J ust a few days to go to Megabase Outdoor presents: Titan The One Who Knocks. Additionally, Titan just announced he’s working on a new album, coming in 2017. Furthermore, Titan is back with a brand new live act, a brand new theme around his alias. We thought it could be more than interesting to catch up with him and ask him a few questions!

Hey Titan, we’re very happy to have you here! There has been a lot going on in the recent days and months in your career and we will come back to that. So, first of all how did you experience 2015 as an artist? Did you witness something really cool or maybe something really bad?
2015 was awesome with a lot of highlights. Think about Hard Bass, Q-Base and the kick off of my The One Who Knocks (TWOK) project at FOCUS in Lucky, Rijssen (NL)! Of course we all remember CRAFT festival that was cancelled due the weather. That was a pity! I felt really bad for the organization but also prepared an awesome live act for the main stage that day. But… I will perform as The One Who Knocks LIVE at CRAFT 2016.

How would describe your own development in the year 2015 as an artist? Are you satisfied with it? Especially, were you satisfied with Titanomachy, your live act and album, regarding the events you played and the sound design within the album? Furthermore, did you come to a point saying “I want to do something new now and NOT to extend the ‘Titanomachy Universe’?
Well the album was already released in 2014 and was a big success. I had several Titanomachy gigs at major events like Emporium, Qapital and Loudness and all of them have been a great experience. After the festival I had the feeling that it was time for something new. Titanomachy was based on the Greek mythology and Mad Max and I couldn’t identify myself in this theme anymore.

That’s where I started the TOWK project, which is all about being a Kinpin of a big Hardstyle Family. It represents how responsible I feel for the raw hardstyle scene. I am one of the bigger and more experienced artists and with my concept I also support the future stars.

Where did you get the inspiration from for this ‘gangster-themed’ new chapter in your life? Did you watch Marvel’s Daredevil or Gotham? Hehe
Well the basis is the hardstyle family I talked about. I know I am a big black guy, a ‘powerful appearance’ in the DJ booth. The gangster theme was just a small step from there. Penoze of Lose Your Mind inspired me a lot, because I am also a part of that story every time. And yes, the Kingpin is partly based on Wilson Fisk in Daredevil. And yes, my management and I also discussed Gotham. Clever of you. 😉

What are the elements of this new project? And how do you support these future stars?
Basically the project consists of three elements: The new live act, event hostings and an album in 2017. The first event hosting was FOCUS 2015 and now we are working on my biggest hosting until now: Megabase Outdoor 2016!

How do I support these artists? Well every artist has its own nickname, character description and specialities within this project. You can find all the Megabase characters on the artwork and you can see that all the artists are there. That is how I support them. It is not just about Titan; all the artists get their own role in a story. That is the only way to create a true Hardstyle Family.

Are all the characters based on like ‘comic characters’ or other fictional characters? Or did you also develop own backgrounds, stories and nicknames around the DJs?
Both answers are right. Of course some characters are based on other fictional characters. For example, Happy is based on The Joker (obviously) and Snitch & Snatch are based on both the movie Snatch and A Clockwork Orange. Mr. Mayhem is a term that is used in Fightclub and Banbgros… Well, let’s just say there is a website about that. But we also developed original new characters like Tommy Lollypop, The Brawler and Ricky Reckless. Every Megabase character has his own story, nickname, background etc.

I’m actually very amazed about all the cool stuff happened lately. You just received your own Megabase Outdoor! The line-up looks pretty awesome and they moved to a new location. What can the visitors expect of this edition of Megabase Outdoor? A little more controversial: Are you afraid at the same time, because last year Digital Punk, with his Unleashed brand, hosted Megabase Outdoor and people will probably compare the event to this year’s edition?
Well the story continuous. At Megabase it will all be about the show. We have a great line up and all the artists are willing to participate in character. You can expect all the artwork characters to come to life on the stage on the 23rd of April. I will also premiere my new live act so expect a lot of music.

And yes of course people will compare the Unleashed Megabase to this one, but I think that will be very hard. It’s a new location with other artists and also with a very unique line up. So comparing is a bit useless. Let’s just make this an event that we’ll never forget!

Tell us something more about the new live act? What are you going to do different to ‘Titanomachy’?
It is obvious that the new live act contains a new outfit, theme/storyline and new music. That’s all I can say about it. If you are curious, just give Megabase a visit and maybe you can write a cool review about it. 😉 It’s all still a surprise, but it will be awesome and I will let the music speak!

The word is out, you will start working on a new album this year. You just announced it at Dancefair. First, how was the panel, did you enjoy it? How did you perceive the audience?
Dance Fair was really cool and indeed, I announced the album in that panel. I think the audience liked my story about the new project. I tried to project my enthusiasm to them and I think we succeeded in doing that. Somewhere it was a bit strange to talk about yourself for 45 minutes, but I would love to do it again.

By talking about your new album, can you already give us a brief summary of your vision about the album? How will it be built up? Are you going to have a storyline through the album? I guess we can expect a few collabs on the album as well – do you have someone in your mind, you really want to work with? Personally, I would love to see you and Delete working on something, but that’s just my wish.
Hahah, these are a lot of questions and I’m not going to answer them all. 😉 I can’t tell you too much about the album at this stage, but I want it to be perfect. There is a reason why I am taking a lot of time to work on this process before releasing it (in 2017). All tracks should have the potential to become a hit. Of course you can expect a few collabs yes. And no, I can’t tell you anything about that as well. 😉

Last but not least, could you tell us your wishes for 2016? What would make you say in December 2016 ‘Yep, that was a really good year’?
Let’s make Megabase a big success and continue the story at one or several events afterwards! That would be great. If my project continues in the way we launched it in the last few months, I will be very happy by the end of 2016!

Megabase presents: Titan The One Who Knocks

Line-Up:

Titan
The One Who Knocks LIVE
Requiem
Thera
Delete
Jason Payne
The Pitcher
Kronos LIVE
Degos & Re-Done
Phuture Noize
Sub Zero Project
Unresolved
Prefix & Density
Nightfall
Inceptum
Malua
Apexx
Prototype
Host: MC Da Syndrome

‘Outlaw’ Ticket: €20,- (ex. Fee)
‘Kartel’ Ticket: €60,- (ex. Fee)

Event: bit.ly/megabase2016
Website: www.megabase.nl