Niacin
New Member
United Kingdom
27 posts
Joined: Nov, 2005
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 Posted - 2010/03/08 : 04:35:09
With a career spanning back as far as 1997, the DJ, production and live act experience with added kick; known to the hardcore universe as Endymion do - its more than fair to say, know their hardcore music. After signing their first track to the Supreme Intelligence label in 1998 and after working with a string of well known and very well established labels such as Neophyte Records; Endymion would soon receive Worldwide acclaim after being signed by the awesome Ruffneck, which would mark the beginning of a career that has seen them entertain the World over, sometimes in various countries at the same time!
With a number of outstanding productions to their credit including All The Way Up, Payback and Its All Music just tipping the short list, not forgetting of course the incredible Catalysed Reactions album which has only elevated their popularity not just within the incredibly huge Dutch scene for which they regularly entertain at events such as Defqon 1, Thunderdome and Nightmare In Rotterdam, but also Worldwide where their music, their sound and live performances and DJ sets have seen them perform in every corner of the Globe humanly possible. Already locked in the Passport are previous tours to Los Angeles, Sydney, Toronto, Hamburg, New York, Rome and more, blowing away the competition with every pounding, outstanding performance. Over here weve heard from them more recently on Kutskis Halloween Special on his BBC Radio One show and they recently completed a Podcast guest mix for Brisk & Fracus Next Generation Podcast over Christmas, only further inflaming UK popularity and interest in the tremendous trio.
We first heard about them through our old mukka Brisk and now, thanks to a little help from our Next Generation friend, weve had the opportunity to speak with them today ahead of a headlining and eagerly awaited performance at Ravers Are: X-Treme in Bristol this April.
Presenting, prior to his visit to the UK in April, Bart from Endymion
Jon Brown:
Now here is someone, I am most excited to talk to, Ive been waiting a little while and now the opportunity has presented itself as he visits our fine UK shores this coming April all the way from Holland Bart from Endymion how are you?
Endymion:
So far my day is nice. At the moment I am in our studio to prepare our live act for Reverze (Belgiums biggest hard dance party) and we have to perform our live act there in February. These are heavy weeks for us, we fly every week and we are in our studio all the time during the week. Last week we were in Milan to work in the studio of Art of Fighters at Traxtorms headquarters. So we are busy but we are loving every minute of it!
Jon Brown:
Awesome! Now over here you have such a UK following but for those that still need an introduction, Im going to go back to basics a little bit and ask - how did you guys get started? When did you form, what inspired your beginnings, where was the starting block where you decided, this was for you?
Endymion:
Bas, Jelle and me have been friends our whole life. We are part of a big group of friends and we were the ones that liked hard music more then our other friends, so we started to hang out more and DJ in our bedrooms. After a while we started to produce our own tracks on programs like Fast Tracker & Mad Tracker and before we knew it we were producing all the time. After a couple of years we send out a demo and right after that we received a phone call - Ruffneck wanted to release our music and he offered us a record deal. That was such a big motivation for us that we started to work on our music even more!
Jon Brown:
To get a call from Ruffneck must have been a buzz, sounds like you made the right choice there. Now, there are three of you altogether as we mentioned and if Im not mistaken, two of you are DJs and Producers, only one of you is solely a Producer, is that correct? Why is it so only one of you produces and not DJs? Or have I got that completely the wrong way around?
Endymion:
Endymion is a team of three people, thats correct. Jelle and I are the producers of Endymion. We are the ones who write the music, but Bas is involved in the music as well. He shares his opinion and we always make sure we all agree on a track before we send it out and Bas and I are the DJs of Endymion. Most of the time we play together but it also happens that we both play in different countries on the same date.
Besides being a DJ, Bas is responsible for the Endymion website and our social media designs. He is our video editor and web designer, besides being the DJ & Producer of Endymion I am the booking manager and when Endymion performs live the whole crew is on stage. Its a long story, but I hope this clears things up a little bit.
Jon Brown:
Interesting, so there is in effect a difference to the shows you play, if its a live set all three of you and a DJ set just one or two of you - whats the difference in shows?
Endymion:
Let me get into it a little deeper, in the past Bas and I always performed together when we were booked for a DJ set, but the last years we got so many requests from abroad, that we could not satisfy all our fans in other countries. For us it is extremely important to play our music in as many countries as we can. We want to spread hardcore music because we believe there are many people who might be interested once they are introduced to this type of music, so if we receive requests for gigs in different countries on one date, we split up. We dont play separate in the same country and we dont want to be competitors for our own gigs but the split up is just to be able to perform abroad more.
When Endymion Live is announced on a flyer you get a performance of 30 minutes with Endymion tracks only. We play this music with Ableton Live on our Mac Book and we are able to play our own tracks live on stage in this way. Jelle is the one who plays the music during our live act. Bas and I are the MCs during these performances and most of the time we do these shows all together, but sometimes only two members perform since one other member can be in another country.
Jon Brown:
So giving a whole new meaning to being everywhere at once, quite literally! Ha, Ha! Your sound is a brilliant representation of the Dutch hardcore culture, but at the same time is fresh and very innovative and exciting, what for you is the creative source behind that sound, how do you create such excellence both in a studio and indeed such energy on a dance floor wherever you are in the World? Who do you look up to as your influences? Who inspired you?
Endymion:
Thanks, its great to hear you think we have our own sound. We try to make serious, credible hardcore music. For us it is important that our tracks sound nice everywhere, so whether you are in your car, at home or at a big rave, our tracks have to be interesting. Thats why our tracks are a bit fuller then tracks by other hardcore producers. Our inspiration comes from all styles of music and we are real music lovers so we hear a lot of genres. In every genre there are things that can be interesting in a hardcore track and we also get a lot of inspiration from other hardcore producers and when we hear a great track by Art of Fighters, Evil Activities or Nosferatu we are triggered to top them. Hahahawe keep each other focussed I guess.
Jon Brown:
Ha, ha, ha, keeping each other on their respective toes no less. Now looking back, your first track was signed to Supreme Intelligence in 1998 and a series of smash hits followed - later then also on Gangsta, as well as many releases on other famed hardcore labels such as D-Boy, Neophyte and so forth before later in 2001 being signed to DJ Ruffnecks Enzyme label; followed by then, its fair to say many big things were happening for you.
Only then amplified by your 2003 album release Catalysed Reactions, what is your recipe for success, given that every release you have had has been received with such critical acclaim, what is it in your mind that makes you the top guys on the block as producers both in your homeland and around the World?
Endymion:
I dont know why our music is so much appreciated. We just make the music we really like and when we are working on a track and I get goose bumpsI know we are going in the right direction. Maybe our music is appreciated because it is credible and we have a couple of gimmick tracks, but besides those we write everything ourselves. The dance floor is not our only focus; people have to be able to listen to our tracks when they are at home - so our intros and outros are always filled with elements from the main part of the track as well. Its not just DJ music, maybe that is the key to our success but once again, its hard to say this about ourselves. Were just really happy many people like what we do.
Jon Brown:
Well we are certainly fans this side of the World and for me I know I have faves of yours, but do you have a personal favourite of all the work youve done - is there one single or remix that you are most proud of, because you have quite a selection dont you?
Endymion:
At the moment I think Abduction is our best track, the energy I get when I hear it is amazing and I am so proud we made that one! The sounds are so big, and this one destroys every dance floor weve seen since it was released. Recently we spend some days at the studio of Art of Fighters and we have four tracks lined up for Enzyme and Traxtorm - I expect great things for these tracks as well! Our new EP on Viper Beatz with DJ The Viper will be big as well, so we have enough future favourites coming!
Jon Brown:
I look forward to it, but looking at your other talents, you are known Worldwide for your live performances and DJ sets, fast, thrusting and energetic most absolutely high adrenaline hardcore, which Im sure fans Worldwide have been more than pleased to receive you guys. Whats the smallest crowd youve ever played to and in the same question, whats the largest? Did you enjoy them both all the same and which sort of gig do you prefer, whats your ideal dream gig in your eyes?
Endymion:
It sounds really boring, but it all depends of the energy of the crowd. Our smallest gig during our career was in Toronto (Canada), we did a live act for 50 people and it was one of our best live shows ever.
The stage consisted of three tables shoved together and the 50 people were so close to the stage that we could feel them breathing! These 50 people partied so hard, that we just couldnt stop with our live act and we played for 60 minutes until we had no more songs in our sampler.
Another great performance was our gig in Moscow, the crowd over there is just brilliantsimply amazing! They literally ripped the clothes from our body when we did some crowd surfing. Besides these smaller events we love to play at the big parties in Holland and it is such a thrill to perform on parties like Defqon 1, Thunderdome, Sensation Black, Masters of Hardcore, etc.
Jon Brown:
Aaah, all the best parties then! Over here in the UK, friends of ours such as Brisk and Kutski, major headliners here, are huge fans and friends of yours. Any plans on the horizon to work with them again anytime soon, any new collaborations planned, maybe a back to back set with you guys one day? Anything like that possibly on the cards (because lets be honest that would be awesome) and also when answering that, tell us if anything what you love most about the UK when youre here?
Endymion:
Ive know Kutski for a year now, he became a good friend of mine, he asked us to remix the first release on his label One and that remix became insanely popular, so it helped him a lot. For us it was great exposure in the UK, Kutski supports our music on BBC Radio 1 now and we even did a guest mix for his show on BBC Radio 1 during Halloween in October 2009.
Brisk is a guy I talk to a lot too these days, we are thinking to collaborate on a track next year but right now we are too busy with our own projects, but Im sure well do it one day. A back to back with one of these guys would be amazing, I think it can be very interesting to blend our styles, so yes, we are definitely up for that!
The thing we love most about the UK is the crazy people. Weve been all over the World, but the British people are one of the most enthusiastic crowds weve played for (only the Russians and the Ozzies can compete with you guys) and no, I dont say this because this is an interview for a site in the UK, Ive mentioned this is other interviews as well - but when you guys go to a party, you think about one thing only be as crazy as you can and for a DJ that is simply amazing. When we talk to people in the UK they are always so super friendly and I just love it when people buy me beer, hahaha!
Jon Brown:
Ha ha, Ben Niacin is the name of the guy you need to speak to about a free bar all night Bart. Tell him I sent you, which brings us to our question about your visit to us here in the UK. You are of course, making your debut for the first time at the popular South West UK party Ravers Are: X-Treme in April, for which were certainly very excited about; Im told its your first time in Bristol? What do you have planned for these guys to take things up a notch and take it to the X-Treme?
Endymion:
It will be my first time in Bristol. I have no idea what to expect, its quite a big rave isnt it? I think I will have the masters of Enzyme 34 (Weapon X) and Enzyme 35 (Endymion vs. Art of Fighters) with me that night, so people better be prepared for some new music! Of course, I will play some of our well known tracks as well. Im sure if the people are energetic, I will go completely crazy behind the desk - I am really looking forward to this gig!
Jon Brown:
Bart, thank you for your time, its been awesome, and well be seeing you on the 10th April! You can of course catch up with new material from the guys, as well as tour dates, info, details and much more at http://www.endymion.nl Bart thanks again see you soon!
Endymion:
See you soon mate, people should check out our social media profiles as well. Our You Tube page contains 200 videos or performances, track previews and a lot of silly stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/endymionmusic
http://www.facebook.com/endymionmusic
http://www.twitter.com/endymionmusic
Jon Brown:
With thanks to Bart Endymion, Paul Brisk and Ben Niacin. You can catch with Endymion at Ravers Are: X-Treme, Saturday 10th April at Lakota, Upper York Street, Stokes Croft, Bristol. BS2 8QN. The event runs from 20:00pm until 06:00am and features over four zones of various underground mayhem including live performances and DJ sets from Darren Styles back to back with Joey Riot with MC Storm, Mark EG, Brisk, Gammer, Squad-E, Seduction, Scott Brown, Wotsee and many more.
Tickets are available at just 17 plus booking fee until the 1st March, they will then be 19 plus booking fee in advance after that date and more on the door, on the night, so get yours quick! More information at http://www.raversare.co.uk
and
https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/tickets/Ravers-are-X-TREME---Event-5/10009761?ref=recommended
Words: Jon Brown
Pictures: Courtesy of Endymion, used with permission.
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