On the 23rd of February he will be the highlight of the evening: KELTEK got the honor to create this year’s Reverze anthem, and he will also perform here for the very first time as KELTEK Live. We talked to Sven about his exponential growth, the creation of his Reverze anthem and what he has in store for us this upcoming year.
In 2017, Sven returned to hardstyle after he had left the duo Psyko Punkz. Ever since then he continued as KELTEK, which he has taken to the next level in just a short period of time. The track ‘Dark Sun’ can be found in the Hardstyle Top 100 2018 at number 8, and KELTEK was crowned as ‘Best Euphoric Breakthrough’ of this year. Sven didn’t expect all of this success in such a short time. “I have always been confident about what I can do, but I didn’t expect everything to work out so well so quickly, but everything really has just fell into place. The past year I have created a good buzz around the name KELTEK, especially since the release of ‘Dark Sun’, which will bring me a lot also in the upcoming year.”
“All the spotlights are focused on me, so the pressure is high to make both anthems a piece of art”
Now Sven has the studio all to himself, it definitely feels like he can show more of himself and his musical abilities as KELTEK. “I feel so good right now. I have so much freedom now do to whatever I want. I always try to think out of the box and I am always searching for a fresh perspective on my productions. It is important to find a balance between what I like, and what the public likes right now.” All of this seems to be working out pretty well, considering KELTEK will be responsible for both the Reverze and the Defqon.1 anthem in 2019. “This is just out of this world and such a great honor. I especially didn’t see the Defqon.1 anthem coming, haha! All the spotlights are focused on me, so the pressure is high to make both of these anthems a true piece of art.”
Reverze anthems aren’t anything new for Sven, in 2012 he created the anthem ‘Beyond Belief’ together with Wietse as Psyko Punkz. Since then, both the scene as Sven his career has changed a lot. “If you listen to the 2012 anthem you will recognize the well-known sound of back then. If you listen to the anthem I created this year, you clearly hear a different approach considering sound design. The kick and leads have been evolved, and they sound a lot better than they did back in the days.”
“You can describe my sound as mature no-nonsense hardstyle”
Now KELTEK has received complete trust of the organisation once again, which resulted in Sven creating his second Reverze anthem ‘Edge of Existence’. “You can describe my sound as adult no-nonsense hardstyle. Since it’s an indoor event, the approach is slightly different than when you create something for an outdoor event. With an indoor event you can go deeper and heavier, but with a festival you need to evoke euphoria and the progression can be a little more simple. My sound is of course labeled as euphoric, but I always try to keep it mature. I believe this features match an indoor event such as Reverze very well.”
Besides the fact that he is responsible for the anthem, Reverze is special for Sven for another reason. Here, he will perform for the very first time as KELTEK Live. Even though he had the idea of a live set for a long time, Sven was waiting for the perfect moment to launch it. “I also have to admit there simply wasn’t enough music at the beginning of KELTEK for creating a strong live set, so it was for the best we waited until the perfect moment would come along.” In the meantime, this perfect moment had arrived: Reverze – Edge of Existence. Here, KELTEK will launch his live set in a spectaculair way. “I believe a live set should be supported by the right show elements, such as your own Visuals, flames, confetti, fireworks, lasers and so on. This is why I think you should perform a live set at indoor events, or in a tent, because everything can just fall into place. Of course, Reverze is known for its huge and amazing shows, so this is really the perfect place for the debut of KELTEK Live.”
“These edits and remixes will be kept exclusive for KELTEK Live”
It will be quite the set: live for the first time and even playing his Reverze 2019 anthem. The expectations are high and Sven is working his ass off to make it a true exclusive spectacel. “KELTEK Live has to be completely different from a regular KELTEK set. Of course I will only be playing KELTEK music, but I am also very busy with creating a lot of new special edits and remixes. Furthermore I will definitely play some new tracks.” Since Sven wants to distinguish himself in a musical way, these edits and remixes will be exclusive for KELTEK Live and will not be released. “I also want to incorporate a lot of try-out projects. These are tracks I never finished over the last couple of years, but they have loads of potential. Most of these tracks will also be exclusive for this live act.”
For Sven, 2018 can be labeled as a musical highlight. With the announcements we have already gotten from KELTEK so far, he seems to be a busy bee this year as well. Besides creating two anthems and having a lot of bookings already, there are loads of other musical projects heading our way in 2019. “I have planned multiple collabs, and some of them are even finished already. Among others, I will be in the studio with Wildstylez, Frequencerz, Hard Driver, Sub Zero Project, The Prophet and B-Front. Furthermore, of course I am also busy making new solo tracks. Creating an anthem is amazing, but it limits you since you have to work within a theme.” Sven therefore enjoys being in the studio without feedback of others. “I have to say I’m on my strongest when I can just be me.”
On the 23rd of February it’s time for Reverze – Edge of Existence at the Sportpaleis and Lotto Arena in Antwerp, where thousands of hardstyle lovers will come together. This year will be the 14th edition of the event. “Reverze is one of the biggest hardstyle events worldwide. You really don’t want to miss out on the show, the location, the atmosphere and the huge line-ups (especially this year). I’ll see you all at Reverze!”
Tickets for Reverze – Edge of Existence are not available anymore, the event is 100% sold out. For more information about Reverze you can take a look at the official website.
