set we went about checking out the EDC grounds. I have to say, as usual the Circuit Grounds had the coolest most forward thinking design. Basspod and Wasteland, while cool, were not remarkably different from last year. The PK sound was pretty devastating though. The music was really clean.
That said, it made me think that with modern speakers being so clean and powerful, perhaps producers can start mastering their tracks with some air to breathe again, and to achieve more dynamics. But, the war of loudness is still on, but I see hope for change on the horizon when confronted with the potential of these awesome sound rigs.
So far, this year’s EDC theme seems to be, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The spectacle is marvelous and vast and most areas are laid out in a similar manner as the year before, not a bad thing actually, as it feels like you’re coming home, which is fitting a 20 year anniversary.
Tomorrow will be a special day though for hardcore fans, as American hardcore makes its presence known when Lenny Dee and Rob Gee rock the Calliope Art Car. Though there is a strong old-school theme this year, we hear that they aren’t going to play old school, they are busting out their new stuff!
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!
The Counter-Terrorist (nomadic) at Trauma. Next field operation: GABBERFEST! Photo by Peter Vincent.
Living along the plains of the mid-west, The Counter-Terrorist, surprisingly, hasn’t had the struggle of locating the harder genres of electronic music, nor breaking into his local scene with said genres like many westerners (of the US) had imagined when you hear that he’s coming from the state of Wisconsin. Seeing CT live already, I know what kind of a acidic treat we are getting having this name on the line up for GABBERFEST (June 18-19th, Las Vegas, Nevada) and now you all get to discover what is essentially the man “protecting the ears of ravers from the terrors of radio garbage”!
How did you decide on your stage name?
I was originally going by a different name but I wasn’t super big on it, so I did some thinking about my roots in the rave scene, love of comics, and then my history of playing Counter-Strike 1.6 back in the late 90’s and early 00’s with my old foreign exchange student came to mind. It’s a bit of a mouthful, certainly, but it’s my identity. Protecting the ears of ravers from the terrors of radio garbage.
How did you start producing/DJ’ing?
In 2010 I met my best friend who introduced me to controllerism and helped me learn the basics of mixing; I’d wanted to learn how to DJ since I was a kid but my family knew nothing about it and didn’t know anyone who could teach me (their concept of DJs is strictly the guy who plays at weddings or on the radio). Since 2010 I’ve used a couple programs and controllers and then moved onto CDJs due to preference.
How did you get interested in the harder styles?
My first experience with harder genres happened in the late 90’s when we had a foreign exchange student from Germany live with us. He brought over a bunch of music with him but the stuff I got hooked on was the acid trance/hard acid/hard trance. My dad liked it too so he downloaded a bunch of stuff like the Tunnel Trance Force mixes and then he came across some old US hard house that I just went NUTS over. After the turn of the century, while I was in high school, I got introduced to early hardstyle (the reverse bass and gated kicks stuff) then found old gabber/industrial hardcore music while browsing online and it continued to progress from there.
What changes have you noticed in your local rave/hard dance scene since you started?
Well as far as the scene I hail from, hardcore isn’t dead (HARDCORE WILL NEVER DIE!) but it’s not nearly as big as it once was. Which is a shame to me because we have lots of great hardcore DJs. We got Elekid, Idiom, Delta 9, Dan Efex, Softcore, and so many more. But hardcore isn’t as welcome or desired in today’s world as it was before. Which is why I moved to the west coast where the hardcore scene is thriving for the most part. Nustyle, euphoric hardstyle, rawstyle, and UK hardcore seem to be picking up momentum in Minnesota from what I’ve seen and heard.
What do you think about the current state of harder styles in America?
I think that the hard genres in general seem to be regaining popularity to varying degrees. Primarily hardstyle, but gabber, happy hardcore, and UK hardcore appear to be converting new fans as well. The other sub-genres of hard music are a bit under-represented so it’s difficult for certain sounds to get heard. As far as the more abrasive hardcore sounds, frenchcore and terrorcore look to be gaining momentum since it was demanded by fans at Trauma: Oldschool for the Headstrong till it was played. Uptempo hardcore seems to be trending in the US gabber scene as well. Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of hard music in the US because the genres are definitely not for everyone, however we seem to be making some progress as far as creating new fans. We just really need more support for our local artists.
Will you be attending both EDC & GABBERFEST this year?
Just GABBERFEST. EDC is too much thriller, not enough chiller (laughs)!
How do you feel about Insomniac’s support of the hard dance community? Even with the Basscon stage, do you feel that it’s enough?
Even with the Basscon stage, EDC does not do enough to represent the hard dance community. It’s primarily geared towards hardstyle despite a couple UK Hardcore DJs and one or two regular “mainstyle” hardcore DJs which, don’t get me wrong, is a step in the right direction but it doesn’t give a in-depth look at the diversity in the hard music scene as a whole. What are you trying to convey through your music? Are there any themes or ideas that are important to you?
As far as themes when I spin hardcore, it’s generally mind-bending stuff. My gabber sets either conjure up nightmares and things of a dark and twisted nature or it’s some straight gangster shit. When I spin US/UK hard house, my sound is hard-hitting and ghetto. My acid sets are designed around nostalgia but super groovy (SO many “Blood Rave” remixes). You wind up with a pretty eccentric style when you’re raised in Drop Bass Network territory.
Do you have anything special planned for Gabberfest?
Well I’m under the impression that I’m gonna be doing a b2b set so it’s difficult to say what I’ll end up playing, honestly. But it will likely be either frenchcore, hardtek, and terrorcore in a b2b set or gabber, frenchcore, hardtek, and terrorcore if I’m playing solo. Start Hard, Finish Harder. Amirite?
What’s the next operation for the Counter-Terrorist? Any last words/rites?
Since moving out here to the west coast at the beginning of the last quarter of 2014, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to work with some incredible artists and crews both big name and local. There are too many people to thank individually, but I really appreciate all the help and love I’ve gotten from my West Coast and Midwest families. I love you all and I can’t wait to do even more incredible things with you guys. Gabberfest and Northkore are gonna be super rad, you won’t want to miss either if you’re a fan of hard music!
Be prepared for the Counter-Terrorist’s next operation by following him on his social media!
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
