Interview with Keltek

For all the Psyko Punkz fans, this is still a sensitive subject. Formally Psyko Punkz, Sven decided as we all know to walk a different path from his old partner in crime Wietse after their last set together at Defqon.1 2016. Their separation had indeed charged many fans with loads of emotions, but before you reach another kleenex to wipe out those melancholic tears, let’s jump straight to that moment where Sven aka Keltek arrives at our premises to answer a few questions, talk about all the great project he has with his new alias and also come back on some of his greatest memory back when he was a Psyko Punk.

It’s a pleasure and an honor to have you today at the Mag Sven! How are you doing lately?
Same here, really good thank you. Extremely busy producing and building on my new brand, no holidays. But still enjoying.   

We were starting to get worried at the fact that we didn’t see you anywhere after you split up with Wietse. It was both a surprise and a big relief to see that you hadn’t actually stopped producing and that you were back in business with a first very promising track Down to Earth! Of course everybody wants to know what you have been up to since Defqon.1. Did you retire for a while from the scene?
I didn’t really need retirement but looking back, it was a good thing to have some space to think and explore myself.. There was a lot of stuff in my head going on then so it really helpt me clearing things up. I didn’t stop producing, that’s just not possible. Even if i had to make other music.

Can we interpret your comeback as a personal wish and path you want to walk or do you felt like you have to comeback?
Both, but im not coming back just to make a “comeback” or a statement. It is indeed a path i want to walk. I like to expose my music myself, and feel the energy of what this music is for, it’s no “easy listening” music. People dancing and jumping is part of the plan when writing hardstyle. So i need to be there myself, in the middle of the action.

Also i see this as my feul, when working on music.Now I won’t get further in the details of why you stopped producing as Psyko Punkz as you have already explained in ‘Keltek – The Story’ video. Today I want to focus on the philosophy of Keltek, and what we can expect for your future tracks. What is Keltek ?
It wouldn’t be fun if i exactly knew what i’m going to do in the future tracks, also i like to be free in what kind of feel or style i bring to a track, but i do have some things i hold on to for myself, maybe soon people can recognise motives or bits and pieces in my music that devines KELTEK for them.

The name itself is a creative version of Celtic.

I like to hear or make music with a little touch of celtic influences, but it doesnt mean i’m always doing this.. It’s is just a name and feel around it, that fits me.

You have released your first track Down to Earth with Scantraxx a few days ago. The emotions in this track are simply overwhelming!  For the connoisseur, we can still hear a little bit of that other 50% Psyko Punkz influence especially when you listen to the melody. Though I was wondering … in this track you talk about coming back to that small dot in space called earth. Is that somehow a metaphor of you going back ‘home’ after being out of the scene?
That is some deep thinking, but the real story behind it is a little different and maybe a little deeper. But if you really want to know;

This lyric i wrote is me talking to myself. We all at least once asked ourselves that one question: why are we here? is there more than this? Can we move civilization to mars?  I can really lose myself in things like this. To keep thinking and dreaming about space theories is fun.

But it always leads to a dead end. At this point we simply do not have enough knowledge and resources to answer all these questions. Or to see it for yourself in real life, at least not in our life-time. Not in the life time of all those scientists who are trying to get us further, and would never see the end result of their work for themselves.

So i tell myself; Stop wondering and wasting time. Accept that life and reality is here, and you probably never going to get all the answers you want or go to other planets in real life. We don’t live that long to see what’s up there. Maybe our children.

Also, there is no place like home. the one we’re built for, Earth Just get your thought’s down to earth.

Some people are always wondering about to which side artists are drawn to. Are they more Rawstyle? Are they more Euphoric? Knowing your legacy with Pysko Punkz, I would be very surprised if you’d tell me that your heart balances on any of these two, as you have always rejected the idea of being stuck to one genre only. Am I right?
I think music should’t be divided in that many parts anyway. It takes out the unity of ‘Hardstyle’ the mother name of all those styles. Euphoric, Freestyle, 2010, Party, Raw, Psy. what’s next?

So when i say Hardstyle, it can be any of those, maybe a combo or something completely new, it’s just a matter of perspective. As long as it is powerfull, and keeps my interest after hearing it for many times, it’s a go. Also i like to hold on to story’s or theme’s in a track.

I don’t like the evilness in super raw, and i don’t like the cheesyness in super euphoric. Anywhere in between is what im aiming for.

Your new single is out now. “BassMode” is available on all known platforms – are you satisfied with the result and reactions so far?
Yeah im really happy with it. It usually takes a while for a track to settle in and last week it even entered the Viral top 50 of holland on nr 33. Real funny to be the only hardstyle artist in that list at that time. did’t know why or how it happend, but im happy with it. Overall, the response is great! you can really tell, some people like this more over down to earth or the other way around. its a good party track.

Down To Earth was an immense success! Dominating the charts for weeks since the release is a remarkable achievement! Also, 100.000 Streams on Spotify is quite amazing. What does this success make you feel?
That’s just crazy, never expected my very first release to reach for number one and hold it for that long. It say’s something about my ability’s and It makes me feel a little more secure with releasing music myself. because before the first release i was pretty nervous what people would think.

As BassMode is quite different from your very first single “Down To Earth”, we’d love to get a glimpse on your musical direction and path! Can you describe which way you would love to head with Keltek, music-wise? Where’s your place within the hard dance scene?
I get that question a lot. I just like big or tuff melodie’s with maybe sometimes a touch of emotion a ruff edge and some balls at the bottom. Just what hardstyle should sound like in my opinion. Not Raw, not Euphoric.

Recently you have posted a few pictures of you with Joey aka Radical Redemption. I would be surprised if you’d tell me you just went visiting a friend at his studio, so could you maybe tell us a little more about what you two were cooking in his studio? 🙂
Well, me and and Joey can get along pretty well, and as soon as i told him i was planning to do a solo project, we decided to do something in the studio together, even if it wasn’t our first thought to do a collab considering our difference in music. It’s still fun to at least see what happens.

Just jamming around, drinking beer, creating crazy sounds and stack them together. That’s pretty much what you see in the short video.

To get it to a final product is done later, when we really position things and decide together what’s cool and what’s not. We both stepped out of our comfort zone to meet in the middle. It turned out to be a party hard melody. With a rough body underneath. Pretty cool. It will be released somewhere at the end of summer.You also mentioned in Keltek – The Story that you would also make a collaboration with Psyko Punkz at any given time. Who else would you make a collab with?
Except for Psyko Punkz, a collab arises spontaneous when having a conversation together. So for me telling you the collabs that i’d wish to do, takes away the magic a little. Also the one’s i have planned take away the surprise for the listeners.

Now I would like to come back on the fact that you have released your first single with Scantraxx. Why not Dirty Workz?
I been working in a studio located above the Scantraxx office for 4 to 5 years. So we actually have some history together too. As soon as i mentioned my plan a long before my release, they did an offer without hearing any music. For me that is something promising to work with. Dirty Workz has been a major part of my previous career and still those guys have a place in my heart! But it just happened to be this way

Thank you so much for your time Sven it was an immense pleasure to have you here today. The whole Mag wishes you the absolute best for your new start as Keltek and we cannot wait to listen to your future tunes!
Thanks a lot guys!