Tag Archives: Trauma Live

Articles, Reviews

Field Report 4: Trauma in Mesa AZ

As my plane touched down on the sun-baked earth of Phoenix, Arizona, a sigh of relief and relaxation overcame my body and mind. Much like a sun-worshipping retiree, I was looking forward to a relaxing night of music and friendship in the warm cleave of the desert.

SRB and Meccano Twins at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016, Mesa, AZ
SRB and Meccano Twins at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016, Mesa, AZ

The phone rang. It was Kari. “Hey man, can you rent a van for us? My flight got messed up.” In the world of hardcore EDM, at least in America, you have to wear lots of hats: DJ, publisher, producer, promoter… and so adding chauffeur to the list was now second nature, “Sure.”

Then, look what entered the modest suburban minivan I procured: MC Rtiser! ”How the heck did this guy get through TSA Screening?” I think to myself. I then spend the majority of the night transporting van-loads of ridiculously talented Dutch and Italians, to and from the event, running on stage to snap pictures and get a good listen so I could report to the THD faithful.

Meccano Twins and Ruffian at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016
Meccano Twins and Ruffian at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016

As Kari languished in LAX stand-by, Brandon SDK made sure the party went off without a hitch. Which is good, as fans were driving from all over the Southwest, particularly SoCal, to see the leg 2 version of the Trauma line-up. It was another sure-fire killer this time with Ruffian as Master of Ceremonies: Rotterdam Terror Corps, Digital Punk, Buzz Fuzz, Partyraiser, SRB, Tommyknocker, Mrotek, Arktus, CIK, Dr. Peacock, Rob Gee and Meccano Twins lit the place on fire, as if the desert needed to get any hotter than it already was.

Tommyknocker drops the bomb on Arizona on the Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

Mrotek and Arktus turned on the rawstyle to get the surprisingly large crowd for the first set pumped up. CIK laid down the Arizona law, showcasing that state’s great hardcore producers. They have a tough, complex sound that we have written of before in The HARD DATA (check out our interview in issue 2). Next Buzz Fuzz delivered the classic Rotterdam gabber sound to the growing crowd. SRB went off with a heavy speedcore set, explaining to me that he figured he could get away with playing it at the beginning or at the end of the night, so he ramped up the beats-per-minute to 300 and asked the terror-loving crowd if they “Had a Friend in Jesus” with his last track of the night.

Then came the first ever USA appearance of Meccano Twins. It was incredible! Tough brutal hardcore rocked the crowd and led up to Tommyknocker who fittingly “knocked it out of the park” as he laid down one Traxtorm hit after the next. Luckily, I even got a chance to interview Tommy later in show (stay tuned for that in the next issue).

Dr. Peacock in Arizona, ruffling some feathers on Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

The most popular set of the night was Digital Punk, laying down the thick Unleashed rawstyle sound to the new breed of ravers. Then came Dr. Peacock.

Digital Punk in his first ever USA appearance on the Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016 in Arizona.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

I must say you should treat yourself and hear this guy live if you can. He played a wonderful, innovative hardcore live-PA that incorporates musical influences from all over the globe. Just in case you weren’t tired enough, Partyraiser stepped to the decks and resumed the all-out kick-drum assault, paving the way for Rotterdam Terror Corps.

Rotterdam Terror Corps says hello to Arizona.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

Honestly, I only caught the beginning of their set because I then had to go on an extended hotel run with the previously playing artists. So, I can only say the crowd seemed into it at the beginning and RTC honestly did sound scary as hell. It was one of those moments where you think, “modern existence is so completely messed up, that Rotterdam Terror Corps makes 100% logical sense.” I mean, think about it, that is kinda scary. Hopefully tonight in Denver I can give a more thorough review of RTC. Last but certainly not least was Rob Gee, the only artist on every stop of the tour. Of course he was great, and the crowd loved him. Read the past couple reviews for a more thorough description and video if you aren’t familiar with the Gee Man yet.

Partyrasier at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016
Partyrasier at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016

The only downer of the night was Alien T didn’t play. I was looking forward to hearing him play “Hammer of the Devil.” Apparently there was some screw up or miscommunication, and he didn’t come to the states. Hopefully that isn’t a permanent problem because I think the American audience would love his sound. I guess we should stay tuned for more info on that. All in all though as you can see, hear and read, it was a great night for hardcore and hardstyle in Arizona.

I just touched down in Denver where I am finishing this piece. As word gets out about the tour, each stop seems to get bigger and bigger. Apparently there is a lot of buzz in Denver for tonight so we shall see! Until the next time…

The rhythm is life and death!

DJ Deadly Buda

 

Articles, Interviews

DJ Buzz Fuzz: The Trauma Harder Styles 2016 Interview

This interview was conducted back in August of 2015 by Mindcontroller when Buzz Fuzz and a few other names on this current line up of the Trauma tour first came through the US. Seeing as it is important to get to know who you’re going to go see, let this be the manifest of the legendary Buzz Fuzz so that you can pay your proper respects when he rolls through your town! Buzz Fuzz will be appearing this Friday, February 19th in Mesa, Arizona. February 20th in Denver Colorado. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 26th, and closing in Brooklyn, New York, February 27th! Hard en heerlijk!

Artist dates for the Trauma Tour
Buzz Fuzz is coming to a city near you! Click HERE to purchase your tickets to the Trauma Tour and receive a FREE subscription to the HARD DATA!

What year did you get into DJing/the Rave scene?
1987. I was playing hip-hop, swing beat, and R&B in a religious club.  The rave portion started in 1991 where we played Hardcore/House.

What came first DJ or producing?
DJing. Then I started producing in 1993 with The Prophet.

What drew you to the Hardcore techno sound?
My ex girlfriend, actually. She invited me out. At the time, I didn’t know anything about “raving”. I went to the show and The Prophet was playing. At that point, I said, “Yes! This is going to be it.” I haven’t been out since.

What inspired the name Buzz Fuzz? Is there a meaning behind it?
It was found in quick thinking. The guy who organizes the parties for ISB, the Hellraisers stuff, said he needed a new DJ, but I needed a name! I had this record from King B, and it said it’s the king ‘B’ for buzz and fuzz and since my last name is Vos, I decided to take those two words.

Who was your biggest inspiration in the early part of your career?

The Prophet, he was the first one to show me how everything works.

What was your first DJ gig as Buzz Fuzz?

It was in 1991 for ISB, the Hellraiser guy: ‘The Bloom Party’, and The Prophet said, “I was supposed to play with Dano, but he’s got the flu. You bring your three turntables and I’ll bring my three.”, so we’ve got six turntables and two mixers, and we connected it all together and played for six hours.

What’s the funniest moment you ever had during one of your performances?
One time I was playing in Amsterdam, and I was really fucked up; I could hardly stand. I was into vodka, pills, and stuff. Lenny D said, “Oh my god Buzz, are you going to be able to play?” I said, “Just get me to the turntables!”, and I played a marvelous set. No mistakes. Then I collapsed right at the end.

What would you consider your best DJ gig to date? Thunderdome in Hamburg, and Dance Valley.

DJ Buzz Fuzz performing for Thunderdome in Florida.
Buzz Fuzz playing in Thunderdome Florida!

What’s your favorite collaboration?
My work with The Prophet. We made a lot of tracks in his studio. When we get together it’s like magic. We would finish two tracks a day! And Gizmo of course. We made seven tracks in two days. One of them was Brand New Dance. We were really fucked up but the track was, and is, still awesome.

Hardcore has really changed since the ’90s. What’s your take on today’s Hardcore scene?
I think mainstream Hardcore has gotten too simple. Everybody’s producing the same style. And there is even more mainstream now.

Out of the new batch of DJs and producers out there, who’s your favorite? Whose sound stands out the most?
Angerfist. I discovered him. I was playing in Austria, where I received a stack of demo CDs. One was a double CD (Angerfist’s). It blew my mind. I referred him to Art of Dance. He became my protege, but that didn’t last long, he was already very good.

Any current projects?
My label, BZRK Records! It was laying low for a while, but now it’s back! I’m doing some collaborations with some new artists for it. The future looks promising.

Are you going to do any updated versions of some of your classics?
Oh yeah! Frequencies, an XTC Love remix by Deepack, and Brand New Dance.

What advice would you give to any up-and-coming hardcore producers?
Think with your heart, not your brain. That’s the main point. When you’re good enough, you can make it. Don’t try to copy. Be yourself.

 

Purchase your tickets to the Hard Data!
Catch Buzz Fuzz on the last four dates of the Trauma Tour!
Articles, Events, Reviews

Field Report: Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Los Angeles

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The first leg of the Harder Styles Tour 2016 culminated in Trauma Live’s home town, Los Angeles, CA last night, and I continue recovering from it as I type these words, dear reader. After dropping off my bud Nickolai at 5:30 am, I couldn’t help myself and indulged in that classic Angeleno vice: doughnuts. Sure, I screwed up my shaky gluten-free diet, but I needed the extra sugar rush to make it up that last bit of the 405. I inhaled an apple fritter—daring the last few exits to where I remembered my bed was. I crawled into it at 6:00 AM for the first reasonable amount of sleep that I had the chance to partake in since Thursday.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Monday, February 15, 2016

(DJ Mad Dog broke the chain in LA once again!)

I had to stay up every minute I could though, to witness a pioneering concert tour that will be long remembered. Future promoters read this line-up and weep because you will never see anything like it again: The Prophet, Scott Brown, Rob Gee, Vortex, Placid K, and Super Marco May. BAM! All certifiable legends in their own right, combined with hardcore superstar Mad Dog, and the first ever American appearance of Amnesys and The Melodyst who represent the next great wave in hardcore EDM/techno, or whatever the hell we are calling it now. Put that in your pipe and smoke it man, that line-up happened and I got to see the whole thing 3 times (save a couple hours in San Francisco because of a complete flight scheduling disaster).

I was an hour early to the Los Angeles show at Club Nokia, mainly because I was playing the very first set in the VIP lounge with DJ Mindcontroller. We were assigned the task of representing classic rave on vinyl with our set, which we gladly delivered to the old school heads. We couldn’t help playing some real cheezy stuff though. I mean, I hadn’t played the Lords of Acid’s “Take Control” in decades, and this was the perfect scenario to indulge in such vice. We were followed by Lostboy and Demigod, who represented the more UK breakbeat sound for the most part.

Demigod gets classic!

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Tuesday, February 16, 2016

(Demigod gets classic!)

Thee O, Steve Loriah and Scott Brown (playing classics) followed it up in fine fashion, apparently, but I can’t directly report on them since I was busy downstairs at the time getting hammered by hardcore. Like the last Trauma show, there was so much going on in both sound areas you always had to make critical choices. You were going to see and hear something great, and miss something great no matter what you did.

I chose to be in the main area at about 2:00 AM where Placid K ruled last night. He laid down some brutal hardcore law during his short set that brought demons young and old out on the dance floor. A tough, driving, crushing kick is what this crowd wanted, and he hit ‘em with it perfectly.

Who was this crowd? It was classic LA hardcore, but with lots of new faces. Yeah, there were plenty of old schoolers, but it was definitely the newer hardstyle and rawstyle generation that filled the floor. Placid K has played in LA a few times earlier, so he knew how we want it served up, and he dished it out hot.

Amnesys at Trauma LA

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Monday, February 15, 2016

(Amnesys hammers the crowd at Los Angele’s Club Nokia)

Earlier in the night, like a fly on the wall, I got to hear a few DJs bitch about their set times in the dressing room, which happens frequently with DJs. Since there were so many stars on the line-up, the max set time was 45 minutes, most got 30. I had seen Amnesys in Edmonton, and he was great, but forced to constrict his set into 30 minutes, I dare say it might have been even better. His mixing was fast and superb. He actually used the effects on the Pioneer mixer, rather than just pretending to do so like some other EDM superstars. The guy can mix, its that simple, and he condensed all the power of his set into a small window that made it hit even harder.

Before the tour began, a few heads were complaining that the set-times would be too short on this tour. I say from experience now, that is total poppycock. Set after set was awesome. It was just all the best stuff. I know that some of you who read a “10 Tips for DJs” blog post think you know about mixing when you can wax eloquently about how a DJ needs time to build his or hers vibe. You ain’t impressing me no more with this beat-to-death meme. The Trauma line-up took their best stuff, condensed it down to the ultimate essence, and working in tandem, let it rip. There was never a dull moment. It hit hard and constantly. Super Marco May, Vortex, Scott Brown (who played two sets that night, happy hardcore in the main room and classics in the VIP Lounge), The Prophet, Mad Dog, The Melodyst and Rob Gee were all freaking ON FIRE. Mad Dog and The Prophet had the biggest crowds, as they were the headliners, but the drop off to the very last note Rob Gee played was virtually nil.

This actually created a bit of a problem for me. I vowed to pass out a copy of The HARD DATA to every attendee at the show. So I lined up 4 guys to help me out, Stephen Hughes, Nickolai, Alex Murphy and Jesse Simons. So I pull these guys out of the main room at like 2:30, telling them we gotta be ready at the exit for people to leave. No one did! So basically they were all probably mad that I broke them away from the show needlessly. Everyone waited for the last note of Rob Gee’s set at 4:00 AM to leave, and fortunately those 4 hombres had my back to get our favorite ‘zine into everyone’s hot little hands at the end.

Speaking of Rob Gee, I have to give the man big props for not only his riveting sets, but his dedication to the fans. This cool cat named Jackson had drove all the way from Texas to see the show, and wanted to meet and greet the artists Something got messed up and despite buying the VIP pass and all, he didn’t get a chance to do so. So Stephen Hughes texts me in the middle of passing out THDs to tell me about this. I go back stage as Rob is getting ready to leave the venue and let him know the situation. The Gee-man hopped off the stage in a flash and was out there to meet Jackson and make sure he didn’t drive back to Texas without meeting one of his hardcore heroes. It was a great way to end a great show, and the Trauma Harder Styles Tour, leg 1, was complete.

So I have 4 days to get my Trauma-tized life back in order before I head out to Mesa, Arizona to meet up with Brandon and the SDK crew for leg 2 of the tour and another sick line-up. I mean, look at this slate of artist joining the tour and stare in disbelief:

Alien T
DJ BUZZ FUZZ
Digital Punk
Dr. Peacock
MC Ruffian
Meccano Twins
Partyraiser
Rotterdamterrorcorps
SRB / Dione
Tommyknocker

After that is Denver on Saturday, and then leg 3 is Pittsburgh and Brooklyn. So stay tuned folks, and remember, the rhythm is life and death!

Deadly Buda

Articles, Reviews

Field Report: Trauma in the Golden Bay

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Sunday, February 14, 2016

Like opera in a construction zone, hardcore techno and hardstyle sang through the city of San Francisco last night, to the utter delight of the Bay Areas’s harder styles faithful. Fittingly, in my dutiful jaunt through the fabled city, I came upon a man doing just that, singing opera in a construction zone. I believe his name is Robert Grant. Coincidentally, in quite operatic fashion, a group of crazy Italians would help strengthen a growing Bay Area harder styles scene. DJ Vortex, Super Marco May, The Melodyst, Amnesys, Placid K and DJ Mad Dog represented the boot-shaped country and fittingly kicked the Bay Area into overdrive. They were joined by the up-and-coming Tonegenerator, legends Scott Brown, Rob Gee, The Prophet, and adroitly MC’ed by Mike Redman.

My review unfortunately is somewhat incomplete though, I must confess. Because of a scheduling foul-up at the airport, and weather delays out of Edmonton, Canada that afternoon, I would not arrive to the Regency Ballroom until almost 11:30 last night. Approximately 7 hours was spent by yours truly yesterday and night en route to San Francisco.

Finally my flight arrived in San Fran to witness DJ Mad Dog

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Sunday, February 14, 2016

Nonetheless, I caught the tail end of The Prophet, who as expected, rocked the crowd to an appreciative hardstyle fan-base. He was followed by DJ Mad Dog, who continued his path of North American destruction, making the crowd go bonkers. Placid K followed with his signature classic hardcore style. The Melodyst picked up after that with their new school sound and the exclamation mark was put on the end of the night by Rob Gee.

Frankly all the sets I heard were just as banging in San Francisco as in Edmonton the night before. What was interesting though was the San Francisco crowd itself. San Francisco in previous decades had a robust punk rock and industrial scene, producing legendary bands like the Dead Kennedys. So, that underlying spirit in the Bay Area has always existed, and it was just a matter of time until some aspect of it surfaced again. What I saw was a spark of a new scene developing. That perfect moment when everyone in the crowd gets to know each other. It was pretty cool seeing the crowd go for it to music that was mostly new to them. Many people came for the bigger names, but were exposed to new things they liked, and got to meet like-minded individuals in the process.

It would unfair to call it the “birth” of a scene when crews like Spaz and 5lowershop have been doing underground hardcore parties for decades now. But, there was a whole new wave of ravers and party-goers getting their first taste of rocking out to a wide spectrum of the harder styles! Next stop: Los Angeles.

Articles, Reviews

Field Report: Edmonton: Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016 .

The Harder Styles Tour kicked off with a banging kickdrum last night when DJ Vortex opened up the tour his sage-like lessons in hardstyle. The unlikely locale of this seminal outburst was frigid Edmonton, Alberta, best known in these parts as the home of the Oilers and the legendary Wayne Gretsky. I’m still smarting from the night the Oilers sneaked out of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena with a win as Mario Lemieux and Gretzky battled it out on the ice. I suppressed my prejudices though and found a lot to like in Edmonton. Most notably the crowd liked it hard, and so it was a pleasure to be in the midst of mutual transaction of hard beats and appreciative crowd.

Edmonton gets Trauma, and loved it.
Edmonton got Trauma, and loved it.

 

Despite strong ticket sales, the venue wasn’t particularly crowded, as the frigid and windy -11 degree Celsius weather kept only the most maniacal home safe in their blankies. MC Mike Redman kept the crowd psyched the entire night, straddling that perfect MC balance between chiming in at the right time and not getting’ all walky-talky. After Vortex MC Redman introduced Super Marco May. You might’ve read his interview on the THD site, and he lived up to the hype it suggested, representing Italian hardstyle in splendid fashion.

Scott Brown reads The HARD DATA
Scott Brown reads The HARD DATA

You might have thought you were in Little Italy until Scott Brown jumped on the decks and cranked up the happy. Happy hardcore that is. He even played one of my old faves, “Now is the Time.” After which he took a well-deserved rest and read the latest issue of The Hard Data, rumor has it. Amnesys jumped on stage next and played a little of everything. He started kinda slow, playing Alien T’s Hammer of the Devil, and then picked up the pace with some of his soon-to-be classics, Shockwave and Embrace the Ultimate. In the middle of it all, he even threw in some dub-step sounding tracks which was a nice change of pace.

The Prophet in Edmonton
The Prophet in Edmonton

One of the best sets of the night was next, The Prophet. Easily the crowd favorite that night, the Scanntraxx CEO busted out a surprisingly hard-as-nails hardstyle set. I wouldn’t really call it rawstyle, it was just straight banging hardstyle. I like the fact that he played “Here We Go” because of the awesome hoover in its break and its old school sound. I still think the track was inspired by Edge of Motion, but I didn’t get the chance to grill The Prophet about it, dear readers, as he was busy interacting with his fans most of the night.

Mad Dog took to the decks next, and he made it clear that 150 BPM was “not his Tempo,” because he promptly busted out his floor crushing epic, “Not My Tempo.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that, and the BPM’s instantly skyrocketed to the delight of the hardcore faithful (you can read the Mad Dog Interview in the latest issue of THD).

Mad Dog at Trauma Edmonton
Mad Dog at Trauma Edmonton

The hardcore onslaught continued as Placid K, not to be out-hoovered, laid down one of the thickest hoover sounds of the night at the beginning of his set. After all these years, lets face it, there’s nothing like a huge freakinig hoover sound on a banging system to get the blood flowing to all the capillaries. The rest of his set was his signature old school hip hop samples tightly woven with that classic Italian hardcore drive, which set the stage for the new breed of hardcore heroes, The Melodyst.

They sprang out the gate with their new track “New Dawn” and when the kick came in, it sounded wicked sick. Whatever special sauce they are adding to their 909’s, I want to know because it immediately drove the crowd into a state of frenzy.

At this point, you are probably thinking, “ok, what could they possibly do next to top the night off?” Well, the icing on the cake was our own made-in-the-USA Rob Gee, who went absolutely ape behind the decks. Just when you thought you couldn’t dance no more, the Gee-Man set a fire under everyone’s you-know-whats. If there was one drop of sweat left in that crowd, Rob made sure to squeeze it out with an energetic and inspiring performance befitting the first night of the Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016. Next up, on to the Golden State in the U.S. of A.