FFREE.REE. TheHARD DATA Summer 2015 A.D. EEDCDC LLASAS VEGASVEGAS BASSCONBASSCON & AAMERICANMERICAN GGABBERFESTABBERFEST REPORTSREPORTS NNOIZEOIZE SUPPRESSORSUPPRESSOR INTERVIEWINTERVIEW TTHEHE VISUALVISUAL ARTART OFOF TRAUMA!TRAUMA! DDARKMATTERARKMATTER 1414 YEARYEAR BASHBASH hhttp://theharddata.comttp://theharddata.com HARDSTYLE & HARDCORE TRACK REVIEWS, EVENT CALENDAR1 & MORE! EDITORIAL Contents Tales of Distro... page 3 Last issue’s feature on Los Angeles Hardcore American Gabberfest 2015 Report... page 4 stirred a lot of feelings, good and bad. Th ere were several reasons for hardcore’s comatose period Basscon Wasteland Report...page 5 which were out of the scene’s control. But two DigiTrack Reviews... page 6 factors stood out to me that were in its control, Noize Suppressor Interview... page 8 “elitism” and “moshing.” Th e Visual Art of Trauma... page 9 Some hardcore afi cionados in the 1990’s Q&A w/ CIK, CAP, YOKE1... page 10 would denounce things as “not hardcore enough,” Darkmatter 14 Years... page 12 “soft ,” etc. Th is sort of elitism was 100% anti- thetical to the rave idea that generated hardcore. Event Calendar... page 15 Hardcore and its sub-genres were born from the PHOTO CREDITS rave. Hardcore was made by combining several Cover, pages 5,8,11,12: Joel Bevacqua music scenes and genres. Unfortunately, a few Pages 4, 14, 15: Austin Jimenez hardcore heads forgot (or didn’t know) they came Page 9: Sid Zuber from a tradition of acceptance and unity. Granted, other scenes disrespected hardcore, but two The THD DISTRO TEAM wrongs don’t make a right. It messes up the scene Distro Co-ordinator: D.Bene for everyone and creativity and fun are the fi rst Arcid - Archon - Brandon Adams - Cap - Colby X. casualties. Counter Terrorist - D.Bene - Daybreaker - Deadly Moshing… truthfully, I liked moshing when Buda - Diskore - Dr. Freecloud - Energy - Flapjack it fi rst happened. It was another music and dance Gylend - Joel Huber - Meanstreak - Mindcontroller merged into the unity of rave. However, a few RPM - Seppuku - Shrill - Soundsquatch - Stickman knuckleheads took it too far. Respecting a person’s Sylent - Teddy Rabago - Tony Campagna physical space should be our top priority. Not And maybe... everyone wants dragged into the pit. Even if they YOU! do, some people physically can’t do it for whatever reason. Respecting an event or a venue’s policy on If you would like to contribute writing, art, photos, the matter is important too. Th ere are places that run an advertisement, distribute THD, or have your are ok with moshing. Defi nitely support them! event listed, But remember, many places and people aren’t pre- Contact us at pared for it—or even like it. Th ere are many hi- energy dances one can do in the alternative, and theharddata.com the hard dance scene should always be innovating Th e Hard Data Volume 1, issue 2 new moves anyway. Publisher, Editor, Layout: Joel Bevacqua Copy Editing: Colby Newton Until next time, the rhythm is life and death! Writers: Joel Bevacqua, Austin Jiminez, DJ FlapJack, DJ Vigor, DJ Mindcontroller DJ Deadly Buda Event Calendar: DJ Arcid Distribution Points: You can get a hard copy of THD at many locations, but defi nitely at: Amoeba Music Dr. Freecloud’s Record Shoppe Newsboy Books 6400 Sunset Blvd. 18960 Brookhurst St. 215 N. Euclid Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90028 Fountain Valley, CA 92708 Ontario, CA 91762 amoeba.com drfreeclouds.com (909) 984-0714 (323) 245-6400 (657) 888-4695 TTALESALES OFOF DISTRO:DISTRO: monster truck. But you’ll drive your Camry or Civic SSpacelandpaceland 22015015 there, oblivious to the danger. We rigorously test the car’s suspension, and... actually, maybe the directions are correct... we roll up to a bunch of hooligans in a tent. Th ey point us to an impromptu, surprisingly packed, parking lot. Angel’s at the gate, “You got four AM to fi ve AM.” He means when I play. Hardcore at four AM... By DJ Deadly Buda It’s a desert rave. Sometimes you just gotta roll like I’m booked to play a little party in the South- that. ern California desert, Spaceland 2015. Th e party looks Delta 9 Delta 9 good on paper. Four stages, it’s on an Indian reser- from Chicago is vation. It goes twenty-four hours straight. Angel is rocking the decks Spaceland’s main promoter. His last party got busted. at the hardcore Don’t sweat it. If a promoter’s never had a party stage. We kick busted, they aren’t trying hard enough. up some dust “Hey man, can I get a ride?” dancing with our Th at skinny guy with the homies. We me- dreadlocks is my pal D. Bene, ander around the a.k.a. Pink Abduction Ray. He’s maze of cars and tents and check out the drum ‘n’ bass a squatter. His day-to-day life is and techno stages—the place is jumping! making crazy techno tracks on D. Bene grabs stacks of Th e Hard Data, “Let’s a laptop while siphoning power hit the cars!” from an abandoned building— I stick a copy on the windshield of every car which he usually sleeps in as well on the left side of the party. D. Bene takes care of the (until a construction crew kicks right. We make friends with people chilling at their him out). tents, pumped to get the new mag, then rendezvous at I point to stacks of Th e Hard the hardcore stage. Data, “No problem, man, just “I’m fi lming the whole thing!” help me with these.” D.Bene’s is frantically aiming his phone at a fracas be- Two hours through the trip and D. Bene’s hind the DJ decks, “the dude without a shirt is going dreadlocks haven’t gotten us pulled over or harassed off !” by natives. We’re just miles from Spaceland, but for Wait a second… that’s Angel! SoCal desert raves, certain things are always the same: Another desert rave 1.Forget Waze or any navigation system you staple: Th e DJ set-time fi ght. Deadly have. It won’t apply. Th e “roads” leading to the party Some DJ is gaming a time Buda are marked more likely with abandoned tires and slot. Angel ain’t having it. maybe a couch, Th e fallout moves Flapjack than street signs. the hardcore stage. I’m now 2.Your car will assigned to a remote sound get completely system with no lights which f’ed up. Most currently entertains two roads are pot- girls dancing to house mu- holed, with two sic. No one knows I’m going to play there, and three- foot drops, and quarters of the party is asleep in their cars or tents. should only be I play my fi rst track. Th e two dancers fl ee. driven on with a (Continued on page 10...) 3 as Th e Great American Gabberfest! AMERICAN For the second year in a row, the American Gabberfest, aside from being an all-out weekend rager GABBERFEST for fans of the harder genres of electronic music, has become a meeting ground for delegates all across 2015 REPORT the US to connect and discuss their native Hardcore By Austin Jimenez (DJ Daybreaker, Utah Hardcore scenes, to brainstorm new ideas, and to become more Syndicate) involved and aware in this ever-growing scene. Th is year showed a double-fold of capacity and delegates Cap from even more cities such as, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, and New York City. Two days of madness and destruction was bestowed onto the most dedicated gabber heads and Th e Hard Data has the in-your-face details of the entire show! Day 1: 11am, Hard Hat Lounge—With tempera- tures already above 100, people have started arriving, drinks in hand, ready to go hard. We see breakfast sets from Las Vegas locals System Malfunction on the Outdoor Stage and the Kickoff Show featuring Tribal Grooves and Anonymous X. Next, we move onto the Los Angeles delegates, Symtek outdoors, and Delu- sion indoors, a ruthless blend of Raw Hardstyle and Mainstream Hardcore sounds. Later that aft ernoon, there’s more people, more sun, more BPM as Los Angeles keeps picking up the pace on the Outdoor Stage while Phoenix dele- gates are insidiously making their way onto the stages. DJ Phox is the fi rst we see on the inside, bringing the Hardstyle sounds, perfectly paving the way for the AZ heavyweights, DJ CIK, Cap, and K.O.R.E. of the Arizona Hardcore Junkies on the outdoor stage—the highlight of the day. My “Best Set of the Day” award (Continued on page 14...) Deadly Buda It’s the fi nal weekend in June. Th e summer temperatures have reached their peak, and hundreds of thousands of people are traveling from all over the world to arrive in one of the hottest cities in the US—Las Vegas, Nevada; the infamous and notorious “City of Sin”—to indulge in their deepest-rooted vices and enjoy the summer spec- tacles. Th ere are a select few however that have arrived looking for their mecca, their celestial home away from home, the meeting ground for delegates from all over the nation, to come together to embrace and empower the US Hardcore scene. Th is mecca has become known 4 ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL year, with artists like Brennan Heart, Da Tweekaz, LAS VEGAS 2015, BASSCON TNT, and Ran-D (just to name a few). You almost couldn’t leave the area without missing something. WASTELAND REPORT Like the fact you literally were surrounded by the By DJ Deadly Buda biggest rave in America with seven other major dance areas, amusement rides, plays— you get the idea.