TFOH #1 interview: D-Sturb

D-Sturb is a name that can’t be ignored nowadays. His rough releases on Gearbox have been supported by many big artists. That’s why it comes as no surprise that we decided to feature him in The Future of Hardstyle podcast, and wanted to ask him some questions.

Hi Jorrit, when did you first come in contact with hardstyle?
Hi guys, well that would be around 2009. I heard the Fear.FM Top 100 mix and was instantly hooked!

Just out of nowhere you seemed to pop up in the hardstyle scene. Quickly after that you’ve had performances at Dominator, Loudest and Radical Redemption’s album release party. How did you experience the past year?
Well I had two bookings in May and there was one still on my schedule. After that I’ve had a busy month in July with Dominator and even two performances abroad. I absolutely loved it, because things suddenly went so fast.

The support I received and still receive is also amazing, so I’m totally enjoying that as well. And now I’m working as hard as I can to finish new music and I hope that things will only get better.

Your track “Until It’s Gone” has been played by big names, like Prefix & Density. Did you ever hear your own track at an event?
Yeah, I heard High Voltage playing my track at Dreamfields last year. He played “Unbeatable” in a packed area. It was also my birthday that day, so I couldn’t be happier at that moment. Besides that Thera played “Anxious” at Kings of Hardstyle for thousands of people. It’s sick to go crazy to your own music and seeing other people enjoying it.

More and more people are saying that all raw hardstyle sounds the same and that no-one brings fresh tracks anymore. How do you feel about this?
It’s true, I also hear people saying stuff like that about my music. But I really love screeches so I always try to do something special with them, or make a screech-pattern that hasn’t been used yet. Eventually I always make what I like and if that catches on than that’s just a great bonus.

What can we expect from your productions in the near future?
I have a few collabs planned, but I reckon they won’t be finished until 2016, because we’re all very busy. I just finished a new solo-track and two collabs with Laminate and Thyron.

What’s the last track that gave you chills, and why?
That would be “VINAI – The Wave (Sub Zero Project Bootleg). I can easily listen to this track 6 times in a row. The energy in this track, the kicks, screeches and uplifting vocals really get me!

Where can we find you in two years?
Well I hope at many big stages to present my music to a lot of people.

You’ve been asked to create a mix for The Future of Hardstyle podcast. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
I’ve used four of my own tracks, including two exclusives! I also used new tracks from Digital Mindz, Artifact, Sub Sonik and Primefire. They are all artists that I look up to and who have also somewhat just started their career.

Listen to The Future of Hardstyle podcast, including a mix by D-Sturb.