Music produced from the heart – DJ Thera

The mastermind behind Theracords, of course he can’t be missed when doing a Theracords week at Hardstyle Mag! With his brand new album called The New Era, he established a brand new sound design within DJ Thera releases. Quality hardstyle is the new recipe – powerful melodies, high screaming screeches, hard kicks and a great atmosphere, that’s what he want to deliver! Read our interview with DJ Thera, as he answers questions about Theracords, his new suit and live act, his latest productions and upcoming plans!

Wohoo, Dj Thera in the house! We are very glad to have you hear and hope we can talk a little about the history of Theracords, but also your new era! But first, how are you feeling today? What did you have for breakfast?
I’m quite good, actually a bit exhausted from a full day of studio work! My breakfast was actually pretty healthy today: quark yoghurt with granola and forest fruits!

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Credits @Joris Raaijman – https://www.facebook.com/jorisraaijmann/

Let’s go back to Q-Base, where you hosted your own Theracords area. It wasn’t the first time, so, how did it go? Can you describe the atmosphere?
Of course it is a huge honour to be able to host a Q-BASE bunker twice with Theracords so that was extremely awesome! The overall vibe was really amazing again, it was a great experience and something I would never have believed years ago when I started this label!

You announced a proud new member of the Theracords family. How did you experience the reaction of the crowd when he got announced? Why did you let him join Theracords?
Yes, Invector! It was a very special moment, our bunker was very full and for him it was the perfect way to introduce him to the dedicated crowd! He did extremely well and yeah he is one amazing talent! I absolutely love his productions and that while he is only just 17. You can expect a whole lot of him!

There are more Theracords hostings coming. You have the Theracords Classic event and a new hosting in Germany, Hamburg! Are you guys excited for this one? Can you maybe give us a glimpse on the line up?
We also have a hosting 15 October at Hedon, Zwolle by the way where we will announce another new Theracords name! So very exciting times coming up! Personally for me a hosting is one of the best things, because you are with the artists you know and love and of course the Theracords supporters are truly amazing! The dedication and passion from them makes everything so worthwhile! About the line up in Hamburg I cannot say too much yet, but let’s just tell you I won’t be performing only 1 time that night 😉

Let’s dig a little deeper. When did you start the Theracords project? Who was involved into the creation and planning process? What made you set up a company, call it Theracords, call yourself Thera and work within the harder styles?
I actually started releasing music back in 2000 together with Fabian Bohn. Back in those days we were known as Brennan & Heart. When we stopped working together in the end of 2005, we each went our seperate ways and I made an anagram of the name Heart, which is Thera. When I started picking up producing again I created such different music than the main labels at that time wanted to release. Because of that, I thought: why not release it myself? The initial thought was to have a platform where I could just release my music, nothing more, nothing less. That approach is still key for the success of Theracords I think. The music is the most important aspect and that will never change!

[mixcloud width=”100%” height=”500″ cover=”1″ mini=”1″ light=”1″ autoplay=”1″ tracklist=”1″ artwork=”1″ iframe=”true” ]https://www.mixcloud.com/Q-dance/theracords-radio-show-august-2016/[/mixcloud]

Did you experience some bad times with Theracords? Did you ever had struggle with specific things when setting up Theracords, the label, your act and the agency?
Life is never only positive so yes there were and still are definitely moments that it is pretty tough! But I would never change it. Everything that you get to experience through making, playing and releasing music is all worth the hassle. It also depends how much you focus on the negative things. I could stay really sad when an artist decides to leave Theracords, but it is so much better to get excited and motivated when there is a new artist that joined. It is all about focusing more on the positive things, since they always outweigh the negatives.

When looking back on the Theracords history, is there something you regret nowadays? Something you’d like to change or something you wish you had never done
Actually not really! Everything that happened, good or bad, made me the person that I am today. Also it made the company the way it is. I am still a glass half full kinda guy and I still have the same determination and believe in our music as I started.

The New Era marked a very new sound design of Thera. Uplifting melodies, short intros, long build ups and a slightly harder kick – is this your personal definition of hardstyle?
My album The New Era was all about making a statement to show the world this is my new signature sound and yes I am sticking with it! I am very pleased I found a way to combine my love for trance and my love for raw. Taking both sides of the spectrum and blend it into one, it is a bit how hardstyle originated so you can definitely say it is some sort of definition of hardstyle yes!

Dj Thera - Hyperspace

We seriously would love to know, where you got the inspiration for The New Era look! Did you watch too much Star Wars, Star Trek and other Science Fiction movies/series?
Haha, definitely! For me the way I combined the melodies and roughness is really something new and different than any other artist. So you could already say it’s quite futuristic, which totally fits the overall theme. Furthermore I actually loved writing fictional stories when I was young and the whole new era album can also be ‘read’ as a moviescript throughout the music.

Are you a blue version of Iron Man? (regarding your right arm of the suit)
Not entirely! There is some Stormtrooper influence involved in there as well as TRON characters, it’s basically a huge blend of different Sci-Fi characters made into a new one!

How do you even mix with your live suit on? We recognize you almost just mix with one hand. That’s impressive! What makes a good live set, a good live set in your opinion?
Lots of practice of course, but don’t forget I also have dj experience for about 20 years already! A good live set for me has a great combination of original music/edits and such, entertainment and an overall unique feeling.

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Credits @Joris Raaijman – https://www.facebook.com/jorisraaijmann/

If you could choose one super power, which would it be and why?
I would love to be able to understand and speak all languages there are! Maybe not a very exciting pick, haha! But actually a lot of super powers also have their downside, or maybe I have just watched too much X-Men :’)

If you have to choose one artist out of any genre, even if he is dead or still alive – what do you think would be a crazy collaboration? Thera x ?
I would actually love to collab with Hans Zimmer. I am a huge fan of his work, the atmosphere level in his music is just beyond amazing and something I would love to see combined within hardstyle!

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