A  few weeks ago, Dirty Workz had their 10 Years Takeover at Complexe Cap’tain in Belgium. On the line-up we had the young talent Sephyx, the notorious Da Tweekaz and also Mr #NOSLEEP himself: Hard Driver. It was our first time at Complex Cap’tain. At first we didn’t know what to expect, we knew that it had a very good reputation as pretty much all the artists in the Hardstyle scene had already played at this club.

What came as a surprise, when we entered the place was, that everything looked like a Pirate Island. The stage was literally set inside a tilted ship at the center of which the DJs were playing. The dance hall was pretty much packed already, yet we had room to dance without stepping on anyone’s foot. The sound system was pretty good and powerful and the light & laser shows were absolutely mind blowing for a club!

We arrived just before Sephyx played his set and we could see that the resident DJs had already cast their magic on the people as everybody was pretty much on fire and super ready to go forth! When Sephyx took the lead and dropped the first track, the whole club was turned into some crazy warzone! He played an amazing set and here are the questions we asked him right after his performance.

Sephyx

How did you find today’s atmosphere at the club?
It was really nice! I really enjoyed tonight’s show. A great atmosphere in the whole area and yeah it’s funny playing here as you perform on a boat, I’ve never done that before (laughs).

So it’s the first the first time you came to Complexe Cap’tain?
Yes it was the first time for me tonight!

Were you a little bit nervous before going on the stage?
Yeah, I was a tiny bit nervous. I’m always a bit nervous before a gig. But after I started playing my first track everything came back to normal and I just focused on the music, playing in front of the people, you know. Playing music is something I love doing!

Alright, you played a great set and people were very responsive to your vibe! You also did this year Reverze “Deception”. So undeniably you’re already comfortable with your mixing skills.
Yeah of course, but you know I’m still learning a bit, I’m a fairly new DJ and it’s still a new experience for me every time I play, so it’s always getting better and better.

On the social medias, Coone often gives shout out to your talent. Is he sometimes giving you tips with your tracks?
No, I do everything on my own.

People are more and more listening to your music and of course guessing where they can see you playing at this summer?
Well, they can see on social media what has already been announced in the line-up. But yeah they can see me playing at Defqon.1, which is my first time playing at Defqon.1 ever. I’ve been visiting but not playing. But I’ll also be playing at Sunrise Festival on the same day on the mainstage and I’ll also play at Dance Valley.

So it seems that you have already a pretty good career in front of you ! How do you see the future in the scene?
Ehm. I don’t know I hope to become just like..

Headhunterz?
Ahaha, well just to become like Headhunterz was before. I want to become as notorious, who wouldn’t (laughs)? I just honestly want to keep doing what I love doing. I love making music and playing music, and it’s all I want to do. Making a living out of that.

We indeed wish you all of that Sephyx! Thank you for your time!
Yeah, thank you for the interview it was great! Thanks!

Keep in mind that Sephyx is one of the most promising talents and he keeps surprising everyone with his endless inspiration!

As we were interviewing Sephyx, we missed the first minutes from the set of Da Tweekaz. But it didn’t take us a split second to know who was playing. The whole crowd exploded in utter joy and started to sing along with them as “ DirtyWorkz! When it’s time to get down! The Dirty Workz with the beat of the sound” was taking over Complexe Cap’tain. We were all eager to keep partying and their legendary tunes drove us nuts!

After their show, we all looked as if we had been to a pool party and on top of it Complexe Cap’tain decided to “cool us down a bit” with huge loads of foam.

Soaked and cooled down we followed Da Tweekaz to ask them a few questions backstage and this is what they told us!

Da Tweekaz

Ok guys, we know it’s not the first time we see you playing at Complexe Cap’tain. You know the club here by heart…
(Marcus) Yes, but still we discover new rooms, we have to say that, every time. I have no idea, this club is so mysterious! (laughs)

How is your feeling about tonight’s ambiance at the club?
(Marcus) The atmosphere at Cap’tain is always good! I don’t think it’s ever been bad here. No, never! We feel like a family when we’re here, as people always treat us like family, you know?
We always stayed till the end every time we played at Complexe Cap’tain. And I have to say that it’s the only place we’ve stage-dived.

Have you ever stage dived?
(Marcus) Well not voluntarily…

(Kenth) Yeah they pushed both of us!

(Marcus) They spoke French and asked us to go in front of the stage to give away empty bottles to win Champagne.. saying that “the people want the bottles!” So, they kept speaking French and we were a bit confused by what we were meant to do .. and suddenly “poof” , good bye Da Tweekaz! So yeah they’ve always treated us like family, so we treat them likewise. It’s like coming home!

But wherever you go, people treat you this way, this is not only Cap’tain.. Reverze, Q-Base, Defqon.1.. everywhere! How do you do this guys? Is it in the Norwegian mentality?
Kenth (laughs)

(Marcus) I think it’s once again the way we treat our fans. We show them respect, we interact with them, we go partying with them, we talk to the fans. I guess they see us as friends and yeah, that’s how we think we do it. I don’t know. (Laughs).

(Kenth)
We do think that you know, if the DJ is looking at the decks the whole time, with no interaction with the public.. no one is going to respond. We try to hype up the crowd, with the moments and everything, it really helps for the atmosphere.

So, where can we see you play this summer?
(Marcus & Kenth) Well, Rebirth, Defqon.1, Daydream, Intents Festival.. Emporium? And Tomorrowland also!

(Marcus) We will be playing at 90% of the Hardstyle summer events.. we can say that .. Not only Holland but also outside of the “borders”.

You are from Norway… but before making Hardstyle, what were you influenced by musically, as you bring something else to your music?
(Kenth) We’ve been listening to everything, electronic/non-electronic for years before making Hardstyle, and when we started producing we weren’t living in Holland nor going to parties every week. So indeed we didn’t have the same influence as the others, we didn’t try to “blend in” with everyone else. So we were kind of doing totally our own thing and this is what we are still trying to do actually.

(Marcus) I think also, when we started producing we didn’t talk to any other producer. We didn’t know them! They were all Dutch! We could have gone “hey what should we do here?” and then the guy would have said “well you have to do this and that and this to make it sound like proper Hardstyle” but NOPE, we didn’t care. And eventually it all worked!

Is Hardstyle very popular in Norway or Scandinavia in general?
(Kenth) Hmm.. Semi.. I think you can probably gather about a thousand people if you’re really marketing hard, but that’s about the limit at the moment, unfortunately. Most of the people from Norway go to Holland or Belgium if they want to party.

How long have you been in Dirty Workz as indeed you are quite notorious now in the scene?
(Marcus) We got signed at Dirty Workz in 2009 I think.

(Kenth) And our first release was in 2010.

What was your first release?
(Kenth) Well, Hardstyle DNA..

(Marcus) Whatevah, but I think it was three EP

(Kenth) I think Funky Get Looze was actually on there as well

(Marcus) We released four tracks and gave away Catch, Funky Get Looze and 10’o’Clock. Something like that.. we started and we were like “Here we are BOOM, 6 tracks, here you go!”

Alright thank you for your time and your dedication guys, you truly rock!
(Marcus & Kenth) That’s what we’re here for! Thank you for the interview!

If you have the chance to catch Da Tweekaz at a festival or an event near your place, don’t hesitate and take the jump!

Hard Driver played after Da Tweekaz and what had been expected actually happened. He showed us what RAW power was all about. Yet we cannot say he is the rawest in the scene, but someone that is “in between” Euphoric and Raw Hardstyle. On stage, he is an absolute beast, but what surprised us most was when we interviewed him as he was very calm and gave us his opinion about both genres in the scene.

Hard Driver

Freek, you played amazing and showed the people again what Raw Hardstyle is all about. How would you describe the atmosphere of tonight?
Very good! People were really into it. Already super ready for the party. I noticed it as soon as I arrived in the club. Only positive! People were like grabbing you and saying “Can’t wait till you’re playing”! It was great!

Da Tweekaz mentioned that it was more like a Family here when they play. Did you feel the same thing on stage today?
Definitely yes! Every time I come here I see people I’ve already seen at previous parties or events. And it’s a bit like coming home. It feels really comfortable to play here.

So indeed it’s not the first time you come to play at Complexe Cap’tain. How many times have you played here?
I think it’s my 4th time at Cap’tain as Hard Driver.

You have played under another name?
I’ve played here as “Fenix” a few years ago and since 2012 I’m doing Hard Driver.

You have participated to quite a lot of festivals and events so far.. Defqon.1, Reverze, Q-Base, Qapital… but you’ve also played at Hard Bass many times where in 2014 you even made all the anthems for each Team. How has your style evolved since then?
I think in 2014, I was still searching for my sound a bit and that’s why I had the idea of doing 4 anthems.. It sounds a bit stupid, but I didn’t know what style I was really sticking along with yet. I wanted to try everything. Show people that I can produce in many styles, from “soft” to “hard”.

But nowadays you do mainly Raw Hardstyle right? Do you think it’s going to change in the future?
The thing is, I’m trying to stay between Euphoric and Raw. I feel like there’s a big gap between those two. My goal is a bit to distinguish the two and find something in between. Hardstyle should be hard, but not only in the aggressive way, also in the fun way, if you see what I mean.

Nowadays some people feel angry about Hardstyle as some listen to either very raw Hardstyle and others to euphoric Hardstyle. Do you know why?
Well like I said, there is a gap in between. The fans who like the “harder” stuff are sticking only to hard music, and will always look to go even harder, and on the other hand, you have fans of the “not so hard” influenced music which is very influenced by EDM. Both styles are going on different routes. But in my opinion there should be a place in between, definitely.

So If you were to make a track with Da Tweekaz, would you take the challenge?
Yes, I would. Somewhere this year I guess, you’ll know this very soon!

I think this is something we’re all looking forward to seeing and listening! Now, you are one of the longest member you signed at Dirty Workz. Can you tell us how long have you been under this label?
I’ve been there since 2007. My first release was the year Dirty Workz was created.. so in 2006 if I recall. I was the 4th to release a track under this label I remember. Back then the releases were quite slow.. something like 2 months in between for each one.. But today it’s way faster.

You are of course expected to play at many events and festivals this summer by all of your fans. Can you tell us where we have a chance to attend one of your sets?
Intents, Saturday and Sunday, Defqon.1.Sunrise festival, Rebirth indeed and yeah, everything will be online soon. So you can check everything. I don’t know all of them yet (laughs)!

Are you responsible for one event or festival anthem of this year?
Yes, I’m responsible for the Intents anthem 2016, which I made together with Coone!

Alright, thank you for your time! I think the Festival season is going to be epic this year!
My pleasure! Yes indeed, like every year!

We immediately asked one of Dirty Workz’ managers to tell us why they wanted to set the “Dirty Workz 10 Years Takeover” in Belgium at Complex Cap’tain and we were told, that this was one of the most supportive clubs and also somehow the stronghold of Dirty Workz in Europe. As you know Dirty Workz is a Belgium label and it’s quite logical that the event should take place there.

If you have never been to this club, we strongly recommend you to do so and have a great time there. They always have an amazing ambiance and regularly have big names in the Hard scene coming to play. Plus their resident Djs are exceptionally talented and keen to make you have the best party ever.