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!
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!
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).
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.
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.
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:
Straight out of Italy, Art of Fighters have been bringing their particular flavor of hardcore music for nearly 2 decades. The Art of Fighters history began in the year 1997 and their career took off as one of the fastest in the scene. It was the year 2000 and they were just 18 years old when they jumped onto the biggest European stages playing their first hit tracks ‘Artwork‘ and ‘Earthquake‘ while wearing their trademark: the terrifying hockey mask, similar to the one seen in the movie ‘Friday the 13th’.
Since then, they have been unstoppable: spreading throughout the entirety of Europe, USA, Japan, South America and Australia. They have continued to produce track after track, becoming one of the leading acts of todays Hardcore scene. Creators of anthems for the biggest events as Dominator, Thunderdome and Q-Base, their sound is constantly evolving. A sound which can be described as a unique mix of harmony and technicality, with the rawness and power that you expect to be found in a proper hardcore track.
Art of Fighters
It’s a pleasure to be interviewing you! Could you tell us a little but about yourselves? How do you know each other? Did you always know you wanted to be DJs?
Ciao America, we are Luca and Cristian and we are Art of Fighters! We are producers from Italy, land of good food, good people and good music (in my personal opinion). (Cristian) I have know Luca since I was a kid, we grew up together as neighbours and we spent all the childhood together. I know him since 30years, it’s my fourth brother, even if he is from another mother.
Can you tell me a little bit about the story behind you’re DJ name? How did you come up with the name ‘Art of Fighters’?
At the time we sent our first demo to The Stunned Guys our name was “Armageddon”. It was a cool one, around 15 demos, ranging from 200/400BPM, except a couple of them which were around 150bpm. Long story short, Maxx suggested us to put into the trashcan all the tracks except the slower ones, and to find a new name cause it was a bit overused. We already had our first logo, so we had to pick up something starting with an “A”. Our second choice was “Art of Warriors”, also taken so we went from ‘Warriors’ to ‘Fighters’ and voilà! Years later I realized how important that decision was. We became that name, and now more than ever we are fighting for our Art, which is the music and the message we are trying to spread around the world.
How did Art of Fighters get started? Did you ever expect to grow to the notoriety and recognition you have today?
We started in the basement of my parents house, using nothing else than a Pentium computer and Fast Tracker 2. Why?! I still have no idea, probably bored or just curious about how music was made. And no, never expected to make it a full time job, also because back then (first demos are dated around 1996/97) the dj wasn’t at all a recognized figure, it was more like an outcast. You had to do it just because you liked to. We are lucky that people like what we do and support us. We’ll try to not disappoint them and stay true to our Core.
Tell me a little bit about why you wear masks and their designs? Do they mean anything special?
The idea of the masks comes from the man that taught us how to mix, DJ Tetta. We had to play a b2b set in Switzerland in early 2001 and he came with the idea of jumping on stage with those white masks and white jumpsuits. We loved the idea and kept using them. After few months we decided to personalize the mask a little bit (here’s why the different design for each one of us) and somewhere around the 2006 we hired someone to make the ones we’re using right now, which (as what the creator said) are made using the mold from the original Jason 13th movie.
(Niko e Tetta, Art of Fighters circa 2001)
Here you can see the pictures of the first time we used those masks. The design is a bit different from what we use now:
Would you have ever seen yourselves coming to perform the USA? How do you think playing for a US crowd will be different from playing in Europe, what do you expect? Are there any new tracks you plan to drop, or any tracks you are particularly excited to play for the US crowd?
This year was full of unexpected gigs. We also did Colombia and Japan, and about to set foot in Canada aswell. And every one of those gigs is a blessing. We love to travel, see different cultures, people and situations. I belive we are all the same but still very different, the idea of party in Italy is different that the one in France or Japan, and I bet my ass that US is a different scenario aswell. As they taught us, you have to adapt in real time to the dancefloor, I’ll try to showcase all our music, which goes from 150bpm to over 200bpm!(I use the singular since it will be a solo dj performance in the US… Luca will be unable to join me due to technical reasons).
Do you think Traxtorm Ganstaz Allied could make a US performance in the future? (DJ team consisting of members Unexist, The Stunned Guys, Mad Dog and Art of Fighters)
I really hope so, and not just in the US!
Art of Fighters
Are there any upcoming releases or future collabs you can share with us? Anything you’re particularly excited about that we should be watching for?
We’re finishing as we speak two tracks, in collaboration with a really talented and underestimated friend and producer which is Dj Predator. A mix of Early rave, Drum and Bass, Mainstyle Uptempo with a touch of Neurofunk. We Love It. There’s also an Hardcore Italia compilation mixed by us and about to be released in Japan. Lot of fresh and cool music and idea over there from a lot of new producers and talents. Keep an eye on it. And also working on something different for 2017. If it will work I’ll talk about it in another edition of Hard Data.
Fantastic! Is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers on the Hard Data?
Yes. A scene without a crowd is not a scene, and a dj without a public is just an expensive cdplayer. So please, support the US scene and attend every party you can!
For me personally, listening to en episode of the Hardcore Italia podcast mixed by an Art of Fighters is what sparked my interest in hardcore music and I am very excited to see them perform here in Los Angeles! Catch them on the USA stops of the Industrial Strength Records 25yr Anniversary world tour, performing in Los Angeles, CA on November 18th, and in Brooklyn, NY on November 19th.
The final stop of Trauma’s Harder Styles Tour touched down in Brooklyn Saturday night. As anticipated, the venue was packed with attendees bouncing off the walls. Right off the bat is was amazing to see Lenny Dee and Rob Gee on their home turf, in the borough that made them worldwide names. Rob Gee played his greatest set on the entire tour, and frankly it might have been the single most uplifting and inspiring set –of all sets—on the tour. Rob Gee has always had something special with audiences, but Saturday night in particular he hit a resonant melody with the audience who were 100% in sync with his hardcore vibe.
DJ Deadly Buda at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
But, I’m getting ahead of myself, literally. Yours truly got to open up the night, and thankfully the sound-system was 100% on point, and there was already a crowd ready to rock. I got a chance to bust out some of my favorite tracks from the Next Cyclone label, which are rarely played, and the crowd was well into it. I also got to spin on 4 decks at once, an infrequent pleasure at hardcore shows where oftentimes we are lucky to even be using modern CD-Js!
DJ Stefanie at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
After I did my stuff, Reactor and Pulsators hit the decks and rocked the crowd with some hardstyle, leading up to the night’s headliner, DJ Stefanie. Basically, she tore it up, showing the USA why she is a big favorite in Europe and even showcased one of her latest tracks. I had the pleasure of filming her live feed on Facebook for the first half hour too. Most of her set it could be seen worldwide!
Lenny Dee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Next up was Lenny Dee. As always, it’s a pleasure to see Lenny Dee rocking it in his own backyard. The tough industrial sounds had the ravers rocking to and fro. Hardcore historians know that Lenny Dee might be considered the original hardcore DJ of which we know in the modern era, and to see him in his element, where the sounds were heard that would later inspire the world, was truly moving. He was followed by his frequent partner-in-cacophony, Rob Gee.
Tim Shopp at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Satronica then hit the decks and continued the holiday of hardcore that had taken over Brooklyn’s legendary club Verboten, leading to up-and-coming, Tim Shopp, who did double duty on the main stage and the second room, keeping the crowd busy the entire night. Tim tore the cap off a shaken pop-bottle of speedcore madness that drove the crowd wild, giving a sneak preview of the coming wave of American Hardcore.
Rob Gee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Initially looking back on the tour at this early stage of reflection, I think there were tremendous gains made for the American hardcore EDM/Techno scene. Whereas the crowds were not sell-outs, they were decent and more importantly, everyone had a great, and sometimes life changing time. Dealing with music so much on an everyday basis, we music insiders often lose track of how important finding that new sound is to the concert goer… as we count the beans and talk the numbers. Sure, it’s an aspect that cannot be ignored, but ultimately life is remembered in experiences, and Trauma Live made sure to give people an experience they’ll never forget, and I can’t wait to see what happens to this scene next.
DJ Stefanie and Lenny Dee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Dedicated to the harder sound of electronic dance music.
