We sat down with DJ Thera to discuss his new album and corresponding release party on June 30th. Learn more about DJ Thera and From the Heart Part Three in this exclusive interview.
Amy Melissa Farina
Congratulations on your new album! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind From the Heart Part Three and why you decided to create part three?
Thanks very much! The idea from the start was already to create three parts of my “From The Heart” trilogy. The artwork has had 3 ‘lives’ so to speak in the form of hearts. All albums found their inspiration from older hardstyle and this third album is no different. I love the diversity hardstyle has been offering throughout all these years and production wise it’s much more fun to me to fly through all those different types of hardstyle in stead of focusing on one particular sound or hype.
How does this new album differ from parts one and two? Are there any specific elements or themes that you explored in this album?
With this final part I have incorporated a bit more raw classics sounds so this third album is definitely the most heavy one of the three. Furthermore, all albums are still somewhat similar in terms of approach: simply making music that I love, brings emotions and has heavy beats!
Heavy beats and emotions…
What was the most rewarding part of creating the album and what was the most challenging part?
The most rewarding part is always to get goosebumps or even teary eyes while producing, which I definitely had with a few songs on the album. The most challenging with literally every album I’ve produced is simply the finishing touches. Being a little bit of a perfectionist, tracks are never really finished so at some point it’s basically saying to myself: “Alright, this is finished now!”.
Your album release party is highly anticipated. What can fans expect from the event? Are there any surprises or special performances lined up?
It is definitely going to be something special as for me it’s the very first time I have an album release party done in a boiler room setting. This will make the event more intimate and a pure celebration of music which I absolutely love. Music wise I will play two sets, of course an album showcase, but I will also play a raw classics closing set. There will be two other sets done by special guest dj’s who will be announced very soon. Of course, it will also be possible to purchase the album and other merch at the event.
Pure magic…
How important is it for you to connect with your audience during live performances, such as the album release party? How do you ensure a memorable experience for your fans?
It is the absolute best to be able to connect with the crowd. This is why I am super excited for the boiler room setting, because that is literally the closest the crowd can get to the artist. This will thrive the energy levels from everyone to the absolute maximum and makes this night something extremely magical.
Are there any specific tracks from the album that hold a special place in your heart or have personal significance to you? If so, why?
Most definitely. With “Lift Each Other Up”, I wanted to create a very positive uplifting song bringing more light to people. We live in a world where there is currently so much darkness. The world can be such a better place if we just try to lift each other up every once in a while. Furthermore I want to mention “Legend”.
I created this track as an ode to the legend that is Delete. His amazing personality, groundbreaking skills as an artist and just being the kindest guy ever, I miss him very dearly and I wanted to create a track to honor him.
What message or feeling do you hope listeners will take away from this album? What do you want them to experience or feel as they listen to your music?
I mostly just hope people will enjoy the album in all its diversity. There is a lot of different stuff in there so I don’t expect people to literally like everything. It is basically a collage of everything that I love personally so if there is at least one track for everyone in there, it already means a lot to me.
Final Hardstyle album…
With the release of this album, what are your goals and aspirations moving forward in your music career?
I have posted a couple of times online that this will be my last hardstyle album. It did raise some questions here and there, but people don’t have to be afraid. I am not going anywhere. I simply don’t feel the need to produce a full hardstyle album anymore.
As I have already been releasing music for over 23 years now, I have always looked for inspiration everywhere and I have now found that with the current trends in trance and techno. These genres are delivering music now that is closer to the hardstyle that I have always produced than hardstyle itself. I’ve recently started a new monthly mixtape called “Tranceparency” where I showcase this new direction of trance, techno with a hint of hardstyle and I am absolutely loving it. It will be a matter of time that I will produce more and more towards this style too and I am very curious what I will come up with in the studio!
https://soundcloud.com/djthera/sets/tranceparency-mixtapes
Lastly, is there anything else you’d like to share with your fans and the listeners who are eagerly awaiting your album release and attending your party?
To my fans:
thank you so much for sticking around even though I never take the easy path
with my career. I can’t wait to celebrate the album release with you all!
For everyone else out there: Please focus on the music you love, not on the
music you dislike. There really is a lot of music out there and lots of great
artists are pushing out amazing music that deserves more recognition. The music
you might miss, is just out there, all you gotta do is search for it 😉
More info
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/680185344118192 Tickets: https://luxorlive.stager.nl/web/tickets/111274646