We caught up with the guys from Endymion, asked them some questions about their recently revealed new label and new musical path in the harder styles.

It wasn’t a big surprise, that Endymion will continue producing music at 150-155 bpm. If you look back at their releases from last year, it was the logical conclusion.

But how will they now continue? What are their plans and what can we expect from Endymion?

Hi Bart (Endymion) we are very happy to have this interview with you!

1. Since you’re pioneers of hardcore – the most important question is of course, why do you leave the hardcore scene? Are there any specific reasons? Could you tell us the story behind it from the idea to now?

Most of our first ever tracks were around the 150 bpm mark, but throughout the years this has changed. Our music became faster, then it became slower, but we were always making the music that felt right at the time.

We couldn’t put too many restrictions on the tracks when it came to speed or outside influences because we wouldn’t be pleased with the final result. We’ve experimented a lot these past few years and produced between 150 – 155bpm, and had so much fun making this kind of music, so we want to continue down this path.

The sound is closer to raw hardstyle than it is to hardcore, which is why we’re making the switch.

We’re still continuing to produce our own “Endymion” sound, but the world around it and the way we describe it is changing with the style of the music.

2. When did you decide to leave? What will be your focus for this year?

We started thinking about this idea in the middle of 2014. Of course we talked about this for a long time before we made this decision. But we are more motivated than ever.

Our focus this year will be on our label NIGHTBREED RECORDS and a lot of new Endymion music. At Qlimax 2014 we already played some new music, but we’ve got a whole lot more in store.

We already signed some great artists to the label. For example, High Voltage will release his music on Nightbreed as well. But of course we are still looking for more talented producers.

So please, send your demos to demos@wearethenightbreed.com

Nightbreed Records

3. Do you still produce hardcore and accept hardcore bookings?

No, we are not producing typical hardcore sound at the moment. We we are not saying we will never play hardcore again. But at the moment, we love the music we are making now. And that’s what we want to play in our sets.

4. So do you think this will be a new trend? Since artist left the hardstyle genre or started producing new music under a new alias, will hardcore DJs and producers leave the hardcore genre?

We don’t think so. Every artist has an opinion of its own. We felt like changing our style and not hide behind an alias. It’s still us who is doing the music and we are proud of it. Everybody should do what makes them happy.

5. Will there be a new raw hardstyle album coming this year? What about your live actwill there be any other changes, besides your musical vision and style?

We are very busy with the label at the moment. The label launch needed a lot of preparation. We have a lot of new Endymion tracks ready. So we will plan these releases on Nightbreed Records this year.

But we are very busy with new producers on the label. We found some amazing producers and we signed them to the label. Some of these producers need help with mixing or mastering, and we really enjoy doing that.

We’ve gained a lot of experience in our career. And it feels great to be able to pass on some of our knowledge to new producers. Besides the technical side, we can also help our artists with artwork and social media.

We are thinking about a new version of our live-act. But right now we focus on the start of the label, and after that we’ll come back with a great new live show.

6. You already made a track together with Ran-D – Antidote! It was a huge success. Was this a test or something? To test the reactions of your fans. I mean it still has hardcore elements, but I guess it was a bit experimental.

It was not a test. We’ve always been fans of Ran-D. We think he is a great producer. Besides that, he’s an amazing guy.

So, we got to know each other better when we were on tour for gigs. So we just decided to work together because we were both curious what would come out. And we agree, the collaboration was quite successful.

The track did very well. But ‘Antidote’ was definitely a moment when we realized: We should do more music like this!

7. Can we expect more combinations of hardcore and raw hardstyle? I think it’s a great addition to the normal rawstyle sounds and elements. It’s a fresh combination of the typical hardstyle screeches with a hardcore similar kick.

We think we have our own style. So some people will always say our style is a bit crossover. But we will focus on producing on music between 150 and 155 bpm.

So, it will definitely be raw hardstyle. But we will always try to be original. We try to sound different than everybody else.

8. Did you talk with colleagues about your plans? How did they react? Or will some producers follow you?

We did talk to some of our colleagues. Most people say we should follow our hearts.

You have to make the music you like the most, only then it will result in good music. We think our switch won’t be a big surprise for most people. We’ve adjusted our sound over the past years.

This feels like a logical chapter in our careers.

9. Tell me more about your label!

As we mentioned before, we will launch a brand new raw hardstyle label: Nightbreed Records. We will run the label with the help of Make You Dance.

We have always been very happy to work with them, so doing our new label with them was the right thing to do.

Endymion & High Voltage - About to get raw

10. Is there something else you want to tell your fans out there?

Besides a new label, we will launch a monthly radio show on Q-Dance Radio: ‘We Are The Nightbreed’. This show will be a live broadcast.

So, all listeners can send us messages on Facebook, Twitter etc. and we can answer these messages while we are making the show. We will call listeners to talk about stuff they did during the weekend, and we’ll have great guest DJs every month for a guest mix. We think it will be a lot of fun!

You can follow all our Nightbreed activities on our website: www.wearethenightbreed.com

11. We are very thrilled about the way you go this year. We can’t wait to see your performance on stage, dropping some rawstyle beats. Since you have the knowledge in producing different styles and varieties of music, we are pretty sure, you will rock the scene!

Thank you, we’ll do our best! 🙂

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