Tag Archives: hardcrowd

Interviews

Interview with Thumpa

Where are you from? What is the music scene like in the area you are from?
I am from Lichfield in the UK. The UK is very influential in all aspects of dance music from drum & bass to house to garage to UK / happy hardcore, gabber and more, we have a deep history of rave music!

 How did you come up with your DJ name?
My friends came up with the name as I ‘stomped my feet behind the decks like the rabbit from Bambi’ when I DJ’ed. 20 years later it is still my DJ name!

What animal best personifies your music and why?
See above haha!

 What are you trying to convey with your music?
I have always enjoyed progressing a set, whatever style I play I always want to end in a different place to where I started, I think it is very important to take the crowd on some kind of journey and open their ears to something different whether it is brand new, classic, underplayed and underappreciated or just something totally different. I like to get faster and harder as the set goes on.

Can you describe the feeling you get when you’re on stage?
I have never been interested in being ‘on stage’, I just love DJ’ing and the excitement of DJ’ing comes from sharing the music and finding a dancefloor that loves the music as much as me, I do not make music and do not care about a DJ logo or photoshoots or any of that stuff, just give me decks and a crowd and a set longer than 60 minutes! I am old skool, I just love mixing and seeing a crowd go crazy.

What moment do you cherish the most so far in your career as a DJ/artist?
Playing at Westfest (the UK’s biggest indoor party) was pretty special, seeing thousands of people in the crowd. I have been lucky enough to play in USA, Japan, Canada and all over Europe but Japan was pretty cool, people coming up to me with CDs from my label and asking me to sign them was insane!

What was the first song or album that you remember listening to?
I remember it clearly, I was in my bedroom in 1996 and DJ Vibes played at a big festival here in the UK called Tribal Gathering, BBC Radio One broadcasted his set and he played ‘My Little Fantasy’ by 4 Tune Fairytales, it was a huge moment for me as I had never heard that kind of sound before. 21 years later I still love it!

What are your major influences?
I do not make music but as a DJ I have been heavily influenced by Brisk, Vibes, Sharkey, Slipmatt, The DJ Producer, HMS, Scorpio, Kenny Ken, Nicky Blackmarket. My favourite artists and labels are Ruffneck, Chosen Few, Coolman Records, Tellurian & Cenobite, The Destroyer, Hellfish & Deathchant, Noisekick, Drokz, Akira, Catscan, DJ Promo and Predator.

Where do you see yoursrlf in a year from now?
Hopefully playing at something big in Holland, now I have played there a few times I just want to play there every week!

djthumpa@hotmail.com
www.facebook.com/thedjthumpa
www.soundcloud.com/rebuild_music

Interviews

Tim Shopp Interview

 

Where are you from? What is the music scene like there?

I live here in Middletown, New Jersey and have lived here my entire life along with most of my family. As for music scene, there is a lot of pop punk, alternativ,e and other music but absolutely no hard dance scene. It’s very slim pickings in this state!

How did you come up with your DJ name?

My DJ name is my own name. When I first began, I realized the obsession artists seem to have with the letter “Z” and random adjectives, so I strayed far from that! I realized I wanted to just make music under my own name because simply it’s just who I am… literally.

What animal best personifies your music and why?

Hmmm, that’s a hard one! Maybe a grizzly bear? They’re aggressive and from what I hear on documentaries, they hit hard!

What are you trying to convey with your music?

Nothing. I know it sounds crazy, but quite honestly I just enjoy making hard music. Each track is usually a different vibe from the last, and I just try to make stuff I think sounds cool and aggressive, or even different that typical stuff.

Can you describe the feeling you get when you’re on stage?

Even still I get butterflies before some shows, especially when I have a load of new music to play. Testing new tracks always gets me a bit jittery. On stage I usually get a huge rush the second I hit play for the first time, and then from there on out it’s all about going crazy and enjoying myself.

 

What moment do you cherish the most so far in your career as a DJ/artist or musician?

It’s hard to pick one specific moment to be honest, because it feels every single moment in my career so far has brought me great happiness and pride. I always tell people of course this is what I love to do, but I never imagined I would be doing/accomplishing some of the stuff I have already in my career.

What are your major influences?

There are so many, but here are three that come to mind immediately…

F. Noize—Been a fan for as long as I could remember, as well as a friend. He’s supported me and my music a ton, and is one of my favorite producers in the game.

Furyan—Probably my favorite producer on the Masters of Hardcore label. Blows me away with every track, and inspires many of my new tracks I’m working on.

Partyraiser—Do I even need to explain why? Absolute legend.

And without question the two legends of American hardcore: Rob GEE and Lenny Dee!

Where do you see yourself a year from now?

This is an interesting question, because where I saw myself a year from now is happening sooner than you realize…so I’ll wait for you guys to see.

Otherwise I just see myself making more music and continuing to push the limits of myself and my tracks and bringing fresh ideas and sounds along the way!

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