After two years of work, Envine is releasing his first album Lightscape. The project appears on his own label, Melodic Hardstyle, and is also the 50th release of the young platform. This makes the release extra special for the artist, who sees this album as an important step in his career.
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“It’s my biggest project so far, and I’m especially proud of the result”
Envine explains that he worked on the album for two years and that releasing it on his own label means a lot to him. “It’s incredibly special for me to be able to release my very first album on my own record label Melodic Hardstyle as the 50th release, a huge milestone in just over a year after launching this platform.”
Lightscape contains 14 tracks created in collaboration with various artists, vocalists, and instrumentalists. “I worked with many people who are close to me; among others, with artists from my Melodic Hardstyle label and with incredibly talented vocalists and instrumentalists such as ÆLINN and Michael Jo,” he says. This way of working gave the album a personal character: “I’ve come to see all these people as part of our Melodic Hardstyle family… it truly feels like I created this together with everyone involved as a collective.”
“I rediscovered myself and went back to the essence of making music”
According to Envine, creating Lightscape was a process in which he rediscovered what music means to him. “In a sense, I also found the joy in making hardstyle again,” he explains. He consciously returned to the style he once started with: “A more ‘classic’ sound, but still in a fresh coat with my own signature. This is what hardstyle stands for to me; strong melodies, lots of emotion, and energy.”
A lot was happening in his personal life during the same period. “My career has changed enormously over the past two years… and on top of that, I became a father for the second time this year, which also had a big impact on making the album.” These changes led to a new perspective on his music: “I’ve started to put things into perspective and especially enjoy making music again.”
He sums it up as a new chapter: “You can definitely say that Lightscape represents a new start for me, a new chapter in my career and life.”
How the idea for the album originated
The concept of Lightscape took shape while Envine developed his new sound. “I had a number of tracks ready and wanted to do something special with them, something I could later look back on and say: look, this is what I did and where my passion lies,” he explains. Many new ideas arose during writerscamps: “I wanted to enter a more collective writing process with writers and instrumentalists and be inspired by different perspectives and their musical input. I was in a very positive flow and had a lot of inspiration in the studio, which made the tracks come together very quickly.”
The colorful identity of the album plays an important role. “Each track tells a different story, and I often link this to colors… on the album cover you see all kinds of colors, and for me that represents each track having its own identity. That’s also why the title is Lightscape.”
The challenge of creating a full album
The biggest challenge for Envine was deciding when the work was truly “finished.” “I had so much inspiration that I constantly made new music. But I also had to learn to make choices,” he says. Releasing everything himself created even more work. To prevent tracks from being overshadowed, he chose a long release strategy: “I chose to release a track every four weeks for a year… to stay consistent and give each track the attention it deserves.”
Envine mentions three tracks that carry extra meaning for him:
Melody In My Head – “This was the track that inspired me to the sound I stand for today.”
Bittersweet – “The pop elements in this track make it very accessible… I’m very proud of what we created with this song.”
Lightscape (title track) – “I wrote the melody with a lot of inspiration in just under 5 minutes… I always find it very special to work with real instruments and vocalists.”
Melody as the core
Finally, Envine explains why melody is so important in his music: “For me, a melody is the essence of music… it’s the foundation of an emotion you pass on to the listener.” With Lightscape, he shows where his new chapter begins, both personally and musically.
Envine’s debut album ‘Lightscape’ is available on all streaming platforms starting today.
