In our returning column, we will have a chat with talented DJ’s and producers. Last time we did catch up with Avi8, this time, it’s time to discover the raw side of the scene. This time, we have a chat with a duo! They are known for their unique sound, snare, and kick. Playing at WR1 Presents Ran-D Firestarter they really wrecked the dome. This month they did release their first EP with 4 of their latest tracks called ‘Death is Coming’. Let’s have a chat with these youngsters, let’s have a chat with Critical Case!
Hi Guys, thanks for having us. 2015 Must have been an amazing year and the beginning of 2016 is even better I suppose, can you give us a little recap?
Hi guys, thanks for having this interview with us! 2015 was indeed an amazing year for us! We played a couple of smaller and even a few bigger events like Chain Reaction: The Battle Special and WR1 Pres. Warface. Thereby it was very nice to share the stage with names like Warface, Act of Rage, Project Exile. 2016 did start very good for us with a gig at WR1 Pres. Ran-D Firestarter!.
Of course we want the people to know all about you guys, so let’s start, can you give us an introduction?
On stage, we are known as Critical Case, but in real life people just use our real names; Joey and Jeroen. Joey is 25 years old and Jeroen is 26. We know each other for over the last 8 years and in that time, we became very good friends.
Let’s go back to the beginning, when did you guys start producing?
It all started 2 years ago in a little bedroom in Lelystad. Joey booted up his PC and started watching tutorials and making music that you probably don’t want to hear now, haha. Now, 2 years later, we made a lot of progress and even got some support of bigger artists in the scene.
Did you directly fell in love with raw style?
When we started listening to hardstyle there were no subgenres like raw, rawphoric or names like that, it was all hardstyle. The discussion that is brewing in the scene about the ‘break-up; between euphoric and raw, is in our opinion, a discussion that makes no sense at all. Everything we hear on parties is still hardstyle and that is a thing that will never change!
But to come back to your question; Yes, in the last years we fell in love with the harder side of HARDSTYLE.
Since you are a duo you should have met somewhere, haha. How did you guys meet?
That is a very good question…. We both don’t remember how we met each other. We think it was at a birthday party of one of our friends, but we don’t know for sure. Maybe we don’t know it because we are friends for too long.
How did you come up with the name ‘Critical Case’?
Before we had the name Critical Case, we formed a duo under the name of Natural Mess. Some, not so very good, things happened to us during that period, so we decided that we needed a new name. After a brainstorm session (and a few beers of course) we came up with Critical Case. We think it is a catchy name and it really stands for us and what we are doing at this moment.
How would you guys describe your own style and sound?
Our own style and sound are a bit experimental and out of the box. We try to use elements ranging from euphoric to industrial hardcore and everything in between. This way we can make our own sound and style and do something different than the rest.
This February you guys played at WR1 Presents: Ran-D Firestarter, can you give us a little recap of this crazy night?
You surely can call it a crazy night indeed! We enjoyed it from the first minute to the very last! Playing the set right before one of our heroes is one of the best moments in our career. Every time we think back to this gig, we get goosebumps al over! The way the crowd reacted to our own tracks was pure magic!
What is the craziest thing you guys witnessed during your sets?
There are a couple of things that happened to us during our sets haha… At The Hard Talent Factory the CDJ didn’t read our USB stick, so we stressed out, but with a little help from Act of Rage, the USB did work after all and we played like nothing ever happened.
And there was this moment when Joey almost broke his ankle when walking off stage after a gig haha… he didn’t see the extra step and he fell a few cm lower.
You guys did play at some smaller events, which events are still on your wishlist?
Do you got a minute… One of our goals is to play at the almighty hangar area at Q-Base. We both think this is a magical place in the world of hardstyle! No sound limits and the dedicated crowd in front of the booth makes us want to play there ASAP!
Other events that are on our wishlist are events like Loudness, Defqon.1 (especially the Blue) and a gig in the hardstyle temple the Heineken Music Hall.
Let’s talk a bit more about producing, which producer does inspire you a lot?
We have a few producers that inspire us a lot! Names like Thera, Adaro, Frequencerz, B-Front, Radical Redemption and smaller ones like Rebelion, Malice, Luminite etc. They all got a unique own style and sound.
Talking about the producing process, how does it look like? Where do you start for example?
By booting up the PC in our studio…haha. Seriously we just start a new project and let the inspiration we get from movies and other genres do the rest! We open our minds and start making sounds and kicks. After a while turning knobs and pushing buttons the track is ready to enter the big, scary world of hardstyle.
We think you guys are amazing talents, do you have any tips for other ‘bedroom’ producers who wants to share their music?
The best tip we can give to starting producers is: Never give up!! There are a lot of people that will be negative about your music, but don’t let that get you down! Always appreciate and be thankful of the feedback you get from other artists!
What is your favorite hardstyle track?
That is the most difficult question to answer! There are so many awesome tracks that we can’t choose. It also depends on our individual moods, sometimes you only want to hear euphoric hardstyle and 10 minutes later you want to listen to something harder.
Speaking of other talents and producers, who do you want to collab with someday?
Rebelion, Luminite and Jason Payne as talents and names like Thera and Radical Redemption fot he big names in the scene.
Since we are an out of the box hardstyle duo, we want to get in the studio with Noisecontrollers. We both never heard a bad track of him!
If you have to choose between producing or DJing, what will it be?
We can’t choose between these 2! Making music is one of the best things in the world, but seeing people dances their asses off on the dancefloor is even a better feeling!
After some tracks you guys released the EP – Death is Coming, can you tell us something about it? Where can we get it?
The EP consist of 4 of our new tracks and will be released in the week of 26 March on Goosebumpers Records. When it is released you can find it on their FB-page: https://www.facebook.com/Goosebumpersofficial
If you want to download them already, you can find them on our own FB-Page; www.facebook.com/criticalcaseNL
Do you guys have any gigs planned for the upcoming months?
For the future, we got 2 gigs in our agenda, but unfortunately we can’t tell you more at this moment… But keep an eye out on our FB-page and you will know wich gigs these are!
Final Question: Do you have something to share with us, or to tell to your fans? Maybe something exclusive?
We are working on a lot of new music since we finished the Death is Coming ep! When it is finished people can find previews on our FB-page and Instagram account! We want to thank you again for this interview, #jointhecase!